My Weird Credit Card Bill

[Vinca]

As I've mentioned a couple of times, I'm working really hard to get the bloodsucking credit card companies paid off, paying hundreds per month more than the minimum due. So today I got a bill from Chase - as usual - and in the "minimum amount due" box it says "0." Nothing. ?????? There's still a hefty balance to be paid off. I checked the interest rates to see if they were somehow trying to divert me from noticing a giant increase, but they were the same. Why on earth would Chase decide to arbitrarily give me a payment holiday? Not that I'm going to take it. I'll be sending in another pile of cash every month until it's paid off. Do you think this is a new ploy to make more money off interest by letting a balance carry over?

[w4rma]

1. Make sure your most recent payment wasn't made late. It was definitely more than the minimum due. nt

[QueenOfCalifornia]

2. call the bastards....

and have a fun, little chat.

[Newsjock]

3. Chase Invites Customers To Skip A Payment, Accrue Finance Charges Instead

http://consumerist.com/5251541/chase-invites-customers-to-skip-a-payment-accrue-finance-charges-instead

Chase is being awfully nice to their customers in tough economic times. Many of their customers received statements this month with a minimum payment of $0, even though they have balances. How nice! Customers take a month off, Chase will just let finance charges accrue for them.

more

[Vinca]

15. That's it - out of the goodness of their hearts they're allowing us

to pile up more interest for a month. I imagine the teaser checks will be starting up again soon, too.

[adamuu]

21. ^^^ ANSWER ^^^ n/t

[Fresh_Start]

4. banks and credit unions have had 'payment holidays'

for more than 10 years based on my personal experience.
Yes, it generates more interest income.
So continue to make your payments.

[napi21]

5. CC cos. used to do that to me all the time. I never took advantage of it either,

and have been paying the entire balance monthly for years now. They're just trying to con you into paying more interest! I suspect they do this to their reliable customers as another way to make more money!

[Parker CA]

6. Very weird. I got the same thing on my recent statement. I'm paying as usual and

not going to let them tax me extra next month when the bill is compounded due to skipped payments. Sleazy tactic on their part that ends up adding to the bottom line of the ultimate amount due.

[glowing]

7. Yes, they do that. My mother has "0" due on most of her cards.. but

she doesn't want the interest to acru.. so, she keeps paying more than is due. Not sure what happens to your credit if you choose not to pay.

My husband's sear's card did that.. he took one month to try it out.. the next month he got a late payment..

[NMDemDist2]

8. if you made a big payment last time

they may have given you a 'pass'

that happened to me, I had no payment due on the last statement (as I had payed if off the prior month) but I sent in a big payment anyway knowing there was a charge coming in on the next bill. this month when the statement came in it showed no payment due with the new charge.

i'll be paying it off again anyway......

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. Yup yup

Zero that fucker out.

[NMDemDist2]

13. i only have one CC and I made sure it has a VERY low limit

I just use it to give me that extra couple weeks to come up with the cash

paid off every month every time.

[alcibiades_mystery]

9. Send them a few hundred!

We've got them on the ropes.

Pay 'em all off and fuck'em with a stick.

[ThirdWorldJohn]

11. They make money by charging you interest on the principle so....

If you pay the balance during the grace period then they do not make any interest. People who do this are considered dead beats by the credit card companies. And if you pay more than the minimum payment, then the CC company also makes less money on the interest so you are again classified as a dead beat by them. I once got a pay holiday from a cc company so I did not pay. I then decided to pay after the due date and used their bill to pay an amount, thinking that I would be ahead by paying off the cc company early. But no. They charged me a late charge. When I called to complain, I was told that I had payed after the due date so I had indeed paid late,and since I had decided not to take advantage of the pay holiday then I was obligating myself to pay by the due date - hence the late charge applied. So when I paid it off and canceled the card they had someone call me and ask why so I unloaded and of course they were all sympathetic and said that they really wanted me back. I told the I would accept their card when I saw pigs wearing space suits and boarding the space shuttle. It was the Union Plus Master Card.

[renate]

31. unreal

We've been fairly lucky--no credit card horror stories--but wow. :wow: What they did to you makes literally no sense.

[KarenS]

12. us, too,,,,,

We have a Chase Credit card and our last statement showed 0 as the minimum due,,,, We have been aggressively paying off this card so there will be no skipping a payment for us either.

and yes, I think it's a way for them to get more interest.

[TwixVoy]

14. You call them bloodsuckers

yet why did you charge up the card?

[Vinca]

17. I was stupid. And they are bloodsuckers.

[moez]

24. What - are you 5 years old?

Did they force you to buy a bunch of burritos at Taco Bell or a bunch of albums that you couldn't afford? If you couldn't pay cash for the stuff, then you shouldn't have bought it.

If the bill says zero amount and you want to pay more... pay more - problem solved.

I really can't figure out whining about a credit card company when YOU'RE the one that used the card. Should you get the shit for free?

