Thread: Bill Collectors (rant warning)

I bought a new mattress recently, and the store offered free financing for 6 months, which seemed reasonable to me so I signed up for it. My first payment was due the 2nd month of ownership (May). Come the beginning of May, I logged into my account and it showed a minimum payment of $0.. I thought that was odd, but went ahead and paid $75 anyway (about what my normal monthly payment is to pay off in 6 months). Shortly thereafter I got a statement for a minimum payment of $15, with a due date of May 28. I, of course, ignored this since I had already made a May payment. Now in June I start getting calls from the lender (GE Money), and finally answered one, and they stated that I missed my payment for May, and I owed $15 plus a late fee of $40... but if I pay NOW over the phone, they will waive the late fee. I tried to explain to the guy on the phone that I had made a $75 payment on May 3, that should have covered the $15 payment, but he said the statement was for May 5, and since I didn't make a payment by the 28th it was a late fee.

Moral of the story, I (almost) got a LATE fee because I paid EARLY


Stupid. End of rant
Before people make the suggestion, I'm 99% certain this wasn't any sort of scam. I didn't even give them any billing information on the phone, they just used the information I had from the GE website.

Originally Posted by bbshriver

Before people make the suggestion, I'm 99% certain this wasn't any sort of scam.

Probably right. No need to ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence.

The "(almost)" leads me to believe that you got it straightened out, yes? Good for you if so. These days, especially with credit-card companies and billing offices, getting a problem taken care of in one phone call is an achievement.

One reason I use credit cards as little as possible.

~Rich

They waived the fee if I made a payment yesterday, so I just went ahead and made my june payment earlier than planned...

Credit Card Companies Suck the life out of you.

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

Credit Card Companies Suck the life out of you.

I'm sorry sir but i have to disagree, it's people who don't know how to manage their money and put themselves in debt that get their life sucked out. I am not directing this at you, am just saying people who get sucked in did it to themselves by purchasing what they can't afford and just want because they believe they deserve it
Not to pat myself on the back but, my credit cards acctually make me money by being able to keep money in interest bearing acct. longer plus cash back from using the card.
I know just one of my pet peeves

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

Credit Card Companies Suck the life out of you.

Only with your consent.
You have to be really careful in any financial dealings, especially when it comes to the small print.
These companies always tell you in advance what they are capable of, it's vital to take heed of what they propose.

+1 on those who advise taking extra care over your own financial dealings.

But...

Credit card companies, in their attempts to attract as many new customers away from their competitors as possible, have created some pretty damned opaque and confusing terms. Interest rates are a prime example, and even when we're told to pay attention to APR, I've found it's still not a reliable comparison. There are flexible deals, early repayment penalties, late penalties, and every trick in the book to make the offer seem better than it is.

And spending abroad is nearly an unfathomable situation. Some credit cards charge sky high rates for withdrawing cash abroad, others less so. Some debit cards from banks charge even higher rates despite 'conventional' wisdom that says it's cheaper to use them.

These guys (banks, credit agencies, cc companies etc.) are masters of making it as difficult as possible to see the whole truth. And it is not reasonable to place all the onus on individuals to navigate such murky waters.

The banks and credit card companies have been under investigation numerous times (certainly in the UK by the OFT) with regards to the structure of their deals to the public, and the charges they levy under certain circumstances. It's not just a case of buyer beware.

I must say, I have to agree with Mark here. Having worked for a high street bank here in the UK and seen the sorts of things that have caught people out, the banks are very tricksy when it comes to lending money.

An example of one sneaky trick is to give people a borrowing facility, such as an overdraft, and then increasing the limit once people have started using it.

Say someone earns £1000 a month and has a £500 overdraft; If they keep dipping into the O/D, then the bank increase the limit to say £1500, and then that person ends up living permanantly in the O/D and paying interest all the time.

I saw that happen loads of times where I worked, and my old bank tried it with me when I first started working, despite my telling them I didnt want the increase and to put the level back to its original limits. And thats why they're my old bank now!

I left retail banking a few years ago now, and I'm an accountant now, and even with that technical background some of these loan agreements are confusing. I've ended up working stuff out on paper to see what they're trying to do on more than one occasion now.

I do agree that the customer has the option to not spend the money, and they absolutely should think about how they can repay the debt BEFORE they spend the money, but the banks are equally culpable. Its not a case of the bank or the customer is in the wrong; They both are.

A few years ago it was very common to see 12 months interest free on purchases, and 0% balance transfer offers on credit cards, as well as interest free finance on everything from TV's to cars. All in the name of getting people to spend money they didnt have, and marketed by saying "You dont have to save for this TV/new car/holiday, you can have it NOW and for free! Live the dream!"

People were able to run up thousands of pounds of debt and live well beyond their means on these deals, safe in the knowledge that they werent being charged and didnt have to repay until next year. And even then they could just transfer it all over onto another 0% deal and delay things even more. And the banks were happy to lend because there was cheap credit available in the money markets.

But once that cheap money dried up for the banks, they wanted to call in their debts. And the people who'd run up a years salary on store cards, or extended their mortgage to buy a car, didnt have the money to pay, and what they'd spent the money on was now worth nothing (holidays, TV's, cars, sofas etc...) and thats where the problems started.



'Scuse my rambling!

IMO, its not just the banks (some of whom have been greedy and reckless with their lending) or the customers, some of whom have been equally greedy and reckless with their borrowing, but a combination of the two.

My parents had severe money troubles connected with their business when I was growing up. It is a long and painful story.
50 yrs on I am still running the business. What I learned was, to avoid if at all possible, borrowing money.

Sometimes you have to borrow to survive, that is the only time you should.

Never borrow to get that new car, or holiday, or set of golf clubs.
In the UK people even borrow tens of thousands for wedding ceremonies, some are still paying it off after they've divorced.

The only free cheese is found in mouse traps.

I don't want to dishearten you, but you made several mistakes:

Originally Posted by bbshriver

I bought a new mattress recently, and the store offered free financing for 6 months, which seemed reasonable to me so I signed up for it.

If you had the money, it would have been better to pay it immediately. Anything you need to sign up for / deal with other people on a continued basis only complicates things.

Originally Posted by bbshriver

My first payment was due the 2nd month of ownership (May). Come the beginning of May, I logged into my account and it showed a minimum payment of $0.. I thought that was odd, but went ahead and paid $75 anyway (about what my normal monthly payment is to pay off in 6 months).

That was your first mistake. If something seems odd, you check first. Banks and credit agencies don't like being paid too early, because that money is not supposed to come in yet, and it requires human interaction to make it go somewhere. Too early is as much a nuisance as too late. And if something seems wrong, it's always better to check than to assume.

Originally Posted by bbshriver

Shortly thereafter I got a statement for a minimum payment of $15, with a due date of May 28. I, of course, ignored this since I had already made a May payment.

mistake number 2. If you get formal papers, you check it with the sender before ignoring it. As with unscheduled payments, banks and credit unions don't like it if people ignore letters.

Originally Posted by bbshriver

Now in June I start getting calls from the lender (GE Money), and finally answered one,

So you ignore the first couple of mails as well?
You should have known by now that something was amiss, no?
Ignoring people doesn't make them or the problem go away.

Originally Posted by bbshriver

Moral of the story, I (almost) got a LATE fee because I paid EARLY

Yes, paying early is as bad as paying late.
Those finance systems know when to expect a certain amount. all money that is outside of the window or in a different amount causes problems.
If you pay bills and pay 1 cent too much, you are causing significant problems and paperwork