var json_comments = new Array("
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LochBox
January 29, 2009 2:32 PM
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Heh, they should include parts of their credit card salad in every bill they send out.

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squatchie44
January 29, 2009 2:33 PM
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Wow, that is way too many cards but congrats on stepping up and making a hard decision.

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3 replies
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Oranges w/ Cheese hates what Christmas has become
January 29, 2009 3:18 PM
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@squatchie44: I was about to say the same thing. Even if they cut them into teeny tiny bits thats still like.. 5? 10 cards?

WAAAAAAY too many. I'm glad they're paying down their debt but 1 card should be enough.

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WillG
January 29, 2009 6:21 PM
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@Oranges w/ Cheese:
Um, Ya,
So in every story about someone getting cut off in mid travel someone posts that you should always carry backup cards, and in every story about someone having multiple cards someone post up that you should have only one.

Can we come to some consensus?

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Oranges w/ Cheese hates what Christmas has become
January 30, 2009 4:32 PM
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@WillG: In all honesty, I have two \"cards\" but only one is a credit card. I travel with both, and if one gets stolen I can use the other. Or, if my wallet gets stolen, I can write checks from the debit account.

But seriously, if you're in debt, having 7 cards is irresponsible. That's WHY you're in debt.

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Kryndis
January 29, 2009 3:27 PM
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@Oranges w/ Cheese: To be fair it's a couple so they might have each had a card for some or all of the accounts.

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RandomHookup
January 29, 2009 4:11 PM
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@Kryndis: They could also have had some empty Visa gift cards that they added for effect. It looks like one or two cards have activation stickers, so they would have probably had the old cards too.

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FatLynn
January 29, 2009 2:35 PM
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I just received notice from one of my CC companies that my APR was increasing, but the fine print at the very bottom said I could \"opt out\" of the rate increase. Opting out meant that I could make no new charges, but it kept the rate lower on my existing balance (which, incidentally, I don't have).

Is such fine print common, and might the OP have the same option?

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4 replies
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bastion72
January 29, 2009 4:57 PM
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@FatLynn: I got a similar letter stating thet the APR would not fall below 7% and I could opt out. By \"opt out\" they stated that I would be closing the account.

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Alessar
January 29, 2009 3:44 PM
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@FatLynn: It is, and I know someone who was snowed with the whole \"but you're closing your account and it'll hurt your score\" when she tried to use that option when her 10% APR store credit card was sold to another company and they were universally raising the rate to 21% APR. (See discussion here about closing cards: [consumerist.com]) Worse, she was talked into applying for a new card and paying a *10%* balance transfer fee, and thought she got a deal at a 16% APR rate.

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TheRedSeven
January 29, 2009 3:05 PM
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@FatLynn: Such fine print is very common (if not required). If they're changing the terms of the contract, you almost implicitly have the legal right to opt out.

However, it means that they may cancel/close your account. You can't charge anything new on your account, and must continue to make payments on your existing debt.

Also, most CC companies take your next payment as approval and acceptance of the change in contract terms. So be sure you call them to 'opt out' before you pay your next bill!

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FatLynn
January 29, 2009 3:12 PM
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@TheRedSeven: Yes, well, they are doing both of those things already, it seems (no new charges, paying the debt).

I realize it would affect the credit score, but it would save them money. I hope the OP sees this.

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henwy
January 29, 2009 2:36 PM
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It's not a bad idea if it weren't presented as a hissy fit.

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nicemarmot617
January 29, 2009 2:37 PM
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Doesn't surprise me that they raised the rate - they see that you are paying off your debt and are about to be less of a cash cow for them. Therefore they are trying to cash in on you now. Everybody play the tiny violins for the poor credit card companies - they're just trying to make a buck!

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Lynn12
January 29, 2009 2:37 PM
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This picture and story reminds me of why I love being an all cash kind of gal.

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xnihilx
January 29, 2009 2:37 PM
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WOW! I count at the very least eight cards there. Those and getting into major debt in the first place is the big problem. Also, most credit card companies put you in different categories/levels of, let's call them, \"users\" depending on your style of use of the cards. So, it's likely that now that they're paying off their cards they've been put in a different bracket and for the time being that's going to hurt them. Not using the cards is the smart thing to do. If there were eight then at least five of them should have been cut up when they started paying their debt off to begin with.


I wish them good luck on repairing their credit score and starting to see that living on high interest short term loans is not the way to get your fancy wedding. Hopefully, they won't make the same mistakes with buying a house or they'll end up like everyone else who wasn't edcuated about mortgages and debt.

