Credit Card companies are the root of all evil!

At a time when I thought I was drowning financially, credit cards kept me afloat. When my father was sick, I took a lot of unpaid time off from work. This lasted a few years until I lost him. I don't regret a single minute that I spent with him, those memories are precious. I used my cards to pay for food, gas for work, property taxes and to replace my roof. I always convinced myself that I would get out from under the weight of the debt but as my card balances increased, so did my interest payments and invariably, so did my debt. I almost lost everything. My everything isn't much, it's a tiny little bungalow, not too much room but enough. It's home.
Lasy year I landed a sweet higher paying job and pounded away at my highest interest cards and finally paid off 3 of them in December. The only remaining one was a very low interest card that I've been pounding away at since December. I opened my recent statement and saw that they've jacked up my interest rate. I hit the bloody roof!!!
I called the number on the back of the card and asked wtf was going on and it seems that I've been late with 4 payments in the past year. Yes, I have been. I'm a single mom with two jobs, trying to keep a house, take care of two daughters and am putting one of them through University. I didn't realize that I was late or missed payments but it's possible and when I looked over my statements, they were right. I explained the situation to them, asked them to review my payment history before and after I started having trouble but it didn't do any good, they refused to lower the "performance based interest" rate. I ranted at 4 different people, called 2 different numbers but they wouldn't budge. I asked them that if someone was obviously having financial issues, was their solution to make things more difficult by increasing the interest rate? How does that make sense? How does that help? I pointed out to them that last year, I simply could have walked away from all my debts but I'm not that person so I'm working extra hard to pay them off and they still wouldn't give me a break. They were heartless in their responses. I threatened to walk away from this debt. I told them that I give up, that I'm tired of getting screwed over and I'm done. Still, nothing. They said they can't adjust the rate over the phone. Now, if I wanted to apply for a card, or increase my limit, they can do that over the phone. Anything that works in their favour, we can do over the phone or on line. Anything that works in my favour and they can't help me.
After a sleepless night, I decided that I cant walk away from this one, but I'll be damned if I'm going to allow them to collect extra money from me with those high interest rates so once again, I am in power saving mode, living extremely, extremely frugally and I'm paying that sucker off as fast as I can. I am doing it for spite.
I watched a documentary on the monetary banking system not too long ago and it made me angry. I am done being a slave to the banks. No more credit cards, no more dealing with big banks. No more supporting big box companies, I will support smaller local businesses instead. I am refusing to support a system that is screws people over so that the richest can get richer. Case in point:
Ba nk CEO gets pay hike during staff lay offs

TD bank was busy laying off staff and increading their fees while their CEO gets a 10% pay hike. At a time of bank staff lay offs, Canadian banks posted a $35 Billion dollar PROFIT in 2015. Hands up anyone who saw their banking fees decrease? No one.....

What would happen if we all cut up our cards? If we all started to live within our means, stopped upgrading our cell phones every time a new one came out, stopped buying 52" flat screens, stopped trading up our cars, buying houses with more space than we'll ever need, shopped at locally owned stores, cancelled our 1000 channel HD cable packages and started spending more family time together or read a book instead? What if we all decided that if we can't afford to pay cash, we shouldn't buy it? Would we be worse off? No. I really think we'd be happier. They only people who would suffer are those who get rich off our gluttony and debt. That is the only way I can think of to get them back, we stop playing their game. I am responsible for my debts, I racked them up, that is my fault. I blame banks and credit card companies for making it harder to pay them back. I will never make that mistake again..

Thanks for letting me rant. Seems like I didn't get EVERYTHING off my chest when I blasted the card company yesterday......

You have my deepest sympathy. For political reasons, my PhD thesis was dragged out for four extra years. I had to live off a credit card during that time. As fast as my parents tried to help me pay off the credit card and keep the account down, they would jack up the interest rates. That's seems to be their goal - to let people fall into a debt trap where their maximum payments only cover the interest.

Just to make things worse, they tacked on PPI - it took a legal battle of six years with Clydesdale bank to get £12,000 of interest returned from them. Had to go to the Financial Ombudsman to get a legally binding ruling that they had to obey.

So the credit cards that kept you afloat are the root of all evil? Allowed you to take time off to be with your father.
I get that interest rates and such are bad but it was a life line. Now time to pay the piper.

I am sorry about losing a loved one and not trying to be harsh.

