NationStates Jolt Archive

I rarely use it and brought it out for a couple tires. Being that I rarely use it I forgot to mail in the payment.

I get a harassment call under the guise of a "gentle" reminder. The bitch on the other end started with a rather snotty disconnected yea whatev liar tone when I simply said whoops I forgot.

So I did an online payment and ordered her to close the account. After all; I rarely use it and had a decent history with it so I figured if they are going to be that way over one late payment which I might add she said the interest went up to %30; why keep it? They obviously don't value my little pissass business.

A couple hours later I got another call asking why I canceled the account and tried to get me to keep it open?

What gives with that?

Things must be pretty bad if you are going to harass your good customers over a tiny amount of money.

Oh well Credit cards do more to hurt you financially anyway so I am better off with only one.

Now back to our regularly scheduled entertainment.

I rarely use it and brought it out for a couple tires. Being that I rarely use it I forgot to mail in the payment.

I get a harassment call under the guise of a "gentle" reminder. The bitch on the other end started with a rather snotty disconnected yea whatev liar tone when I simply said whoops I forgot.

So I did an online payment and ordered her to close the account. After all; I rarely use it and had a decent history with it so I figured if they are going to be that way over one late payment which I might add she said the interest went up to %30; why keep it? They obviously don't value my little pissass business.

A couple hours later I got another call asking why I canceled the account and tried to get me to keep it open?

What gives with that?

Things must be pretty bad if you are going to harass your good customers over a tiny amount of money.

Oh well Credit cards do more to hurt you financially anyway so I am better off with only one.

Now back to our regularly scheduled entertainment.

"Please review the Quality Assurance telephone log that may have been made of my call, and pay particular attention to the way your representative spoke to me, treated me, and informed me of the problem."

I recommend joining Gangsters Unlimited for your credit cards, just never be a day late as the fine print says that they can do the hamster dance on your back.

By hamster dance, I mean hurting you.

By back I mean with point stick rocks.

Well what you describe is common. One thing I can say is that the call centers for the two different operators are in different places. Remember also that the type of people they hire to collect are completely different than the type of people that they hire to make the second call.

Once, I paid off a card that I had owed a large amount of money on for a long time. Soon after, I got a call from the CC company asking if there was anything wrong. Apparently, they didn't really want me to pay the damn thing off. They just wanted to keep me in debt forever. :rolleyes:

I get a harassment call under the guise of a "gentle" reminder. The bitch on the other end started with a rather snotty disconnected yea whatev liar tone when I simply said whoops I forgot.

A couple hours later I got another call asking why I canceled the account and tried to get me to keep it open?

What gives with that?

Things must be pretty bad if you are going to harass your good customers over a tiny amount of money.

Oh well Credit cards do more to hurt you financially anyway so I am better off with only one.

Now back to our regularly scheduled entertainment.Trying getting them to threaten them and then when they do you can make much moneys.

If they call you back just let it ring and laugh when they are yelling at you through the answering machine.

If they say they know you are there go outside with a club and starting hitting any full sized van on your block.

If that fails build a ring of fire around your house and get laser cannons on your roof to shoot do any credit card choopers, satelleties, planes full of people, tasty birds, and some kites for good measure.

They just wanted to keep me in debt forever. :rolleyes:


Sometimes I wonder if our whole society is geared toward that. However that probably sound to much like a grand conspiracy.

Once, I paid off a card that I had owed a large amount of money on for a long time. Soon after, I got a call from the CC company asking if there was anything wrong. Apparently, they didn't really want me to pay the damn thing off. They just wanted to keep me in debt forever. :rolleyes:That is what you call wage slavery.

I've got a credit card, I mainly use it to buy books at Border's (because it's hooked up to my Border's rewards account) and gasoline (because gasoline gives, like, tetrapoints). I've never approached my limit, and it's not a very high one. (The credit people have gotta hate me).

Main reason to get it? I need credit history. Simple as that.I used a credit card once.

Got my credit report at 0 today.:D

Of course me lie.

I've got a credit card, I mainly use it to buy books at Border's (because it's hooked up to my Border's rewards account) and gasoline (because gasoline gives, like, tetrapoints). I've never approached my limit, and it's not a very high one. (The credit people have gotta hate me).

Main reason to get it? I need credit history. Simple as that.

"Please review the Quality Assurance telephone log that may have been made of my call, and pay particular attention to the way your representative spoke to me, treated me, and informed me of the problem."

Have you ever heard of anybody being punished let alone fired for that? People tell me that attitude is rather pervasive. So they must like it.

Maybe I am just getting cynical in my old age? ;)

I recommend joining Gangsters Unlimited for your credit cards, just never be a day late as the fine print says that they can do the hamster dance on your back.

By hamster dance, I mean hurting you.

By back I mean with point stick rocks.

:D There is a guy out here(assuming you are in the US for obvious reasons) who started a diamond store using loan shark money. He quipped about it motivated him to hustle to pay it back.

Well what you describe is common. One thing I can say is that the call centers for the two different operators are in different places. Remember also that the type of people they hire to collect are completely different than the type of people that they hire to make the second call.

No doubt. You could tell by the two voices and the choice of words. In the scheme of things it means nothing to them.


