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Credit card debt collection

bitsaboutmoney.com

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Re: Credit card debt collection

#101

Post by eru »

repiret wrote: post #93
eru wrote: post #36

> I will bet you that, in practice, they simply avoid collecting against anyone who demonstrates ability and financial resources to enforce their rights. This is one for the history books of borked equilibriums. We devoted substantial efforts to pro-consumer legislation to address abuse of (mostly) poor people. We gated redress behind labor that is abundantly available in the professional managerial class and scarce…

A little over a decade ago I knew a young adult in the US that had a pretty rough life and I was trying to help her get back on her feet. When you’re homeless, it’s hard to get mail, and hard to keep your stuff; going from nothing to your standard documents is tricky. To get your birth certificate, you need to write a check to the state at some address where you’ll be able to receive mail in 2-4 weeks. Once you have…

> That’s important to keep in mind when you’re thinking about welfare bureaucracy or voter ID laws or anything like that.

Amen to that. Though luckily while it's huge problem for the former, it doesn't matter for the latter. (Because individuals by and large don't benefit from being able to vote. Voting is at best something altruistic, individuals do out of civic duty.)

Re: Credit card debt collection

#102

Post by sixothree »

adev_ wrote: post #91

It might be a very European view to the problem but: Why does the American government does even tolerate this credit card garbage business in the first place ? We are in the 21th century. Most payment can be validated electronically and processed under 200ms. I can pay something with my phone and get money taken directly from my bank account within seconds. There is absolutely no need of Credit Cards where Debit Card…

I don’t know the answer to your questions. But I do know this. People generally are weary of using their debit cards for transactions because of the security and the direct access to bank accounts. We don’t have chip pin. And if a fraudulent credit card transaction appears there is generally a lot of consumer power to get that removed, after some time. But a fraudulent or simply inaccurate debit transaction happens to you can lose a lot more. And overdraft fees can cost hundreds of dollars in a bad situation.

Re: Credit card debt collection

#103

Post by eru »

c1sc0 wrote: post #100
adev_ wrote: post #91

It might be a very European view to the problem but: Why does the American government does even tolerate this credit card garbage business in the first place ? We are in the 21th century. Most payment can be validated electronically and processed under 200ms. I can pay something with my phone and get money taken directly from my bank account within seconds. There is absolutely no need of Credit Cards where Debit Card…

Because it stimulates the economy by making it easier to consume. Without consumption the whole house of card falls down.

It doesn't really make consumption easier.

In any case, you can just print more money, if people in the economy aren't spending enough. (In more formal terms: the central bank can control nominal gross domestic products.)

Re: Credit card debt collection

#104

Post by nevir »

relyks wrote: post #99
adev_ wrote: post #91

It might be a very European view to the problem but: Why does the American government does even tolerate this credit card garbage business in the first place ? We are in the 21th century. Most payment can be validated electronically and processed under 200ms. I can pay something with my phone and get money taken directly from my bank account within seconds. There is absolutely no need of Credit Cards where Debit Card…

A lot of credit card companies offer cash back or redeemable points towards other purchases like for travel. If credit cards are used effectively (you pay back every statement balance) and the merchant isn't significantly raising the price of goods or services for transaction costs, you can make a serious amount of money back, easily in the amount of thousands of dollars per year from normal everyday use. Edit: When…

But those thousands of dollars are effectively subsidized by every one making a credit card purchase (e.g. merchant fees) - and not everyone being able/savvy enough to utilize them well

Consider how much cheaper things might be across the board with lower fees

Re: Credit card debt collection

#105

Post by eru »

relyks wrote: post #99
adev_ wrote: post #91

It might be a very European view to the problem but: Why does the American government does even tolerate this credit card garbage business in the first place ? We are in the 21th century. Most payment can be validated electronically and processed under 200ms. I can pay something with my phone and get money taken directly from my bank account within seconds. There is absolutely no need of Credit Cards where Debit Card…

A lot of credit card companies offer cash back or redeemable points towards other purchases like for travel. If credit cards are used effectively (you pay back every statement balance) and the merchant isn't significantly raising the price of goods or services for transaction costs, you can make a serious amount of money back, easily in the amount of thousands of dollars per year from normal everyday use. Edit: When…

That money still comes from your spending with the merchant, so ultimately out of your own pocket.

