What does your credit card company know about you? NY Times Magazine

[sixmile]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/magazine/17credit-t.html?_r=1

snip

'So credit-card firms are changing their business plans. Gone are the days of handing out cards willy-nilly and hoping that the cardholders who dutifully pay up will offset the losses from those who default. Today companies are focusing on those customers most likely to honor their debts. And they are looking for ways to convince existing cardholders that if they only have enough money to pay one bill, it’s wiser to pay off their credit card than, say, the phone.

Put another way, credit-card companies are becoming much more interested in understanding their customers’ lives and psyches, because, the theory goes, knowing what makes cardholders tick will help firms determine who is a good bet and who should be shown the door as quickly as possible.

Luckily for the industry, small groups of executives at most of the large firms have spent the last decade studying cardholders from almost every angle, and collection agencies have developed more sophisticated dunning techniques. They have sought to draw psychological and behavioral lessons from the enormous amounts of data the credit-card companies collect every day. They’ve run thousands of tests and crunched the numbers on millions of accounts. One result of all that labor is the conversation between Santana — a former bouncer whose higher education consists solely of corporate-sponsored classes like “the Psychology of Collections” — and the man from Massachusetts. When Santana contacted the man last month, he was armed with detailed information about his life and trained in which psychological approaches were most likely to succeed.'

interesting piece. worth a read.

link to consumerist.com review of article

http://consumerist.com/5256326/your-credit-card-company-is-building-a-psychological-profile-of-you?skyline=true&s=x

snip

'Lenders have been using this sort of data mining ever since, but until recently they've kept it on the down-low to avoid triggering any privacy fears from customers. Now, with billions of dollars of losses from formerly profitable customers (i.e. the slightly risker ones) who suddenly can't pay, the lenders are using their psychological data not only to screen for the "right" sorts of customers but also to try to convince the bad ones to pay off their debts.'

[MorningGlow]

1. The silver lining in this mess

A LOT less junk mail. Hooray for the trees!

[w4rma]

2. Banks, not government, are today's big brother. (nt)

[I Have A Dream]

3. This article was very interesting. Well worth reading.

Thank you for posting it.

[HopeHoops]

4. Well MY credit card companies seem to know when I'm having a little "afternoon delight".

I'm not joking.

The bastards are almost ALWAYS the ones calling when I'm in the middle of "ahem" when my wife gets home on break and the kids are in school. How do they DO that?

[ret5hd]

5. Put a towel over the television.

They're watching too, ya' know.

[HopeHoops]

6. Actually, I don't think the ONLY active TV in the house has been on in at least three months.

We don't get cable. Pink Floyd's "13 channels of shit on the TV to choose from" has sort of exploded into nearly limitless channels of shit. The TV is mostly for VHS and LaserDisc viewing. We tend to watch DVDs on a laptop in bed (I have a 17" screen on mine).

On top of that, it can't be any insidious technology in the credit cards since I leave my wallet on my desk downstairs most of the time. They just KNOW it is nookie time and CALL! Bastards.

[ret5hd]

7. Ohhhhh...so you think the tv has to be on.

[HopeHoops]

8. IT ISN'T EVEN ON THE SAME FLOOR!

And NOT in the room!

No pictures on the wall either, so it can't be hiding behind one of those!

[lunatica]

11. You ever heard of bugging your bedroom? Look at the dust bunnies under your bed

They're probably packing bugs!

[HopeHoops]

12. Those are roaches and they are in a union.

Roaches Local #48382888222 - they all have cards.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. cell phone...they can hear via the phone now..seriously.

But why are you answering the damn phone during the "private" time???????????
Put it on vibrate, at least.....:eyes:

[HopeHoops]

13. Hmmmm.. Vibrate.

Actually, the land line doesn't have that option. And I don't answer it.

[lunatica]

10. They sure pretend they don't know anything when it suits them

I decided to call their bluff when I was offered a credit card with a zero introductory interest rate by my bank because, they claimed I have such a good credit record. So I filled out their application and submitted it with the idea that if I got it I would transfer my balances there, or I would just cancel it. I didn't expect to get it though because I think they're just doing that to justify getting the money from the governemnt. A smokescreen to look like their legit. They wrote me a letter turning my application down because they 'Couldn't verify my employment'. That's just pure hogwash. I told them where I work and it's probably in all my credit card records too. Sure fellas, I see how hard it must be to verify anyone's employment.

So yeah, they don't know you when it's to their convenience. I wonder if I can just not pay the credit card bill and know they'll never find me! At least not while I'm at work!