Once, I paid off a card that I had owed a large amount of money on for a long time. Soon after, I got a call from the CC company asking if there was anything wrong. Apparently, they didn't really want me to pay the damn thing off. They just wanted to keep me in debt forever. :rolleyes:

That's not in the plan you communist! It's easy to see they don't want it paid off. They would'nt have screwover programs like hiking the rate %30 for a late. Obviously, that would keep you locked to them for 10+ years if you were maxed out.

I've got a credit card, I mainly use it to buy books at Border's (because it's hooked up to my Border's rewards account) and gasoline (because gasoline gives, like, tetrapoints). I've never approached my limit, and it's not a very high one. (The credit people have gotta hate me).

Main reason to get it? I need credit history. Simple as that.

Nothing wrong with one card just for that reason. In fact the system is geared for making you get one. If you try to buy a house or a car without a history. Ugly.

I am surprised they haven't tried to hike your limit. My buddy has a sterling credit score and they keep trying to raise his limit and he refuses. If they do it anyway, he calls them up and haves them reduce it. He says it just stupefies them.

maybe you should have gotten the payment in on time?

Next time, you might want to use the opportunity to extract better terms from them instead of canceling - you might have bargained for better terms than your existing credit card.

It may be you have miles or something connected to your existing card that makes this point moot but, in purely financial terms, you can often get far better than you accept on an existing contract.

Overall, they want your business, make them beg for it.

Once, I paid off a card that I had owed a large amount of money on for a long time. Soon after, I got a call from the CC company asking if there was anything wrong. Apparently, they didn't really want me to pay the damn thing off. They just wanted to keep me in debt forever. :rolleyes:
Of course they do. They make more money off you that way, sillly.
You of course know what a deadbeat is doncha? A loafer, sponger, someone who doesn't pay their debts, right?

In CC parlance, do you know what they call a deadbeat?
Someone who regularly and always pays the balance on their credit cards each month, thus avoiding interest charges. They're deadbeats to the CC companies because they make no money off those people.
So to get back at them, they give them lousy credit ratings.

I'm really happy - this month I'll pay off my credit card again. I had it paid off last year but had to spend up large heading back to NZ on a family emergency. A month later, Xmas came and I went to Germany. This month's pay will clear my card. again. Then I just have to get through Chinese New Year and Easter and I'm sussed.
My g/f will (hopefully) get a big backpay, allowing her to clear her card for the first time in 8 years. She's so excited and relieved about it. I know how she feels - I felt the same when I finally cleared mine for the first time 2 years ago after having it in debt for 6 years. I worked out I spent more in interest charges in that time than I owed - as is always the case.

I have a couple of credit cards, one that I use regularly & one for emergencies. I make sure I pay off the full balance every month so I don't get into trouble.

I hate credit cards, even ATM machines. So I pay cash. :D

Just get rid of all of them. If you only have them to "get a credit history" for a mortgage: the current collapse of the US mortgage system might make the banks reconsider the wisdom of this system and move to a more sensible one.

Once, I paid off a card that I had owed a large amount of money on for a long time. Soon after, I got a call from the CC company asking if there was anything wrong. Apparently, they didn't really want me to pay the damn thing off. They just wanted to keep me in debt forever. :rolleyes:

Lol, my mom made like, a $600 payment on one of hers, and after about a week she noticed that the money was taken out of ehr bank, but was never applied to her credit card. She called and wanted to know what the crap the deal was (because they had already taken the money out of the bank), well the snobby guy on the other line told ehr that they prefer it if she didn't make a payment so large over the minimum... she responded with something like 'Why, so I can keep paying horrible interest rates?' it was pretty funny, and like the guy was clearly just trying to drum up some business... lame.

I have a couple of credit cards, one that I use regularly & one for emergencies. I make sure I pay off the full balance every month so I don't get into trouble.

I did that too. At some point I decided I couldn't afford it (AKA, money mismanagement, I could have afforded it, if it were a real priority). I stopped doing that, then it went a little out of control (see, at this point I had a $300 credit limit) now I am $1000 in debt* on that card (debt meaning balance owed, I'm not over the limit or anything).

I rarely use it and brought it out for a couple tires. Being that I rarely use it I forgot to mail in the payment.

I get a harassment call under the guise of a "gentle" reminder. The bitch on the other end started with a rather snotty disconnected yea whatev liar tone when I simply said whoops I forgot.

So I did an online payment and ordered her to close the account. After all; I rarely use it and had a decent history with it so I figured if they are going to be that way over one late payment which I might add she said the interest went up to %30; why keep it? They obviously don't value my little pissass business.

A couple hours later I got another call asking why I canceled the account and tried to get me to keep it open?

What gives with that?

Things must be pretty bad if you are going to harass your good customers over a tiny amount of money.

Oh well Credit cards do more to hurt you financially anyway so I am better off with only one.

Now back to our regularly scheduled entertainment.

Once, I paid off a card that I had owed a large amount of money on for a long time. Soon after, I got a call from the CC company asking if there was anything wrong. Apparently, they didn't really want me to pay the damn thing off. They just wanted to keep me in debt forever. :rolleyes:

Nothing wrong with one card just for that reason. In fact the system is geared for making you get one. If you try to buy a house or a car without a history. Ugly.

I am surprised they haven't tried to hike your limit. My buddy has a sterling credit score and they keep trying to raise his limit and he refuses. If they do it anyway, he calls them up and haves them reduce it. He says it just stupefies them.