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AlteredBeast
January 29, 2009 2:38 PM
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Keep those credit card shards away from my Trader Joe's Mango smoothie!

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Keith Kaplan
January 29, 2009 2:40 PM
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You can typically opt out....however they will close your account. The best thing you can do is ask if opting out will close your account. If they say yes and you are ok with the account closing, make sure that you close it (as opposed to the bank) so it doesn't make a bigger blot on your record.

Keep in mind that your ratio of debt to credit will also be affected since you will still have the same amount of debt but less credit.

Goood luck.

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drmk
January 29, 2009 3:51 PM
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@Keith Kaplan: They'll close your account, but you keep the same terms until your current card expires. At that point, if you still owe any balance, it all becomes due immediately.

Citibank just raised my APR this week too. I've had the card for over ten years and haven't had a balance on it for the last three. I keep it because it's my longest standing credit card account so it's good for my credit score, but they've just solidified that when we buy a fridge in the next few months, it's going on our Credit Union credit card instead of on there.

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Tom_Servo
January 29, 2009 2:48 PM
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I only has one credit card, and that's how I likes it!

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1 replies
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jasonof2000
January 29, 2009 2:58 PM
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@Tom_Servo:

Same here and it only has a $1000.00 limit.

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B
January 29, 2009 2:48 PM
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35k in credit card debt from a wedding? I hope it was a great wedding, and I hope the marriage lasts longer than the debt.

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1 replies
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SynMonger
January 29, 2009 2:57 PM
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@B: Check again, it's a car loan AND credit card debt totaling $35,000.

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craptastico
January 29, 2009 2:54 PM
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i have zero sympathy for anyone that would use credit cards to finance a 35k wedding. if they spent half the time reading the credit card agreements they signed as they probably spent picking out flowers for the reception they'd have known what a bad idea that is.

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MsAnthropy
January 30, 2009 2:56 AM
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@craptastico:

And if you spent half the time reading the post that you spent typing out that sanctimonious response, you'd see that they didn't \"finanace a 35k wedding\".

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jimconsumer
January 29, 2009 6:32 PM
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@craptastico: OK Mr. \"I'm So Perfect And Never Made Any Bad Financial Decisions In My Life.\" Give me a break. I know you've done stupid things with money. We all have.

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JiminyChristmas
January 29, 2009 10:39 PM
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@jimconsumer: There are degrees of stupid.


Five years ago I bought a used car with a credit card. I actually started with a bank loan for $7500, at 8.5%. A couple of months later I got balance transfer promotion check for 2.99% fixed with no fee: I sent the check to the bank and paid off my car loan at 2.99%. That was a pretty good use of a credit card, since I didn't have $7500 in cash to start with.


In my opinion, if you have to take on long-term debt to finance a wedding your wedding is too expensive. Anyone can get married for the $50 or whatever a marriage license costs. Anything beyond that is a discretionary expenditure. Either scale back the wedding or postpone it until you can pay for the event you want.

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SynMonger
January 29, 2009 2:57 PM
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@craptastico: Check again, it's a car loan AND credit card debt totaling $35,000.

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dwasifar
January 29, 2009 2:56 PM
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Should have kept at least couple of those. The reduction in available credit will hurt their FICO, which is going to make a mortgage harder to get when that four year house-buying plan culminates. Plus, if they ever need to rent a car, they're basically screwed.

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Fist-o™
February 3, 2009 4:46 PM
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@dwasifar: I would hope that any creditor would see a person with 15 credit card accounts and run away screaming. Unfortunately, they place far too much weight on the FICO score, which in my opinion a horrible indicator of an individual's ability to pay back debt.

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Ailu
January 29, 2009 3:18 PM
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@dwasifar: I dunno. I have no credit cards, and no open lines of credit except for my mortgage, and my credit score is currently 810. So I'm not so sure that this popular assumption is true.

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TouchMyMonkey
January 29, 2009 5:41 PM
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@Ailu: When we bought our house, our mortgage broker advised us to close our inactive revolving charge accounts. This was so we could more easily qualify for more money. Of course, this was 1999, so your mileage may vary, but I suspect not by much.

I don't see how leaving a bunch of credit card accounts open with zero balances improves one's creditworthiness, but I'm not one of those actuarial expert types at Experian.

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acknight
January 29, 2009 3:18 PM
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@dwasifar: Suppose it depends on whether they just cut them up or if they canceled them too.

