But this sort of news story bugs the heck out of me anyway. We're not big credit card users in the first place (not anymore I should say), since the debit card came about.
I realize that having a credit card is a risky proposition. There's the chance you'll go crazy with unnecessary spending. There's a chance you'll only pay the minimum and take up 10 years of your life to eliminate the debt. What gets me though are the good credit card users and how much the companies despise them. The Barclaycard in the U.K. has decided that if a member pays his or her entire bill several months in a row, the company will shorten their payment time. The rational? It says it "never guarantees customers a fixed payment date each month" and they "clearly ... are not making as much money out of customers that pay their bill in full as (they) are out of those that borrow."
I didn't realize the credit card companies were hurting so. In fact, every other news story I hear about credit cards involve just how high a debt balance (into the billions of dollars) we all collectively carry.
Their suggestion? "A simple way to avoid the risk of any late payment charge was, Mr Barber said: "to set a direct debit payment up on the account.
"It is universally good advice to set up a direct debit for at least the minimum amount.
"That way you can make sure you are not going to be hit with any late payment charges, and obviously if you want to pay more on top of that direct debit it is very easy to do so." "
No late payment charges, but plenty of interest will grow. Just what the credit card companies want, and good money-minded customers avoid.
I'm thinking it's finally time to call in those 3 card cancellations we've been planning for the past month.
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