We all know cc interest and payback can be a bitch, be thankful you had them when you needed them.

a reply to: tinner07

I am thankful that I had them when I needed them but it makes absolutely no sense to me that if someone is having difficulty making payments on the principle amount, they jack up the interest rate and make it harder to pay it off. I havent used a credit card in over 2 years, have just been paying them off. Yes, they were my life line, gave me money when I needed it, they were more than happy to help. Now that I've been working harder to pay them off, they're making that more difficult. Yes, for those who can't afford to pay off their balances every month, they are evil.

a reply to: stormcell

I'm not sure what "PPI" is but I'm glad you got it back. My daughters understand that I'm a single mom and they both have jobs. I will help them both through the first 2 years of University but only if they have jobs while they go to school and through the summers. I didn't have financial help getting through school, I worked my way through and survived, so will they. If I could do more for them I would but that's just not possible. I still have a 93 year old mother I care for so it's a balancing act for me. I hope you appreciate how your parents have helped you, and I wish you much success.

I learned my lesson with credit cards 12 years ago. I was a shallow, materialistic fool who desired frivolous objects I couldn't afford. Thought life was all about "things". I realize now how ignorant I was. Spending above my means simply to maintain an image I wanted to portray. Threw money away to impress females, friends and even strangers. When it all came crashing down, the fair weather friends and females were gone and I was left with 20k in debt.
Starting over was difficult. Changing your ways after becoming accustomed to a certain lifestyle isn't easy. Took a long, honest look at myself in the mirror and admitted my mistakes and poor choices. Reevaluated what was truly important in life and made major changes. Focused on my needs, not my wants. Started living frugally and budgeted my money. Transferred the high interest card balances to cards with introductory, 6 or 12 month, zero interest rates. Literally kept playing switcheroo for years with credit card companies and paid minimal interest. I'd cut the card in half as soon as I got it, in order to avoid the temptation of using it. It wasn't easy but eventually I climbed out of that hole. I'm proud to say I haven't swiped a credit card in nearly a dozen years and my life has improved exponentially. I'm at peace having less material things now. The feeling of being free from the burden of debt is truly priceless and no credit card can ever purchase that. Sounds like you're on the right track , meemaw. Keep plugging away and never fall prey to these blood sucking credit card companies again. Best of luck!

Actually, I think it's a lot of these middlemen who create so many problems. The people who sell their services as some kind of financial cushion. In the end, all they end up doing is luring you in with false promises and abusing the situation they have you in once you can't get out.

Pretty much all credit and the entire insurance industry/ In the US this is a huge issue because the insurance industry really has us by the balls now. Before it was just auto insurance that was mandatory. And even that was only if you had a car. Now they can just abuse the hell out of that with wild abandon.

That said, I think it's an intentionally manufactured problem. They knew all along as they were building all this up around us that it would cause the average person to hate capitalism. Makes you wonder why a capitalist would do that, huh?

I'm sorry to hear of your struggles, but I'm happy to hear that you are working your way up!

We maxxed our credit card to take a month-long trip to a city I would have loved to never return to in order to take care of my husband's father. It was awful to pay back, but we finally did. I know how you feel!

If you haven't heard of him, Dave Ramsey greatly helped inspire me to work hard. I'm happy to say that when my father-in-law recently passed uninsured and with no will, we were able to pay his funeral expenses (although it sucked!!!) without using that stupid card. I'm sure you will be here soon.

Check out www.daveramsey.com if you're interested. There is a radio show and people call in to scream when they pay off all their debt. It is so awesome and brings me to tears often!

I got rid of all credit cards years ago and any offers I get in the mail [ at least 2 every day ] go straight to the trash. I live within my means and pay cash if I want something. If I don't have enough, I don't buy it. If I learned one thing, it's that They. Don't. Care. if you're in a tough spot. As long as they get their money, it doesn't matter if you and your kids starve or live on the streets. The people who work for them don't care as long as they get that money out of you and will follow the company line, no matter what.

a reply to: meemaw

Good for you!!! I'm sorry you've had to go through this, but I'm happy you learned from it.

We live in a debt-based society, wherein our "free market" is geared towards what we can afford to borrow... not what we can afford to purchase. We are encouraged and even pushed into being economic slaves, the opposite of true freedom. People who owe are not free.

Like you, we've changed our spending habits to not support this system. We've joined a credit union to do our banking 20+ years ago and never looked back. Our only debt is our mortgage -- and if I could pay that off, I would. Instead, we pay a little extra to principal every month to pay it off faster. No credit cards, no auto loans -- no other debts. We buy appliances and other big ticket items used or reconditioned with cash. We shop mom and pop stores wherever possible. We reuse, recycle and repurpose.

We could take down the too-big-to-fail banksters in a heartbeat if everyone just moved their money to credit unions and small local banks. Everyone could afford a home if we didn't play the usury game.

Good luck with that last credit card... and brightest blessings in your new future!

a reply to: meemaw

Holy wall of text batman....... Much easier to absorb a narrative if it's broken up into paragraphs.