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TheRedSeven
January 29, 2009 3:08 PM
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@dwasifar: Just because they cut up the cards doesn't mean they closed out the account. (Although, to be fair, the OP says that they are going to do so permanently.) An account isn't closed out til you call and cancel.

You're right though, if they don't keep a couple accounts open (even if they don't use them/pay them off EVERY month), their credit score will suffer due to the drastic reduction in available credit. The CC companies really have people in a bind, don't they?

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Illusio26
January 29, 2009 3:04 PM
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yeah that'll show 'em

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microcars
January 29, 2009 3:10 PM
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well now Citi and Chase are just going to have to lay off more people to protest this sort of behavior.

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jsbaker99
January 29, 2009 3:27 PM
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Wow they cut up their cards big deal, looks like they had way too many in the first place.


If I cut up my payment book for my mortgage or my car I wonder if any one would care.

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1 replies
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oneliketadow
January 29, 2009 3:41 PM
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@jsbaker99: Ditto what he/she said. My wife and I have 2 credit cards and would have 1 only, but I prefer 2 in case one company does some shenanigans and we need the card in an emergency.

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Corporate_guy
January 29, 2009 3:40 PM
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Next time go to the court house and throw a kegger.

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bilge
January 29, 2009 3:47 PM
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Last week I got a letter from Citibank that they were raising my APR from 13.49% to 16.49%. This is a rewards card that I've had since 2001 and pay the balance in full each month, so the APR is irrelevant but it was annoying that they'd raise it.

I called in to cancel my card and was immediately transferred an agent who asked why I was cancelling. I got as far as, \"I received a letter telling me that my APR was increasing...\"

He interrupted me with \"Let me see what I can do for you...How does 8.49% sound? And you can disregard that letter.\"

Not bad. I didn't even have to ask for it.

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4 replies
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Amy Rhodes
January 30, 2009 4:58 PM
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@bilge: I've had my Citibank account for 20 years(!!) and they wouldn't do anything for me. I called to close my account because of the rate increase and they wouldn't offer me anything to keep me as a customer. I don't know what criteria they're looking for and why they lowered bilge's rate to 8.49, but you would think they would want to keep a customer that's been with them for 20 years and has an excellent payment record. Maybe bilge uses his card a lot and they want to keep getting the merchant fees they make off of him. I don't use my Citi card hardly at all, but that's because the interest rate is too high. So, because of Citibank's own policies, they have essentially turned away my business and my money and another bank--their competition--gets any interest and merchant fees that I generate. If they think raising interest rates on loyal customers is the way to increase revenue and cushion themselves against defaults, they're in for a huge wake-up call. This move will only increase the number of defaults and possibly lead them to bankruptcy. Maybe it's for the best.

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supercereal
January 29, 2009 5:55 PM
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@bilge: Really? In almost all cases, they could care less if someone like you cancels. You bring in no money for the company...in fact, you end up costing them money. That would make me highly suspicious of them cutting the rate for someone who's a liability for them.

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JiminyChristmas
January 29, 2009 10:44 PM
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@supercereal: Not true. Whether you carry a balance or not you make money for the credit card company every time you use the card. Merchants pay a fee, anywhere from 1% to 5% of the purchase price, for the privilege of accepting credit card payments. Ergo, the CC companies get their percentage even if they don't get it from the customer.

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MsAnthropy
January 30, 2009 2:39 AM
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@JiminyChristmas:

Yep. The credit card company makes some nice easy money in merchant fees, and assume less risk by far than they do with a customer who carries a balance from month to month. And it's no skin off their nose to reduce the APR for someone who never carries a balance, as it they weren't going to make any money off the increased APR in the first place. But by agreeing to decrease the APR they're keeping the goodwill of the customer, rather than pissing them off and having them take their nice, safe, sensible spending habits elsewhere.

I think Citi's approach has pretty much been to do an across-the-board, blanket APR hike for most, if not all, of their customers. They probably figure that a huge number won't even notice (and so if those are customers who carry balances, that's $$$ for Citi), most of those who do notice won't think they have any choice in the matter and won't question the increase (yet more $$$ for Citi), and the customers who do notice, and do call to complain will be the ones that actually get a decision made on an individual basis. Either they'll get the \"ooh, you're such a valued customer, I can only apologize - here, let me reduce your rate to something better\" response, or they'll be told \"tough titty\" if Citi doesn't value their business quite so much.