Lol, my mom made like, a $600 payment on one of hers, and after about a week she noticed that the money was taken out of ehr bank, but was never applied to her credit card. She called and wanted to know what the crap the deal was (because they had already taken the money out of the bank), well the snobby guy on the other line told ehr that they prefer it if she didn't make a payment so large over the minimum... she responded with something like 'Why, so I can keep paying horrible interest rates?' it was pretty funny, and like the guy was clearly just trying to drum up some business... lame.

Ugh. Reading these stories makes me so angry. What a twisted fucking system is this?!

I've got a credit card, I mainly use it to buy books at Border's (because it's hooked up to my Border's rewards account) and gasoline (because gasoline gives, like, tetrapoints). I've never approached my limit, and it's not a very high one. (The credit people have gotta hate me).

Main reason to get it? I need credit history. Simple as that.

Of course they do. They make more money off you that way, sillly.
You of course know what a deadbeat is doncha? A loafer, sponger, someone who doesn't pay their debts, right?

In CC parlance, do you know what they call a deadbeat?
Someone who regularly and always pays the balance on their credit cards each month, thus avoiding interest charges. They're deadbeats to the CC companies because they make no money off those people.
So to get back at them, they give them lousy credit ratings.
Okay, so this has come up before but I still don't really get it.

I know that you have to have good credit rating in order to get a loan - and, in the US (and maybe elsewhere, too) good credit is mainly accumulated through buying stuff with credit cards and paying the card bills on time. Like Andaluciae said.

So is that true or is it true what Demented Hamsters says, that people who always pay their credit card bills on time get a bad credit rating?

It seems impossible - but then, I also thought that the best possible credit rating one could get would be when one never goes into debt to begin with, e.g. pays everything in cash, and that's certainly and disturbingly not true.

I hate that system. I really do. I have been lucky enough to never have been in debt in my life so far. I do have a credit card here in Germany which I use to pay for everyday stuff (not too many stores take credit cards here, though) and every month I get a bill and the sum I spent is deducted from my checking account. I don't even know what would happen if there wasn't enough money in the checking account - probably the credit card company would slap some interest on it and keep sending me reminders to pay the balance.

But should I ever end up in the US, pretty much the first thing I'd have to do is get a credit card to built credit history. I'm fine with that if it works like what Andaluciae said, i.e. like what I already do. But I certainly would be pissed if (as I've read before) they made me buy stuff on layaway, because I don't want to start overpaying for things just to prove to some stupid intrusive credit rating agency that I'm able to pay the installments back on time.

[/rant]

*tries not to credit card rant*

*fails*

*condenses rant*

in summary-

you don't need a credit card to buy a house

you don't need a "credit history" to buy a house

you shouldn't finance things other than maybe a house
getting a credit card to "build your credit" is BS, either you are putting yourself in debt, or you pay it of every month, both are stupid. If you carry a balance then you are helping your FICO score but since most of America (at least) is a few checks away from being homeless, then running up debt for a FICO score is stupid. If you pay it off every month then you aren't helping your credit score at all. You have to carry debt for months and pay it slowly and regularly to have a good FICO. It's BS, plain and simple.

*tries not to credit card rant*

*fails*

*condenses rant*

in summary-

you don't need a credit card to buy a house

you don't need a "credit history" to buy a house

you shouldn't finance things other than maybe a house
getting a credit card to "build your credit" is BS, either you are putting yourself in debt, or you pay it of every month, both are stupid. If you carry a balance then you are helping your FICO score but since most of America (at least) is a few checks away from being homeless, then running up debt for a FICO score is stupid. If you pay it off every month then you aren't helping your credit score at all. You have to carry debt for months and pay it slowly and regularly to have a good FICO. It's BS, plain and simple.


Interesting. Do you know why such a claim has such currency?

I ask partially because I've managed to almost get to my mid-20s never having a credit card. I'm being pressured to get one by various people to "build up a credit rating." Since I've got this far I'm not exactly jumping at the chance.

I rarely use it and brought it out for a couple tires. Being that I rarely use it I forgot to mail in the payment.

I get a harassment call under the guise of a "gentle" reminder. The bitch on the other end started with a rather snotty disconnected yea whatev liar tone when I simply said whoops I forgot.

So I did an online payment and ordered her to close the account. After all; I rarely use it and had a decent history with it so I figured if they are going to be that way over one late payment which I might add she said the interest went up to %30; why keep it? They obviously don't value my little pissass business.

A couple hours later I got another call asking why I canceled the account and tried to get me to keep it open?

What gives with that?

Things must be pretty bad if you are going to harass your good customers over a tiny amount of money.

Oh well Credit cards do more to hurt you financially anyway so I am better off with only one.

Now back to our regularly scheduled entertainment.

Did you ever see the Adam Sandler movie "The Waterboy"? In that movie, Sandler plays a goofy guy who was messed up by his single mother who pretty much did not let him do anything because she would say that what ever he wanted to do is "The Devil". For example, when he told her that he wanted to play football she forbade it and told him "Football is the Devil!"

Well he never asked her if he could get a credit card, she would have forbade it and told him "Credit cards are the devil!" Although the Mother was nuts, her response in that instance would have been correct.

