Got up way too early this morning and started reading recent BK news in the forum. Some of the posts depict how judges are fighting back against the banking and collection industries. Others define how making your payments ontime will cost you more money. I wonder what the next decade will bring.
I noticed my cc's were changing the terms every couple weeks to beat the new consumer laws that go into effect in Feb. First was Kohl's changing my due date, with the notice in fine print. Next, the nail in my financial coffin, was Discover changing my billing cycle to every 28 days. This means that in some months, I would have to make 2 payments...I only get paid once a month.
So was it just me and my debt ridden life...No, it is affecting everyone. My daughter maxed out her $500 limit cc, (they authorized the over-the-limit) and now they closed her account and harass her daily about paying it off. Funny thing is...she works, she has significant savings with them, she was never late on payments, she maxed it out buying school books and she has auto payment on the cc.....well she did. As a young borrower, shouldn't they act like she is a customer? Unfortunately, they lost a customer for life.
My admin "person" at work recently purchased a home with her outstanding credit, now all of her cc's are changing her terms and raising her interest rates. She has spent hours on the phone arguing with them only to close the account. They too lost a good customer for life.
At a time in our live that we need some consideration, understanding or help in buying groceries, the banks have decided to force so many into BK. They are more than happy to reap the rewards, but not assume the risk. I am convinced that BK could be averted for many if their creditors implemented a policy for dignity and respect.
In business, if I have a customer fall on hard times, I make consessions to get them back on track. I monitor them closely but I treat them with respect while I control my risk. They are a customer and when times are good, they will remember who helped them in a time of need.
These too big to fail companies have forgotten that customer's are the source of their revenue. You would think that will all those MBA's sitting at the mahagony desks, someone would have figured out that if you piss of too many customers, the future recurring revenue will fall.
I filed Chapter 7 because I was $85k in unsecured debt while my salary had fallen 30% over the past 2 years. Prior to that, I have 20 years of solid credit with no dings what-so-ever. The day I filed my FICO was well over 700. My trip to CCCS revealed that I had better interest rates, than they could negotiate with my creditors. I was an excellant customer to the banks, they made big bucks from me.
So.....why would they not help me in time of need. I only needed a year or so to increase my earnings enough to meet by obligations. Why do they not care enough to modify my terms temporarily?
As a business decision, I filed BK and I can assure you that over the past 20 years, I did NOT pay them nearly the $85,000 that I am walking away from. So did they make a good business decision...no, they will never have the opportunity to recoup the money or have me as a customer. It was a straight loss and when you consider the number of people doing the same thing...can that business survive? We'll see.
I noticed my cc's were changing the terms every couple weeks to beat the new consumer laws that go into effect in Feb. First was Kohl's changing my due date, with the notice in fine print. Next, the nail in my financial coffin, was Discover changing my billing cycle to every 28 days. This means that in some months, I would have to make 2 payments...I only get paid once a month.
So was it just me and my debt ridden life...No, it is affecting everyone. My daughter maxed out her $500 limit cc, (they authorized the over-the-limit) and now they closed her account and harass her daily about paying it off. Funny thing is...she works, she has significant savings with them, she was never late on payments, she maxed it out buying school books and she has auto payment on the cc.....well she did. As a young borrower, shouldn't they act like she is a customer? Unfortunately, they lost a customer for life.
My admin "person" at work recently purchased a home with her outstanding credit, now all of her cc's are changing her terms and raising her interest rates. She has spent hours on the phone arguing with them only to close the account. They too lost a good customer for life.
At a time in our live that we need some consideration, understanding or help in buying groceries, the banks have decided to force so many into BK. They are more than happy to reap the rewards, but not assume the risk. I am convinced that BK could be averted for many if their creditors implemented a policy for dignity and respect.
In business, if I have a customer fall on hard times, I make consessions to get them back on track. I monitor them closely but I treat them with respect while I control my risk. They are a customer and when times are good, they will remember who helped them in a time of need.
These too big to fail companies have forgotten that customer's are the source of their revenue. You would think that will all those MBA's sitting at the mahagony desks, someone would have figured out that if you piss of too many customers, the future recurring revenue will fall.
I filed Chapter 7 because I was $85k in unsecured debt while my salary had fallen 30% over the past 2 years. Prior to that, I have 20 years of solid credit with no dings what-so-ever. The day I filed my FICO was well over 700. My trip to CCCS revealed that I had better interest rates, than they could negotiate with my creditors. I was an excellant customer to the banks, they made big bucks from me.
So.....why would they not help me in time of need. I only needed a year or so to increase my earnings enough to meet by obligations. Why do they not care enough to modify my terms temporarily?
As a business decision, I filed BK and I can assure you that over the past 20 years, I did NOT pay them nearly the $85,000 that I am walking away from. So did they make a good business decision...no, they will never have the opportunity to recoup the money or have me as a customer. It was a straight loss and when you consider the number of people doing the same thing...can that business survive? We'll see.
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