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Anonymous
January 29, 2009 4:05 PM
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@bilge: I have a Citibank card also and my APR went from 10.49% to 14.49%. When I called, they only lowered it by .49% even though I always pay more than the minimum and on time. You did much better than I was able to do and I was very polite about it. When I asked why I was being penalized for this, the operator stated that I was not being penalized, that their business needs required the increase. How many more increases will we have to endure? What about my business needs?

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Allen Harkleroad
January 29, 2009 4:24 PM
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I cut up my personal and business cards about three years ago. I manage to run my business and personal stuff with debit cards, cash and checks.


Screw the credit card companies (all of them). I nor anyone in my family will ever use one again.

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1 replies
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JustThatGuy3
January 29, 2009 5:43 PM
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@Allen Harkleroad:


Thanks for subsidizing me, I appreciate it. The more cash buyers the more people paying higher prices to merchants that compensate for the lower prices that I pay.

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JanetCarol
January 29, 2009 4:34 PM
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Good for you guys!
We are currently doing the same. All while trying to have a wedding debt free. Hello firehouse ballroom for $700
haha

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3 replies
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pecan 3.14159265
January 29, 2009 5:04 PM
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@janetcarol: Try a public park if you don't mind being outdoors (or live in an area that won't be pummeled by snow during your wedding time).

A friend of mine had a firehouse ballroom reception. No amount of decoration will convince anyone that it isn't a firehouse ballroom. There are more creative ways to have a nice, less expensive wedding.

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CFinWV
January 29, 2009 6:14 PM
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@pecan pi: Though if you have to have a firehouse wedding then you should do what some friends of mine did: they embraced it. Balloon arch and all. It was the tackiest yet most fun wedding ever, they wouldn't change a thing!

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thebluepill
January 29, 2009 7:20 PM
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@CFinWV: @janetcarol:


do what I did.. Forego the reception \"ball\" and take your family and close friends to a nice dinner after the wedding.


I was able to build my own Menu at a nice resteraunt that I know wouldnt break my bank, even if everyone bought the most expensive thing on my menu. I limited drinks to non-alcoholic and everyone had a blast. it was much more intimate and personal.

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cromartie
January 29, 2009 5:39 PM
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@janetcarol: Exactly. There are a myriad of ways to have a wedding for under $5k.

Including:

Have a daytime reception rather than a night time one. The food costs less, the rental fee for where the reception is is cheaper, and your guests will hate you less for it. Wedding guests hate hate hate the day night double header.

Stick to the guest list. If your parents want to bring 80 additional people from work, they can pay for the 80 additional people from work.

Have a reception someplace non-traditional. I find nothing more disheartening than finding out a reception is at a reception hall. The food sucks, the decor is crappy, the entertainment is lame. Non traditional is appreciated by your guests and less expensive.

And my two favorites:

Elope and have a small party later and

Don't get married to begin with.

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matt314159
January 29, 2009 4:38 PM
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Citi tried that same crap with me on my platinum select card. My APR before,was 6.99% (variable, prime plus whatever made it 6.99 at the time)...just the other day I got a statement in the mail stating my rate had gone up to 24.99%!!!

I called in and asked, \"did I somehow miss a payment, or something, what did I do to deserve this?\"...the CSR responded, saying thee was nothing she could do, that \"due to the economic climate\" citi's cost of lending had gone up, and they were experiencing a higher than normal default rate, \"so they had to raise the rate on some of their cards\". She reassured me, \"It's not because of anything you have done, you are a valued customer to us, blah blah blah\".

To me, an increase from 6.99% to 8.99% might help cover increased costs, but from 6.99% > 24.99% with nary an explanation was ridiculous. She told me that I could either a) accept the new rate, to keep my card active, or b) leave the interest rate at the old rate, but my card would expire at the end of the year and would not be renewed. I told her, I'll go with a third option, cancel now and let them lose me as a customer altogether. (yes, I know how to play the retentions game)

Got a very helpful \"account specialist\" who understood that a ~300% increase in my APR was unacceptible, and offered me a promotional rate of 3.99% for the next nine months for my balance and new purchases, at which point the card will go back up to 24.99% (the \"old\" (new) rate), and so, come September, I'll call back and wrangle with them again, if they want to keep my account.

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3 replies
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Dan Cull
January 29, 2009 9:43 PM
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@matt314159:

Make sure your balance is zero when the nine months is up. They refuse to lower it, tell them to screw off and you get off scott free. They lower, it, cool.