Now there are some people that literally believe that credit cards are going to bring about Armegeddon because of an interpretation of Revelations. However, even if they are not literally a means by which Satan will reign on Earth, they are still pretty damned evil.

No good comes from credit card debts that are not paid after they come due. Truly, they are great for people who always pay their credit card bills on time. Such folks are known in the credit business as deadbeats. This is especially true if the deadbeat is using a credit card with an incentive such as 1% back on all purchases. However, even if these credit cards do not have such benefits, they still have the power of increasing your credit score over time.

It is typically better to keep a credit card with a zero balance than it is to close it. This is a credit score thing. However, I would not make a ig deal about that. You can easily have a credit score in the 700s with only one credit card as long as you have other debts and an excellent history of paying your debt obligations in a timely manner.

*tries not to credit card rant*

*fails*

*condenses rant*

in summary-

you don't need a credit card to buy a house

you don't need a "credit history" to buy a house

you shouldn't finance things other than maybe a house
Wait, wait - I don't? But then what will they look at for my credit rating? Because they *will* look at my credit rating, right? They need to have some sort of assurance I'm not a deadbeat (in the "normal" sense of the word), so if I don't have assets they could impound if I fail to pay back the loan, what else would they look at?

getting a credit card to "build your credit" is BS, either you are putting yourself in debt, or you pay it of every month, both are stupid.
I'm actually never quite sure if what I have is the same kind of credit card you guys have - or if I'm just not using it the way you are.
I use it like a debit card. Since I get like 1% of all purchases back as "interest" at the end of the year, I kinda like using it. Also, sometimes it's good that they only bill me in, say, 3 weeks, because if right now my checking account doesn't have enough money on it but will after the next paycheck comes in, I can still buy things.

If you carry a balance
Okay, I know this is a stupid question, but what does that actually mean? I always thought it meant having money in your account, you know, like when you say "I have a blanace on my checking account" I'd assume you meant there's money on your checking account.
But it really means being in the red, doesn't it?
*confused*

then you are helping your FICO score but since most of America (at least) is a few checks away from being homeless, then running up debt for a FICO score is stupid. If you pay it off every month then you aren't helping your credit score at all. You have to carry debt for months and pay it slowly and regularly to have a good FICO. It's BS, plain and simple.
So, wait, so what Andaluciae and I are doing wouldn't built up a good credit score at all, like Demented Hamsters said?

I *would* have to let debt built up on it and pretend I couldn't pay off more than a fraction each month??? And pay a ton in interest even thouhgh I could have bought the damn thing in cash to begin with?????

:confused::headbang:

But... but... then how DO you finance a house? I.e., how DO you get a loan?

Ugh. Reading these stories makes me so angry. What a twisted fucking system is this?!

[/rant]

Capitalism:D

Capitalism:D

Yeah, except we're a capitalist country too, and we don't have this kind of shitty "keep people in debt" system. I'd wager the guess that most other capitalist countries don't have it either, seeing how e.g. all information about emigrating to the US includes a section on "A good credit rating is vital to get a loan, here's how to do it".

Interesting. Do you know why such a claim has such currency?

I ask partially because I've managed to almost get to my mid-20s never having a credit card. I'm being pressured to get one by various people to "build up a credit rating." Since I've got this far I'm not exactly jumping at the chance.

it's the same reason any BS lie gets any currency people who think they know repeat it with authority and so on until it's "fact", like it's a "fact" that Mikey the cereal kid died from eating pop rocks and chugging a soda (it's a lie but many people for a long time would tell you it was the 100% truth)

the FICO score is what most people talk about when they talk about a credit score or credit rating in the US, it's a formula of the Fair Isaac Corporation and it works as follows

you get points based on

how many lines of credit you have open in ratio to how much debt you have

paying bills on time

and stuff like that

paying your bills on time is great, but it doesn't show up, only late payments show up, so if you never have a late payment, then the FICo people assume you pay things on time.

having debt is good, because if you have too many open accounts and not enough debt, then you get counted against, in fact if you have 2 or 3 cards and you pay them all on time every month the whole balance then it looks bad, because you don't have enough debt to be a good credit risk.........read that again, you don't have enough debt to be a good credit risk.

you have to ask yourself 3 questions

1 why do I want a "good credit rating"?

2 how much am I willing to pay for one? (because carrying a balance long enough to get one, is going to cost you, time, interest and stress)

3 what am I going to finance? is it a good idea?


As a financial planner I tell all my clients the same thing, debt is bad. Don't do it. If you need to finance something (other than possibly a house) you can't afford it.

You don't need a good FICO score to finance a house, you just don't. You do need to find a lender that will take the time to look at your history of making payments (utilities, cell phones, etc) on time, and they aren't hard to find, no matter what Joe Debt tells you.

Nothing wrong with one card just for that reason. In fact the system is geared for making you get one. If you try to buy a house or a car without a history. Ugly.

I am surprised they haven't tried to hike your limit. My buddy has a sterling credit score and they keep trying to raise his limit and he refuses. If they do it anyway, he calls them up and haves them reduce it. He says it just stupefies them.

Quite.

When I rented my apartment last year, the credit check returned absolutely nothing, and I had to have my parents cosign, thus, my decision to get one of the things was made.

