credit card meltdown

You went into your loan with eyes wide open at the bottom of the business cycle versus so many who are now claiming fraud, etc. in a down market.

Non-prime loans are not necessarily bad loans, they just need to be made to the right people under the right circumstances.

Bill Uffelman
Fighting the fight in Carson City NV for another 24 hours
 
Hi Folks,

I am back. Last time people did not like my attack on the present administration. Sorry, but now the credit card companies are attacking the people with the good credit ratings.

Being a small businessman, I am always looking for cheap money with a reasonable payback period. In small business, cash flow is everything.

Well it hit. I had a few good "till paid off" loans that I took out with my credit cards. The interest rates at the time were from 2.99 to 3.99% when the banks were getting 8 to 10% on business loans. So I took them out. To make sure the credit cards could not zap me by not mailing a bill and having the rates go to 18%, I set up a bank account I put my low interest credit card loans on automatic pay. Then they can't accuse me of not paying them. They would take 2% of the outstanding balance per month. My plan was to pay them off when I sold the Inn.

Today I received a notice from Chase Bank, that as of August 1st, they will now take out 5% per month. On a $10,000 loan that is a payment of $200 to $500 per month.
The fact that it will be paid off quicker is not my interest., but it sure is going to do a job on my cash flow.

Business in Nantucket is iffy in the Inn business. We are doing OK, but have to scramble to make it go. The usually tourist so far has not shown up.

On top of this, the local bank which is owned by a regional bank, which is owned by an international bank, who calls the shots says, "NO BUSINESS LOANS"

If I remember right, $700 Billion Dollars has been given to the banks and NOTHING HAS SHOWN UP TO THE SMALL BUSINESSMAN. If I was a member of a construction Union, lots of money is going to "shovel ready" projects, at "Comunity Standard Wages" That means Union Wages.

The small businessman is getting the, you know what I am talking about. These are tough times ahead.

All I am happy about is I didn't work for a large company and loose my retirement, or I didn't know Madoff or his friends.

Fred
 
Sorry Fred, that's really tough! Guess there's no help in the fine print somewhere that says they can't do that. Actually there's probably something that says they can! :smileo

Might be worth a call to explain your situation, all they can do is say no...

We've been trying to sell our second home in DownEast Maine for over a year. Not a nibble. Have taken it off the market, will spend a couple of months up there in the fall and set it up for rental next summer. Maybe break even, if we're lucky. Eventually this darn market will turn around. Hang in there!

Charlie
 
Well, Fred, you may not be happy to know that you're competing with every other business in subsector 721, "Accommodation" of the US Small Business Administration, table of small business size standards.

Considering that the SBA says you're a "small business" if you gross under $7,000,000 per year :shock: it looks like you have a lot of competition.

Personally I think the "small business" classifications need to be revised to reflect reality, not political expedience. IMHO a company with 500 employees is NOT a small business, and the vast majority of small businesses, even in the retail/wholesale arena gross far less than $7 million.

Bleah.

Don
 
Hi Folks,

To Charlie and Sally, thank you for your input. I told this story as a point of discussion.

To Martin, you are right on the point. This is what Dick Morris has been saying. Our present President is trying to move toward Karl Marx as fast as he can so when we kick him out of the Office it will be to late to bring back FREE ENTERPRISE ECONOMY.

What worries me is that what made America great has been the entrepreneur spirit and that is being sapped by our present administration. What has happened to me is a reaction to our Presidents great Credit Card Bill. If we can't get it from the people who do not pay their bills, we have to zap the credit worthy credit card holder.

I do not believe that I am alone.

Where I come from, having a good credit was very important, not only to run a business, but for purposes of general character.Now creditworthy People are the only ones left to Zap.

GOD BLESS AMERICA. SHE NEED ALL THE BLESSING SHE CAN GET.

Fred
 
ffheap":3eq9a3je said:
Stuff cut....

To Martin, you are right on the point. This is what Dick Morris has been saying. Our present President is trying to move toward Karl Marx as fast as he can so when we kick him out of the Office it will be to late to bring back FREE ENTERPRISE ECONOMY.

More Stuff Cut....

I do not believe that I am alone.

Last of the stuff cut...

Fred
Click to expand...

Fred, I can sum up your hypothesis with one word. HOGWASH!
 
Sounds like this topic has progressed way beyond the original scope, and I'm not gonna search to see if this suggestion has been covered, but: consider using a Visa or Mastercard Debit. It's accepted wherever their credit card cousins are accepted (fuel docks, retailers, online, etc.) and has the advantage of not letting the cardholder spend more than they have in their underlying bank account. Cheers! Mike.
 
westward":l30xypkw said:
...consider using a Visa or Mastercard Debit. It's accepted wherever their credit card cousins are accepted (fuel docks, retailers, online, etc.) and has the advantage of not letting the cardholder spend more than they have in their underlying bank account.
Click to expand...