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matt314159
January 29, 2009 11:00 PM
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@Dan Cull:
Yup, I plan to. This is ridiculous, I shouldn't have been carrying a balance in the first place, but I plan to have that card paid off in a few months. I just find it amazing the balls they have to think I'm just going to go along with a rate increase from 6.99% to 24.99%! the 6.99% wasn't a promotional rate or anything, that was simply my APR after seven years of good payment history on that particular account. Like I said before, I can see an incremental increase, but the spike they tried on me was to the point where I thought I had mistakenly hit a penalty rate for something.

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scourgez
January 29, 2009 6:16 PM
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@matt314159: I received a letter that stated this was going to happen to my acct but a month later when i called to tell them i was going to let my card expire they told me that the APR increase was lifted from my acct.

I was upgraded from a platinum to a diamond preferred card a few months prior to the letter coming in the mail btw

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theblackdog
January 29, 2009 4:50 PM
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Anyone else notice that some of those cards still have activation stickers on them?

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trujunglist
January 29, 2009 7:34 PM
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@theblackdog:

I always leave my activation sticker on my cards. I don't really have a great reason but several minor and probably insignificant ones. Still, I do leave it on there. Just saying.

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theblackdog
January 29, 2009 4:52 PM
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USAA notified me recently that they're going to raise my rate from 7.9 to 9.9% and it won't be allowed to go any lower than that. I'm hoping they'll change that when I pay off my balance transfer.

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Pixelantes Anonymous
January 29, 2009 5:12 PM
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Balance transfer.

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davidc
January 29, 2009 6:30 PM
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This is exactly the wrong thing to do if your TRYING to build a good credit score / history.

It does seem like you had waaaaay too many cards though. Keep 1 Visa, 1 Mastercard and 1 Discover (and 1 Amex if you just have to).

Dedicate 1 card to gasoline, 1 card to groceries, and 1 card to all other purchases. Use all 3 cards for all purchases, and pay off all 3 cards every month.

Credit scores / history are more about how responsible you are with your credit and how good you are at using it / paying it.

If you *never* use credit, they your credit score will be terrible. The more you use credit responsibly, the better your score should be.

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FlyersFan
January 29, 2009 6:35 PM
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who the hell pays for a wedding on a CC? Dont these people know that money issues are the #1 cause of marital problems??


Whats with all these people thinking they deserve a $35-50k wedding when they only make like $35k a year? If you dont have the money dont spend it! I could think of 100 different things that much money could be used for a couple whos just starting out.

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jimconsumer
January 29, 2009 6:38 PM
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Christian -

This is what credit card issuers do, my friend. These people are evil. They will screw you. Virtually everyone who has ever had a credit card has been screwed in one way or another. Citibank once lost an electronic payment I made. I had a confirmation number from them saying it was paid, but they decided I didn't make my payment and jacked my fixed 4.9% rate to 28%. I get my next bill and there's $700 in interest and late fees!!! It took several months, calls to an attorney, and complaints with the BBB to fix it, but they STILL refused to admit their mistake, claiming I'm the one who screwed up. Bastards, all of them.

Do yourself a favor, my friend: Never, ever, ever use credit cards again. You cut them up, leave them that way. Close all of the accounts. Don't go back into debt - pay cash or use a debit card.

One more thing: You can get your APRs put back. Call the banks and DEMAND it. They will close your account (that's fine by you, right?), but they MUST let you finish paying it off under the original terms of the contract. That's the law. If they refuse, sue their asses for breach of contract. You won't have to do that - even telling them you'll do that will get this fixed.

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Chu-Chu
January 29, 2009 6:53 PM
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Anyone else notice that the credit card in the bottom center of the picture still has the 'Call this number to activate' sticker on it? Makes me think some of those 'credit cards' are either freshly ordered, or the fake cardboard cards that you are sent with 'your name here' to 'current residents' of an address.


I smell something fishy here....

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kwsventures
January 29, 2009 6:56 PM
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The credit card millionaire goes crazy.

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QquegChristian
January 29, 2009 7:45 PM
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I am the OP - I did opt out of both cards and those accounts will be closing. Some of my cards without balances are sending me notices of closure. I'm not actively going to try to close any of them myself and would rather keep them open for credit's sake, but oh well.

The cards are from both my wife and I and honestly, a good amount of those cards are duplicate cards that were sent to remind us that we have credit cards. 6 of them were the same exact Washington Mutual card--all 6 were NOT expired.

I wrote Chase last night. Those that are being affected by an APR raise should write their company a similar question...