One of the nice things my company has done is they've let me choose to get my interest rate lowered, rather than raise my limit. My goal is to match the percentage of the earned interest I get from my CD.

it's the same reason any BS lie gets any currency people who think they know repeat it with authority and so on until it's "fact", like it's a "fact" that Mikey the cereal kid died from eating pop rocks and chugging a soda (it's a lie but many people for a long time would tell you it was the 100% truth)

the FICO score is what most people talk about when they talk about a credit score or credit rating in the US, it's a formula of the Fair Isaac Corporation and it works as follows

you get points based on

how many lines of credit you have open in ratio to how much debt you have

paying bills on time

and stuff like that

paying your bills on time is great, but it doesn't show up, only late payments show up, so if you never have a late payment, then the FICo people assume you pay things on time.

having debt is good, because if you have too many open accounts and not enough debt, then you get counted against, in fact if you have 2 or 3 cards and you pay them all on time every month the whole balance then it looks bad, because you don't have enough debt to be a good credit risk.........read that again, you don't have enough debt to be a good credit risk.

you have to ask yourself 3 questions

1 why do I want a "good credit rating"?

2 how much am I willing to pay for one? (because carrying a balance long enough to get one, is going to cost you, time, interest and stress)

3 what am I going to finance? is it a good idea?


As a financial planner I tell all my clients the same thing, debt is bad. Don't do it. If you need to finance something (other than possibly a house) you can't afford it.

You don't need a good FICO score to finance a house, you just don't. You do need to find a lender that will take the time to look at your history of making payments (utilities, cell phones, etc) on time, and they aren't hard to find, no matter what Joe Debt tells you.

A few minor things asides what you said jives pretty well with how I've been told things work in the UK.

I've just recently got myself out of debt I got into as a student, and I've seen the pressure large debt does. I've no intention of putting my head in that particular lion's mouth. Again :)

it's the same reason any BS lie gets any currency people who think they know repeat it with authority and so on until it's "fact", like it's a "fact" that Mikey the cereal kid died from eating pop rocks and chugging a soda (it's a lie but many people for a long time would tell you it was the 100% truth)

the FICO score is what most people talk about when they talk about a credit score or credit rating in the US, it's a formula of the Fair Isaac Corporation and it works as follows

you get points based on

how many lines of credit you have open in ratio to how much debt you have

paying bills on time

and stuff like that

paying your bills on time is great, but it doesn't show up, only late payments show up, so if you never have a late payment, then the FICo people assume you pay things on time.
But why would that be bad? Doesn't that make me a dream customer for everyone giving out loans? Because, let's face it, I only need that credit rating for getting a loan, and a loan (e.g. for a house) is AUTOMATICALLY something I'll be paying off for a loooong time, with all the interest, otherwise I wouldn't have needed a loan in the first place.

So with a cuistomer like that, they can be sure they'll get my payments every month until the loan is paid off. Whereas with someone with debts all over the place there is a big danger that he'll default and maybe go bankrupt and then they wouldn't get ANYTHING!
I mean, okay, so they can slap with him punishment interest, maybe, for being late, but that will only break his back even quicker and they'll have lost money.

I don't understand it.


having debt is good, because if you have too many open accounts and not enough debt, then you get counted against, in fact if you have 2 or 3 cards and you pay them all on time every month the whole balance then it looks bad, because you don't have enough debt to be a good credit risk.........read that again, you don't have enough debt to be a good credit risk.
See above.


2 how much am I willing to pay for one? (because carrying a balance long enough to get one, is going to cost you, time, interest and stress)
See? This it totally what I feared! And everybody told me it was like Andaluciae said! (Sorry to bring you up all the time, Andaluciae, you just happen to be the American who uses his card like I do. :p)

You don't need a good FICO score to finance a house, you just don't. You do need to find a lender that will take the time to look at your history of making payments (utilities, cell phones, etc) on time, and they aren't hard to find, no matter what Joe Debt tells you.
Huh. Wow. Yeah, did not know that. So if I, say, could show that I paid off all my credit card bills on time (well, that my account always had enough money to cover them being deducted, in my case) for the last 12 years, that would count for something?

Quite.

When I rented my apartment last year, the credit check returned absolutely nothing, and I had to have my parents cosign, thus, my decision to get one of the things was made.

One of the nice things my company has done is they've let me choose to get my interest rate lowered, rather than raise my limit. My goal is to match the percentage of the earned interest I get from my CD.
If you are ever asked to get a cosigner for anything, it's a good sign you can't afford it.

Quite.

When I rented my apartment last year, the credit check returned absolutely nothing, and I had to have my parents cosign, thus, my decision to get one of the things was made.

One of the nice things my company has done is they've let me choose to get my interest rate lowered, rather than raise my limit. My goal is to match the percentage of the earned interest I get from my CD.

Omg, I didn't even think about renting. It's not even possible to find a Smunkee-like lender there, it's what the landlord says counts.

Damn.

But... but... according to what Demented Hamster and Smunkee said, how you're using your card (i.e. the sensible way) won't even HAVE any effect on your credit score!

If you are ever asked to get a cosigner for anything, it's a good sign you can't afford it.

Well, but it's an apartment and he either has a job or his parents pay him a monthly stipend, so he CAN afford it - and what are the alternatives? If all the landlords want a credit check?