[Vinca]

25. I have never referred to anyone on DU as an asshole before,

but you are an asshole. If you must know, we had a few rough years and were trying to stay afloat. No lavish vacations, no "bunch of albums," no Taco Bell. We are now doing much better and getting all the bills incurred paid off. Anyone who thinks the credit card companies - who raise interest rates and terms and sign up people without incomes - are not bloodsuckers is living in some weird, parallel universe.

[moez]

26. Just one post before

you say you did it because "you were stupid".... I guess that didn't suit your "poverty" argument very well this time, did it?

[SmileyRose]

38. What's up with the bully thing?

The fact she was inches away from her whole life blowing up in her face, grabbed what she thought was a helping hand, picked the only way out she could see, ended up pwned by the fucking bloodsuckers, and is now working her own way out of hell isn't bad enough for you? You have to bully her on top of that?


Unbelievable.

[moez]

27. Just one post before

you say you did it because "you were stupid".... I guess that didn't suit your "poverty" argument very well this time, did it?

[Vinca]

28. Not so stupid I post something twice.

[moez]

30. Good point!

Accidentally hitting the "post" message twice is far more stupid than spending more money than you earn and then blaming the credit card company. It's just so hard to pass up those shiny little items in the store checkout line!

[konnichi wa]

34. How odd...staying afloat is stupid.

Never would have thought of it like that.
:D
:hi:

[Ignis]

35. Translation: "Are there no poorhouses?"

Things happen: layoffs, medical bills, car repairs, etc.

People aren't perfect, and sometimes they need to pay for something NOW, regardless of whether or not they have the cash.

Empathy is free, however. Try it sometime. :hi:

[chatnoir]

37. Yeah, why on earth would someone try to get the 411

On the racket the CC companies run. :sarcasm:

Did they force you to buy a bunch of burritos at Taco Bell or a bunch of albums that you couldn't afford? If you couldn't pay cash for the stuff, then you shouldn't have bought it.

And did anyone force you to sound like a jagoff?

In every post i've seen of yours you sounds crass or rude or both.

[Bill McBlueState]

43. I like it when DUers are assholes toward people with money problems

It's totally consistent with the philosophy at the root of the Democratic party. :thumbsup:

[Sherman A1]

16. Wanna have some fun?

When you do get them paid off and there is no activity on the account, pay ahead by even just a couple of dollars. They will then have to keep sending you statements that costs them more money. I find it's even more satisfing than sending back the credit card offers torn up in their postage paid enveloples.

[Vinca]

18. I wonder if concrete would set up in those postage paid envelopes.

:rofl:

[zipplewrath]

20. Lead tape

A guy I knew had lead tape. He would put some inside of the envelope. It made it go over the weight limit and run up their bill. He guessed they never figured it out because they'd cut it open and the tape won't fall out.

[Sherman A1]

29. Probably not, but

you could attach it to a brick.

[SmileyRose]

39. You have to read this.

My brother got sick of all those offers and started collecting really heavy small objects someone was getting rid of. If it was too big for the envelope he'd find a spare shoebox or something put as much heavy trash in it as he could find (even if he had to put some rocks in it) and send it back with their pre-postage envelope taped on top. He even made a point of putting his return address on it and putting all of the paper from the envelopes in there so they knew exactly who it came from.

He's ever only had one card, never run a balance, fortunately never been in a situation where he had a crisis and no money. But he hated them anyway. Obviously not effective but it made him feel better. :)

[SoCalDem]

36. I had a $14.12 credit with some card for MONTHS

I called them to see if they would mail me a check.. their suggestion was to buy something near in price..I said I wanted a check.. They sent me a FORM to fill out, so I just let it sit there as a credit..and after 6 or 7 months of mailing me a bill, they just sent me a check:evilgrin: I'm sure it cost them more than $14.12 :)

[Sherman A1]

41. Yes,

eventually they will mail you a check, but in the mean time they will send you statement after statement that costs them money. I think of it as simply wonderful.....

[JimWis]

19. Actually I think it is because you paid ahead - this also pays

your minimum ahead. I noticed if I pay a large amount extra on my card, it lowers the usual minimum on the next billing cycle. By paying a large amount ahead, you have satisfied your minimums for ensuing months.

[JNelson6563]

22. If you don't make a payment

your balance goes up and they make more. Pretty simple really. Just like the notion of personal posts actually belonging in the lounge.

Julie

[emmadoggy]

23. We got the same thing on our Chase bill...

I had to do a double take and then read the fine print that explains about "letting you take a month off" - yeah, while you still rack up my interest. No thanks, payment sent as usual.

[konnichi wa]

32. If you're making minimum payments, the difference is a few pennies.

But then if you're making minimum payments, you'll be paying for a hundred years anyway...

[Catshrink]

40. Me too -- here is the text

You have the flexibility to skip a payment. You must pay
past due and overlimit balances immediately. However,
the remaining minimum payment for this month has been
reduced to $0. Finance charges will continue to accrue.
To reduce your balance, feel free to make a payment.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[NoPasaran]

42. One of my cards has done that for years

Now, I almost always pay my balance every month, so the fact that the minimum payment may be zero doesn't really matter to me. But on the rare occasions when I've paid the bill late, it is nice because, while of course there is a finance charge, they don't hit me with a late payment fee on top of that.