\"As I'm sure you are aware, raising the APR on existing balances will be illegal in July 2010. I would like to know why a practice that has been deemed unfair to Americans and will be illegal next year is perfectly acceptable for Chase Bank today?\"

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Jevia
January 29, 2009 9:57 PM
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I had to laugh when one of my Credit Company A called me up to \"offer\" me my credit balance in order to pay off other higher-interest credit cards. I told Credit Co. A that it was, in fact, my highest interest credit card, so any balance I had on another card, I sure wouldn't transfer it to Credit Co. A.

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Jackasimov
January 29, 2009 11:16 PM
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Why credit card companies shoot themselves in the foot with these tactics I'll never know. It's this kind of short-sightedness that got us into this pickle we're in in the first place. Don't they realize that it's better to hold on to your customers (especially in this age of blog-gripers, where committing one small mistake, or making one off-hand remark can end up on blogs and forums around the globe), and treat them fairly then to piss them off and lose them completely forever. It's bad business.

After reading untold complaints about Chase raising the APR on their unwitting customers I've already decided not to ever hold one of their credit cards just on general principle. Now it may be time to reevaluate my relationship with Citi. Why give them my money and business if they're just out to screw us all?

Oh, and has anyone else been ushered to the side offices at Chase when going in to conduct simple transactions? This has happened to me three times now and I'm getting sick of it. They drag me back and try to evaluate my accounts to see if I've got the \"right type of accounts,\" and then try to get me one of their credit cards. I hate this shit and it eats up my time. I fell for it once (just the \"routine\" evaluation, not the credit card), I ain't falling for it again. It's like a used car lot in there.

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Charity Froggenhall
January 30, 2009 2:07 AM
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Wow, $20,000 debt paid down in 2 years. Good job, keep going!

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Alarmpro
January 30, 2009 4:38 AM
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Why aren't \"We The People\" charging the banks 30% interest on all the TARP money they were \"loaned\"?

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ageshin
January 30, 2009 6:41 AM
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I am astounded that people still haven't figured out that the credit card is a device to remove money from the client not matter what their credit rate. We need to reinstate the laws on usury, and return to some sanity on the matter of credit, ending the bank's line of easy money.

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QquegChristian
January 30, 2009 9:28 AM
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@ageshin:

I would agree that many people don't put that much thought into what credit cards are, ie: bank PRODUCTS that, like all products, generate profit... but, I think that there are plenty of responsible people out there that need or even just want a sort of loan under agreed upon terms that they know they can afford.

You walk into a restaurant and you know you can't afford the steak, so you order the burger. The problem is when the check comes and the price changed to the price of the steak AFTER you ate.

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fever
January 30, 2009 3:25 PM
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Wow, that was stupid.

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synergy
January 30, 2009 5:31 PM
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I still don't understand why people waste so much money on weddings. That money (if they had it) would better go into savings as a down payment for a house. $35K is just a lot of debt to put on cards. $15K, even, is still a lot of debt. I applaud them for getting down $20K, but damn.

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BytheSea
January 30, 2009 10:42 PM
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So now they have $15,000 debt and $0 credit. And what makes up a large part of your credit score, children? If you answered c) your ratio of debt to credit, then you know that acts of passive aggression only screw over the people who commit them.

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Anonymous
January 31, 2009 5:39 AM
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Having that many credit cards is likely to negatively impact a credit score, I would guess. I think it's fine to cut up the credit cards, unless you need one to, say, rent a car. Too bad they spent so much on a wedding. It's unnecessary. Our wedding (over 20 years ago) cost next to nothing, was great fun for everyone, beautiful music, spontaneous, flowers from the garden, outdoors in the sun, dancing to great musician friends (who were paid very well). Imagination outweighs spending a debt-load of money. People still bring up that day to us and say it was the most enjoyable and memorable wedding they have attended. And best of all, we're still happily married -- and debt-free, except for a very affordable mortgage.

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Anonymous
January 31, 2009 4:14 PM
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Financial guru Dave Ramsey is big on living without credit cards and strictly cash. If you can't afford it, you shouldn't buy it. If less poeple got themselves in trouble the banks would actually be looking for customers.

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Karen Hensley
February 4, 2009 10:35 PM
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Chase just did the same thing to me. The opt out forces you to closes your account which affects you credit score.

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Mark Bonner
February 19, 2009 12:59 AM
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I provide legal representation to folks whose interest rates are hiked. Mark Bonner; 127 NW 10th St.; OKC, OK 73103. (Anywhere in the nation through local counsel.) Feel free to write or send an e-mail if you are looking for financial relief. lmb@nemw.com.

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