...
You don't need a good FICO score to finance a house, you just don't. You do need to find a lender that will take the time to look at your history of making payments (utilities, cell phones, etc) on time, and they aren't hard to find, no matter what Joe Debt tells you.
No disagreement that debt is bad, but all utilities, most cell phone service, cable TV, rents, etc is credit. Except for the pre-paid phone service, of course. If you don't have a credit history, you will have to pay a whopping deposit for the privilege of having the credit offered.

Additionally, aren't your loan rates going to suck if you don't have a history of debt repayment? Otherwise, how is a lender supposed to know that you are dependable? Okay, we're back to getting credit through utilities, cell phones, rent payment...

Why should paying a credit card in full each month be such a bad thing? It gives you a great record of where you spent money, as will a check card -- I know. But it's a convenience that shouldn't be misused.

Well, but it's an apartment and he either has a job or his parents pay him a monthly stipend, so he CAN afford it - and what are the alternatives? If all the landlords want a credit check?

Offer the landlord a BIG deposit. Maybe three months rent on top of the security deposit.

ignorant swine!

The call center woman has more than enough justification to be bitchy to whoever she damn well pleases especially customers :p

has nobody ever worked in the service industry?!

Offer the landlord a BIG deposit. Maybe three months rent on top of the security deposit.Hm, that could work. If you have it.

Hm, that could work. If you have it.
It's the only alternative that I can think of. Maybe the landlord would accept two months, or even just first and last month's rent -- everything is negotiable. It's similar to what my daughter had to do with her cell phone. The company wanted a cosigner and I said no. I thought it was a good idea for her to establish her own credit. She paid about $400 to avoid the cosignature. She got them to come down from $500.

It's the only alternative that I can think of. Maybe the landlord would accept two months, or even just first and last month's rent -- everything is negotiable. It's similar to what my daughter had to do with her cell phone. The company wanted a cosigner and I said no. I thought it was a good idea for her to establish her own credit. She paid about $400 to avoid the cosignature. She got them to come down from $500.

Well, it's certainly worth trying.

Well, it's certainly worth trying.
Good luck to your friend. The other thing to think about is to deal directly with the landlord. Some property management people don't really care about the people they rent to and won't deviate from 'policy'. The nice thing about university areas (I'm assuming this is near a school) is that there are usually plenty of alternatives to the big apartment building near campus.

Well, it's certainly worth trying.

It doesn't really work, though. Once a landlord makes a decision about it they just move on to the next cat and you're little more than scum in their eyes no matter how much you try and accommodate them.

I have shitstain credit but I don't have any evictions and for the most part my landlords will vouch for me. Doesn't matter. When I have to search for digs, regardless of whether I make the dough to cover the rent, it's a royal pain in the ass. I have to usually rely on people who let me rent more or less 'off the books.' Sometimes I think I'd have an easier time finding a place if I was a child molester rather than someone with unfortunate credit. I might get treated better, too.

Well, but it's an apartment and he either has a job or his parents pay him a monthly stipend, so he CAN afford it - and what are the alternatives? If all the landlords want a credit check?

just because you have a job doesn't mean you can afford every apartment and if your parents are paying your bills then they are paying your bills, not you, which means you can't afford it.

No disagreement that debt is bad, but all utilities, most cell phone service, cable TV, rents, etc is credit. Except for the pre-paid phone service, of course. If you don't have a credit history, you will have to pay a whopping deposit for the privilege of having the credit offered.

Additionally, aren't your loan rates going to suck if you don't have a history of debt repayment? Otherwise, how is a lender supposed to know that you are dependable? Okay, we're back to getting credit through utilities, cell phones, rent payment...

My loan officer actually mentioned all that

Why should paying a credit card in full each month be such a bad thing? It gives you a great record of where you spent money, as will a check card -- I know. But it's a convenience that shouldn't be misused.

My loan officer said they actually like you to carry some balance. The other thing they don't tell you is if you go 1/2 over your limit, they ding you for that.

My loan officer actually mentioned all that



My loan officer said they actually like you to carry some balance. The other thing they don't tell you is if you go 1/2 over your limit, they ding you for that.


tis all true. there are entire books written on how to manipulate your FICO it could turn into a full time job if you wanted to make it perfect....moving balances, opening new cards, making sure you don't have too many or too few, or that your ratio to credit limit isn't too much or too little......


it's all an unneeded hassle if you ask me.

just because you have a job doesn't mean you can afford every apartment
Well, I'm assuming he didn't go for the $10,000 a month penthouse.

and if your parents are paying your bills then they are paying your bills, not you, which means you can't afford it.
If you're a college student who is lucky enough to not have to have a full time job because instead your parents pay for your rent and food then of course you can afford an apartment. That's why they're giving you the money, in order to have you live in an apartment.

Saying "yes, but it's not YOUR money so YOU'RE not the one who can, in fact, afford the apartment" is completely beside the point in this discussion.

It's one thing if you personally are of the opinion that people should not accept money from their parents for living expenses while in college but instead support themselves. That's fine.

But it doesn't make sense to look at the $1000 someone has coming into their account every month and go "From your full-time job? Alright, you can afford the apartment" and "From your parents? You can clearly not afford the apartment."

It's their monthly income, period. It even has to be reported under "monthly income" when filling out any kind of official form marginally dealing with your financial situation.