But you are right, that the system is not very transparent, and merchants probably seldom give people the full discount of the costs saved when they use non-credit card payments.

Re: Credit card debt collection

#106

Post by adev_ »

relyks wrote: post #99
adev_ wrote: post #91

It might be a very European view to the problem but: Why does the American government does even tolerate this credit card garbage business in the first place ? We are in the 21th century. Most payment can be validated electronically and processed under 200ms. I can pay something with my phone and get money taken directly from my bank account within seconds. There is absolutely no need of Credit Cards where Debit Card…

A lot of credit card companies offer cash back or redeemable points towards other purchases like for travel. If credit cards are used effectively (you pay back every statement balance) and the merchant isn't significantly raising the price of goods or services for transaction costs, you can make a serious amount of money back, easily in the amount of thousands of dollars per year from normal everyday use. Edit: When…

Money does not grow on trees.

From my understanding this cashback systems come from two sources:

(1) Money taken on processing fees on Merchants themselves.

(2) Money taken from the interests of debt from the people screwed by this entire system.

The first one is just an hidden tax and garbage profits made possible only due to the monopolistic behaviour of credit card companies.

The second one is just plain simply immoral.

Re: Credit card debt collection

#108

Post by DiggyJohnson »

owenmarshall wrote: post #64
dylan604 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never heard of buying credit debt, but I had heard of people buying medical debt in this manner. I get and respect the medical debt concept. Credit debt though is a tough one. How can you tell that someone ran up credit debt because they were paying for medical bills or something vs debt financing shopping sprees or vacations? Giving those who fall on hard times help is admirable. Giving people bad at personal fina…

This strikes me as the same as saying “but the homeless person might take my $5 to buy whiskey instead of a hot meal.” Or, possibly more apropos to your example, “how do I know my medical debt relief payment goes to someone who truly Deserves It because of bad luck and not someone whose poor diet and exercise habits lead to their stroke?” The system is designed to turn bad choices into bad luck - and the opposite - a…

You’ve misread the context so this insult is really out of place.

GP is referring to credit card debt, not medical debt.

Re: Credit card debt collection

#109

Post by turdprincess »

adev_ wrote: post #91

It might be a very European view to the problem but: Why does the American government does even tolerate this credit card garbage business in the first place ? We are in the 21th century. Most payment can be validated electronically and processed under 200ms. I can pay something with my phone and get money taken directly from my bank account within seconds. There is absolutely no need of Credit Cards where Debit Card…

On the other side, if you are privileged enough to be financially stable, in the USA it’s best to pay for every single thing with a credit card.

Aside from the points and rewards, credit cards are much more likely to reverse fraud transactions. I’ve had banks deny fraud reports and demand police reports while credit cards always reverse the transaction no questions asked.

Actually it’s best to not even have a debit card in your wallet if it’s linked to your main bank account - the only debit card I carry has access to an account with a hundred dollars or so just in case I need cash.

Re: Credit card debt collection

#110

Post by pavlov »

relyks wrote: post #99
adev_ wrote: post #91

It might be a very European view to the problem but: Why does the American government does even tolerate this credit card garbage business in the first place ? We are in the 21th century. Most payment can be validated electronically and processed under 200ms. I can pay something with my phone and get money taken directly from my bank account within seconds. There is absolutely no need of Credit Cards where Debit Card…

A lot of credit card companies offer cash back or redeemable points towards other purchases like for travel. If credit cards are used effectively (you pay back every statement balance) and the merchant isn't significantly raising the price of goods or services for transaction costs, you can make a serious amount of money back, easily in the amount of thousands of dollars per year from normal everyday use. Edit: When…

There’s nothing productive in the system creating that output. It’s just money redistributed from fees paid by the merchants and other customers.

It’s a bit like a casino: somebody can get lucky and get out more money than they’re paying, but most don’t. And the house (Visa/MC/Amex) always wins.

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