I wouldn't say credit cards are the root of "all" evil, but they definitely are evil. I think usury is the bigger issue. Doesn't matter what kind of loan be it basic credit, housing, education, etc, etc, when you get interest rates above 12% you're just creating a slave class by default.

It's usually the lower classes in need of credit. In not being able to make enough for their basic needs they borrow against their future labor and fall into deeper debt. When that piper comes calling they borrow even further creating an endless cycle nearly impossible to dig out of.

My condolences to the OP.

a reply to: meemaw

IMPORTANT - Never pay your credit card debt!

So your rating is shot yeah? Max the cards. Let them go to debt collectors. IGNORE THE DEBT. Until you get a County Court Judgement then send off a CCA request to the debt collectors. They will NEVER have the original documents.

Only works in UK.

Is terrible for your credit rating b

How many people would be so forgiving if their employer was late paying them a third of the time?

Sorry to be that guy but it says right on the paperwork they can raise interest rates in event of late payments. They waited until multiple late payments in this case.

a reply to: Tuomptonite

Thank you for sharing your inspiring story. We believe what we are told, we buy into the media, adds and commercials that tell us that bigger is better, newer is better and that financing to get what we want is perfectly ok and when we get approved for that financing, it's a big pat on the back.
My family growing up was happy. By todays standards, we would have been considered living below the poverty line. We had 1 tv, took family camping vacations, never ate out but our house was a happy cacophony of kids at play. Since becoming a single mom, I gave up my dreams of financial "success" and all that came with it. I have a cheap 23" flat screen and a 20 year old Sony that weighs 500 pounds. I haven't been able to afford to take my kids on the vacations we had when they were much younger but we are happy and have great memories together. I have a different definition of "financial" success now. It's not about " things" or what's in the bank. It's not owing anyone $$. It's falling asleep without a sleeping aid because I'm worried about $$. We don't go to movie theaters so I've been creative with family time. We have gotten to know the fabulous trails in my region and walk them year round. Being in nature grounds me and it's taught my girls how to love and appreciate the simple beauty around them and it's unchained them from their electronics and the tv.
I will never use a credit card again not just to stay out of debt, but it's my way of giving the finger to those who profit from people's hard financial times.

a reply to: Bluntone22

Yes, you are absolutely right, its all in the fine print and they are perfectly within their rights, but do you not see the irony in raising interest payments when someone is having financial difficulty? You are so right. I signed the card, agreed to their terms and now as someone else put it, have to "pay the piper" for money I borrowed while I tas taking my dad for radiation and chemo. Even though it's all clearly spelled out in writing, it doesn't make the practice of raising interest rates despicable.

originally posted by: meemaw
a reply to: Bluntone22

Yes, you are absolutely right, its all in the fine print and they are perfectly within their rights, but do you not see the irony in raising interest payments when someone is having financial difficulty? You are so right. I signed the card, agreed to their terms and now as someone else put it, have to "pay the piper" for money I borrowed while I tas taking my dad for radiation and chemo. Even though it's all clearly spelled out in writing, it doesn't make the practice of raising interest rates despicable.

In the real world it doesn't matter that you were taking your dad to anything..

Everyone has a sob story that isn't changed by the fact that it's all defined before you applied for and started using credit.

Like someone else said if your company is a few weeks late paying you when they signed a contract to pay you every two weeks how would you respond?

a reply to: meemaw


No argument there. They charge you more of what they know you don't have..
My wife works in financing and sees all kinds of situations like yours.
But for every one like you trying to do the right thing, she has ten making the wrong choices.

I often say we have one credit card left to pay off, and we do. It's the one my husband got in college when he was young, dumb and had no idea what financial literacy is. Flash forward, and it's still biting us. We are working hard to pay it down around all the other disasters in life.

But he fixed it good, and there were times when we were both dirt poor in the beginning when there was no other option.

Now, we are paying for that.

The interest rates do suck, but I think the bigger crime is that so few are taught the reality of the situation and what will happen if you fall into the easy credit trap. It's the easiest thing in the world to get caught in, and one deep dark, life-sucking pit to climb out of.

And now that we are finally climbing out and seeing the sun again, they add to the credit limit and all kinds of things to try to hook us back in. The worst of it is that we do throw a cheap charge on it and pay it off within a week or two just to keep the card alive. We do it because it helps build credit score and because you never know when you might have that emergency you have to pull out all the stops for ...

They are just a tool of the deceiver. Making us dependent on the system by keeping us in debt is one of the oldest practices I know of. It even addresses this in the old testament of the bible. You become a slave of the one you borrow from. Remember, the banks are just a tool. They work with governments.

21 years ago I claimed bankruptcy on all my credit cards,i haven`t "needed" one or had once since then,I haven`t even bothered to try and rebuild my credit score because I don`t want to be tempted to fall into that trap again.