My loan officer actually mentioned all that



My loan officer said they actually like you to carry some balance. The other thing they don't tell you is if you go 1/2 over your limit, they ding you for that.
What's a loan officer? Someone from the bank?

never close credit accounts. A large chunk of your credit score is based on your total credit available and how much of it you are using. Cancelling an account shows that you have less credit available and are higher to the ceiling.

when it comes to paying for things, it totally matters to landlords, car financers and banks where "your" money comes from, and if it comes from your parents, they want them to sign.......once you cosign for something, it's yours. I cosigned on a car for my mom when I was younger, when she defaulted, they came after me, they didn't even try to go after her, because they knew she didn't have the money that's why they wanted someone who did have the money to sign. Getting parents to cosign an apartment is the landlords way of saying "we don't think you can pay for this, but we know they will"

it's life.
Oh, I certainly agree with that.

I think we were arguing different things.

Well, I'm assuming he didn't go for the $10,000 a month penthouse.


If you're a college student who is lucky enough to not have to have a full time job because instead your parents pay for your rent and food then of course you can afford an apartment. That's why they're giving you the money, in order to have you live in an apartment.

Saying "yes, but it's not YOUR money so YOU'RE not the one who can, in fact, afford the apartment" is completely beside the point in this discussion.

It's one thing if you personally are of the opinion that people should not accept money from their parents for living expenses while in college but instead support themselves. That's fine.

But it doesn't make sense to look at the $1000 someone has coming into their account every month and go "From your full-time job? Alright, you can afford the apartment" and "From your parents? You can clearly not afford the apartment."

It's their monthly income, period. It even has to be reported under "monthly income" when filling out any kind of official form marginally dealing with your financial situation.

when it comes to paying for things, it totally matters to landlords, car financers and banks where "your" money comes from, and if it comes from your parents, they want them to sign.......once you cosign for something, it's yours. I cosigned on a car for my mom when I was younger, when she defaulted, they came after me, they didn't even try to go after her, because they knew she didn't have the money that's why they wanted someone who did have the money to sign. Getting parents to cosign an apartment is the landlords way of saying "we don't think you can pay for this, but we know they will"

it's life.

Oh, I certainly agree with that.

I think we were arguing different things.

asking for a cosigner is never ever default, there are many things that have to happen before a landlord would even ask, like if you had horrible credit (i.e. we don't think you will pay), you can't afford it (i.e. the payment is more than 30% or whatever percent they choose of your earnings), you don't have anything we can get if you don't pay (i.e. someone else pays your bills, you don't have any collateral, you don't have a job they can garnish when they sue you)

Strange.

I've never had these problems. Then again, the worse I had was a single phone call from Rogers, telling us that we were a day late on our monthly internet and television bill payment. Our cellphones are prepaid at the start of the month and we've always been good with rent.

When my husband and I rented our apartment, we didn't face a credit check because we had been living with my father for a few months before we got our own one-bedroom apartment. We didn't even need a co-signer despite that at the time that we both signed the lease agreement I was unemployed.

Even when he was late with a credit card payment, a few days, we didn't get a call from the bank. In fact, I don't know anyone here that's been harassed the same way Americans are when it comes to credit. I honestly can't think of anyone I know who's been targetted like people have here. Even when my only first cousin on my mother's side and her friend were bogged down in debt they didn't have debt collectors banging on their door. It took them a few months and a little help from my cousin's mother to take care of it.

I have a friend in Wisconsin who had massive student debt because she had to leave school in order to care for her mother who was sick, and had trouble paying it off because she never finished school and got fired from a couple of jobs due to having shitty managers. She had even worked out a repayment deal but they harassed her even after ward.

It seems very aggressive what these people do. And to give someone hell for paying in full? I'd have heard about it several times because I would do that when I bought stuff online using my credit card, which got its limit raised several times over, putting my limit to be more than double my husband's despite that he's had his longer.

Say, Smunk, would you happen to know what the Canadian equivalent of FICO is?

If you are ever asked to get a cosigner for anything, it's a good sign you can't afford it.

When I signed the lease I didn't have a credit history. I've paid for college out of pocket, and I'd lived on campus previously. Since then, I've been fully able to afford my apartment with no problems.

Good. Credit cards are evil. I'd only get a prepaid so I can buy internet stuff.

That is what you call wage slavery.
But it was entirely voluntary. People with huge credit card balances borrowed that money with full knowledge of what the terms of the loan were.

If you want to borrow money you can't pay back, go right ahead, but it's your fualt when you're broke. Similarly, if you want to offer an unsecured loan to someone who can't pay you back, it's your fault when you go out of business.

never close credit accounts. A large chunk of your credit score is based on your total credit available and how much of it you are using. Cancelling an account shows that you have less credit available and are higher to the ceiling.
When I got my mortgage I was told that outstanding available credit counted as debt when calculating how much I could borrow. It made sense to me, because there's no way for this new lender to know I'm not going to spend $10,000 on furniture and max out my cards tomorrow, so they have to give me a mortgage as if I've already done that.

As such, I was prepared to cancel over $20,000 in available credit to get my mortgage, but it turned out I didn't have to.

I rarely use it and brought it out for a couple tires. Being that I rarely use it I forgot to mail in the payment.