I thought that for the last several years, but we just canceled ours - the drawbacks outweigh the benefit, for me.

Problem is, they're far more risky when it comes to fraud - real money is immediately gone from your account, which is often needed for other obligations. And as I found out recently, there's concern beyond fraud - "accidents" happen.

We have a scheduled coffee shipment every couple of weeks, which results in a $34 charge. Problem is, the vendor had a glitch in their system, and accidentally charged us $3400 - which the bank was happy to yank from our account.

The end result being, close to $200 in bank fees due to overdrafts (which were eventually reversed after many phone calls), and several days of hassle. Even though we caught it immediately, guess what...credit card processors will yank your debit/MC funds immediately when charged, but they take their sweet time with credits. It took 3 business days for the funds to reappear in our account, after the merchant issued the credit.

And, this was for an accident - where the vendor acknowledged the problem, and immediately issued a credit. In the case of fraud and a dispute, it would have been weeks before we saw the money back - assuming the bank found in our favor.

With a credit card, there would have been no "real" money affected. The bank can take all the time they wish on a disputed credit card charge, without affecting existing funds - the consumer has the upper hand, unlike a debit/MC.
 
I am in business, lo these past 50 years... We have a business credit card and a personal credit card so the accountant can separate the sheep from the goats... While I could get along without credit, it would be a huge hassle as the majority of the purchases we make, business and personal, are done over the phone, the internet, or on the road, marina, and airport where carrying many thousands of dollars of small bills in cash is really inconvenient...

The unsecured lending industry (remember your unsecured credit card balance is nothing more than a paycheck store-front loan) is being hammered by defaults... They will do whatever it takes to stay in business, which includes new rates and new fees... If we do not like their terms to do business with them, then we will have to get along without them...

OK, back to the purposes of this group... I am looking to purchase that retirement boat... While I can pay for it from savings, for various reasons I prefer to buy it on credit... In looking over the terms of various lenders I find that a Credit Union will lend to me at prime plus 2% if have the borrowed amount deposited as collateral... This looks to me to be the best deal around... So, I have joined a credit union...

denny-o
 
I have to agree with Fred on several fronts. Money flowed so freely that abuses, big abuses, occurred. So now the innocent have to pay for the backlash. I looked at a SBA loan years ago, and after spending hours talking to banks decided the red tape just wasn't worth the hassle. And I don't believe it has gotten any better. And as far as shovel ready projects, forget it. The only projects that are getting built are those that don't require a lot of planning and design. Things like barrier and guardrail on highways. And they don't create jobs or even save that many jobs. The people that do all the shovel ready projects were already working. My state estimates how many jobs they create by per million spent. Another gross exaggeration, egged on by the administration. And on the subject of shovel ready projects I feel very comfortable speaking to the facts. A portion of my day is spent working on those "shovel ready" projects. Trust me, you are not getting your moneys' worth.
 
Fred,

Thanks for the tip!
Today I received a notice from Chase Bank, that as of August 1st, they will now take out 5% per month. On a $10,000 loan that is a payment of $200 to $500 per month.
The fact that it will be paid off quicker is not my interest., but it sure is going to do a job on my cash flow.
Click to expand...

I called Chase and I am now in the same position. The balance transfer interest rate doesn't change but my payment goes from $300 to $750 per month!!!!

My list of banks to avoid:

Bank of America
Chase
Bank One

:thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown
 
Just got off the phone with Chase. They told us the same. Interest rate is going UP 3.25% and is variable on top of that. We have been loyal WAMU customers since I moved up here in 1999 and have both our primary and equity line of credit with WAMu, now Chase. Our primary mortgage is a fixed 5.75%. We'll see if it remains at that rate.

Both Meredith and I have excellent credit ratings, but when I spoke with them today their attitude was (pardon my language) "tough shit". :evil: On top of that the guy Meredith spoke with had such a thick foreign accent she could not understand WTH he was saying. When she asked, then demanded, to speak with someone else he HUNG up on her. :evil: :evil: :evil:

I just wrote them a letter saying if that's their idea of customer service close my account and let me know what we owe. It's amazing that someone with a great credit history is screwed and there is no loyalty among banks/CC companies.

So now I agree; CHASE SUCKS :amgry :amgry :amgry :amgry as does B of A...we need a middle finger emoticon; it's how I feel right now towards Chase.

I'm going to apply for a CC from the Honolulu Police Credit Union. I still have an account there.
 
Brats,

Washington C-Brats who are pissed at their banks may want to try Boeing Employees Credit Union. It is open to any Washington resident and we have been very satisfied with them since 2006.

Chase

:amgry :amgry :amgry :amgry :amgry :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown :thdown

BECU :teeth :teeth :teeth :teeth :teeth :thup :thup :thup :thup :thup :thup :thup :thup :thup :thup

Larry H
 
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