Guess what… EVERYONE in the U.S.A be prepared to pay an aditional 1-5% (per month based on your outstanding balance, not including finance charges, etc…) on all credit cards. I spent about a 45 minutes talking with a representative from **** about this. It is some serious BS, but it is true. This 1-5% increase is toward the principle though, and has been mandated by the OCC/FED, because they believe the current minimum payments (interest,principle, and additional charges vs. payment towards principle) is too low. People on tight budgets are not going to be happy. Seriously who does the govt. think they are that at a whim they can do what they want…Ohhh wait money talks…I think the reason for this is because of the recent mergers of Bank of America with Fleet, and MBNA and the subsequent debt BOA took on from these mergers. This additional charge according to ****will take effect for all cards at the beginning of next year for all credit card companies. :td: I think this is going to hurt alot of people.:mad: :evil: If you are affected call your credit card company and tell them or ask them if you do not know! -B
I wish I could post a link, but I recieved the intitial info through the mail from one of my credit card companies. I tried looking @ http://www.occ.gov, but like all US Gov. sites, it’s impossible to find anything.
i am not quite sure I understand…they are adding 1-5% amount to the minimum payment that then gets applied to the principal only? If that’s the case then it can only help you right?
The reason folks get into trouble is because they only pay the minimum which never gets you out of their trap. If instead a portion of the minimum pays down the principal then you are better off even if it means scaping out 1-5 extra dollars per 100 you are in debt for a payment.
but I may be misunderstanding the situation here.
Offcourse not everyone is so lucky to have that extra 5% 
otherwise it would be likely they payed allready ?
Exactly. What I don’t like is the fact that they are mandating it. Just another instance of the government slowly taking away our freedoms. When I have a balance, I pay more than the minimum. There have been occasions where I have had to use that extra cash for an emergency…so I would lower the amount of extra money that would go to the principle. Here is what really gets me mad. There is no grandfather clause. This applies to all people and to all accounts (as far as I know). What about the people who have had no choice and can only pay the pre-OCC minimums on their credit cards? If the government really wanted to help people pay off their debt, they would go after the credit card companies with their loan shark rates. But lets get real here we know that will never happen…to many greasy palms.
The new policy could have been implemented better. For example how about this taking effect on a certain day for all new accounts. People could do some finacial planning and take that additional minimum parment into account before they make the decision to use their card. The government should not tell us how to use our money. (SirQ steps of his soap box)
Credit cards are not mandatory, they’re a choice.
If you can’t pay off your monthly balance, then your spending more than you can afford.
I pay my bills, and or debt when I have it. So why don’t you read before posting.
Credit cards ARE manditory to live in this society. Try buying plane tickets or try renting a car or, for that matter, try buying anything substantial.
Sadly, today we live in a preditory economy that depends on ordinary people carrying huge credit card balances and government sanctioned lending practices that encourage things like speculative, interest-only mortgages (and the inevitable real estate bubble that accompanies such insanity).
Thanks to our “best-money-can-buy” congress, we are all blessed with an unregulated, usury-minded, banking industry and brand new bankruptcy laws that punish individuals thrown into debt because of catastrophic medical misfortune.
When we have a faux Republican adminstration that is hell-bent on dismantling social security while it bankrolls an unjustified war by committing this generation of TAX PAYERS and the next to a bottomless pit of national debt is it any wonder there are so many individuals who run their personal finances like the U.S. government?
Sheesh, indeed.
I did read your posts and you didn’t say anything like ‘I pay my CC bills on time.’ And if you do, why do you care? This doesn’t affect you then, right?
Ursury? lol are we in Bliblical times now? Yes, God forbid the Banking industry relies on interest to make money.:D
Most people I know who are in credit card debt, didn’t get there buy renting cars or buying plane tickes. More like dvd players, computers, Starbucks, Zbrush etc. By blaming CC companies for doing business in a capitalist economy, while avoiding the enormous problem of people being irresponsible and pushing their debt on the taxpayer, ie bankruptcy, is absurd. Also, there are alternatives to Credit Cards, such as a Visa Check card, which can be used as a CC, but debits from your checking account.
Again, the bottom line is, if you get that cc bill at the end of the month, and you can’t pay it off, your spending more than you can afford. It’s that simple. Renting a car and buying a plane ticket aren’t neccessities in life. I suspect that ‘substantial’ has a different meaning for everyone, but I can’t imagine anything substantial that you can’t buy with cash/check. And you most certainly can buy a plane ticket without a credit card. Cash is still king.
If I couldn’t pay off my credit cards or let me say…if I couldn’t pay a bit more than my minimum, I sure as heck would be cancelling my cable and internet services and any other unnecessary stuff til I had them paid off.
I have been in some tight spots like having to live in my car or eating nothing but potatoes and peanut butter for a month in order to get myself out of them. If I don’t have the money I don’t charge anything unless for extreme emergencies.
most credit card debts are self-created by folks impulse buying things they cannot afford. A little common sense and a lot of will power and a desire to stand up to your own foolishness is how you get out of it.
I should have been more clear when I said, “when I have a balance”. I thought that was clear, but I was wrong. Why do I care? I care not for people that buy useless garbage. I care for the ones who are truely hard working and have no other choice.
This is not good news. Not good news at all. My wife just lost her job. Over half our income is now gone and my job is in jeopardy of being relocated. Sometimes life just sucks.
Here is a story about it.
Thanks posting a link about this, and I’m sorry to hear about your misfortune. -B
It’s definitely frustrating to hear that there may be an additional 1-5% charge added to outstanding balances each month. It’s important to stay informed about any changes that may affect our finances, so thank you for sharing your experience and taking the time to speak with a representative about it.