I get a harassment call under the guise of a "gentle" reminder. The bitch on the other end started with a rather snotty disconnected yea whatev liar tone when I simply said whoops I forgot.

So I did an online payment and ordered her to close the account. After all; I rarely use it and had a decent history with it so I figured if they are going to be that way over one late payment which I might add she said the interest went up to %30; why keep it? They obviously don't value my little pissass business.

A couple hours later I got another call asking why I canceled the account and tried to get me to keep it open?

What gives with that?

Things must be pretty bad if you are going to harass your good customers over a tiny amount of money.

Oh well Credit cards do more to hurt you financially anyway so I am better off with only one.

Now back to our regularly scheduled entertainment.

Now all you have to do is cancel the other

But it was entirely voluntary. People with huge credit card balances borrowed that money with full knowledge of what the terms of the loan were.


I'm not sure if you can be so cut and dry.

I've known various people who evidently haven't really understood what credit cards are (to various degrees).

I don't have particular sympathy for them, but still. They didn't really have knowledge.

Sometimes I wonder if our whole society is geared toward that. However that probably sound to much like a grand conspiracy.

Well there's no doubt we're getting enslaved by our debt ratio.

I am surprised they haven't tried to hike your limit. My buddy has a sterling credit score and they keep trying to raise his limit and he refuses. If they do it anyway, he calls them up and haves them reduce it. He says it just stupefies them.

Your buddy should take the offer of higher credit limits. He doesn't have to use it though. Limit to debt ratio is a factor in FICO ratings and higher limits with lower debts is a positive.


So is that true or is it true what Demented Hamsters says, that people who always pay their credit card bills on time get a bad credit rating?

Not to my knowledge. I have never paid any interest on the cards that I had. I always pay the full amount...even a few days before the last date. I have an "excellent score" per the 3 credit agencies.


But should I ever end up in the US, pretty much the first thing I'd have to do is get a credit card to built credit history.

Your utilities and cellphone bills also build your credit history provided they are in your name. Even secure cards (not debit/ATM cards) from banks where you have accounts.

There are many factors that go into the ratings like the years that you had a credit history (more the better), the limit to debt ratio, no late payments or collections, lesser inquiries, lesser application for loans etc...

I know people who sign up for new credit cards because of attractive offers and then cancel it in a few months and go for a new one with more attractive offers. Bad thing to do. You may be paying it proper but you would be getting a lower score because of the number of applications you are putting in.

Good. Credit cards are evil. I'd only get a prepaid so I can buy internet stuff.

Depends on your lifestyle and your discipline. If you know how to use it, you can get some nice rewards. Every year I get around $100 rebate with costco amex from regular everyday purchases, which I would not be getting if I were to use debit/cash. I haven't paid a cent on interest. That can't be evil. ;)

Depends on your lifestyle and your discipline. If you know how to use it, you can get some nice rewards. Every year I get around $100 rebate with costco amex from regular everyday purchases, which I would not be getting if I were to use debit/cash. I haven't paid a cent on interest. That can't be evil. ;)

I agree, I get at least two pairs of round trip tickets a year using my CC rewards system. Debit card and CC with my personal account and have the same thing on our business CC. Worth a couple grand a year in free tickets.

never close credit accounts. A large chunk of your credit score is based on your total credit available and how much of it you are using. Cancelling an account shows that you have less credit available and are higher to the ceiling.

Also there is a penalty for not having long term accounts. A long term account is something over 10 years or so.

Now all you have to do is cancel the other

Nahh I use it for business. It has a mileage club on it so I get miles.....

But... but... according to what Demented Hamster and Smunkee said, how you're using your card (i.e. the sensible way) won't even HAVE any effect on your credit score!
I noticed you've been using my name a lot here so I feel obliged to explain my post a bit more.

Logically, one would think paying off your card each month would give you a better credit rating than not doing so but it isn't quite that simple.

Loan companies/banks etc want to see that you're capable of covering your payments regularly, not just paying them off completely. Which, from their perspective makes some sense. If they can see from your credit record that you have never missed a credit card payment, that you've always paid at least the minimum every month, they know they can probably trust you to do the same with a mortgage.
*[of course, this is also dependent on several other factors - the amount of debt you have, your income, age etc]*
So why don't they think a clear balance at the end of each month is way better than still owing yet paying off at least the min due? Because if you were to get a mortgage, obviously you're not going to be paying that off in a month. The Bank wants to see a history of debt coverage.

And that's why they don't give the best credit ratings to ppl who clear their cards each month. Card companies of course hate ppl like that cause they earn nothing from them.



It's amazing how much money banks are willing to chuck at you once you do go into debt with them. Last year I had to take out a tax loan (here in HK we pay tax once a year) because I got hit for 2 years worth of tax (just under$12K USD) with just 6 weeks to pay. They accepted my application (getting charged just 3% interest - sorry, 0% interest but 3% 'handling fee' :rolleyes:), paying back $1000US a month (almost 1/4 of my income at that time). Within a month of starting that loan, I was offered a revolving credit account with ~$16K USD at no charge and 8% interest (which I took up) and a no-questions-asked personal loan of the same amount, this time at 6%.
I could have ended up with close to $50KUS from this bank - and it isn't even one that my pay goes into. All I had to do to get this was show my tax demand, nothing else.