51–60 of 231 posts
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My experience says otherwise (without going into detail). Consumer protections against creditors/debt collectors in the US are stronger than in the UK.
I think what they're saying is that the bank exercised their lien and claimed the mortgaged property, whereas card debt is unsecured and there's no collateral to claim.
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At the time, I was backed into a corner so to say. It wasn't something I went into willingly. My HOA would not allow me to rent the townhouse out (too many rentals already), nor could I come up with the $150K to bring the mortgage down to the new fair market value. So, mailed the keys back to the bank and walked away.
> My HOA would not allow my to rent the townhouse out (too many rentals already), nor could I come up with the $150K to bring the mortgage down to the new fair market value. So, mailed the keys back to the bank and walked away. Note that this doesn't actually work to reduce your debt everywhere (even everywhere in the US); its basically voluntarily inviting the bank to foreclose, which they usually will do (because i…
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There's a few services that will act as intermediaries for you like https://www.plastiq.com/ which charges 2.5%. I learned about these services on Slickdeals in a discussion on how to quickly rack up credit card reward points. A Google search turns up this list http://www.doctorofcredit.com/complete-list-of-options-for-p... (I'm not affiliated with the author).
How do you make this profitable with a 2.5% service charge?
Sorry for being pedantic, but the correct term is "could not care less". Otherwise you are suggesting that they do care.
The initial usage is correct; credit card companies could care less about customers who pay off their balances every month, because such customers generate negligible revenue and are thus on the whole a nuisance.
Not to mention, people who regularly pay off their card in full are more able to spend far more than than their credit limit in a given month.
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> Sticking up a middle finger will trash your credit rating and make it impossible to get a mortgage. I walked away from an underwater mortgage on a townhouse. It only caused my dropped my credit score ~100 points, and was eligible for another mortgage after 3 years (My credit card provider didn't blink, and had no problem allowing me to keep a charge card with high five figures of credit available). The repercussion…
That's incredible. I wonder how typical your experience is. I've considered this strategy on a home we are forced to rent at a loss, as we'd be unable to sell. But I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Honest question. There aren't debit cards in the united states? They are simple plastic cards like credit carda but the bank is withdrawing your money directly from your account. There is not debt involved.
It was interesting that a year ago the media was saying that Americans were pulling back on credit use, and paying it down. [1] I'm curious if that was honest reporting, or if something changed which caused people to spend more? [1] http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/04/07/americans-pull-bac...
"Because many creditworthy consumers are still cautious about spending, lenders are turning more aggressively to subprime borrowers. Lenders issued some 10.6 million general-purpose credit cards to subprime borrowers last year, up 25% from 2014 and the highest level since 2007, according to Equifax."
"Overall, lenders gave out more than 104 million general-purpose and store credit cards in 2015, up 6.5% from a year earlier and up 47% from the bottom in 2010, according to Equifax."
We have not yet come to terms with the fact that the overwhelming majority of people outside of a tiny sliver of elites are going to be lucky to afford bare subsistence in the years to come. Credit card debt lets us delay confrontation with the reality that wages have not grown enough, employment is not strong enough for most people in middle-class jobs to live the lives we used to think of as middle class.
Of course you reach for plastic before you stop buying groceries.
Best part is credit card debt is typically unsecured - spend, consume, enjoy, stick up middle finger when repayment is due. Those who do repay will of course sub those who don't over the long course in the variable rates and fees.
> stick up middle finger when repayment is due Err, what a terrible idea. That might work once, sure. Then you're pretty fucked for a long time. The only way to avoid the collections would be to full on declare bankruptcy. Honestly there's basically no situation in which that's a good idea unless you're actually bankrupt.
Depending on amount owed, this may not be true. Any unsecured default under ~$10k, the only consequences are usually a credit report hit and incessant calls from debt collector call center workers.
Over ~$10k, and yes, you're talking attorneys, judgments, garnishments, etc.
One thing that's unclear for the article: does this include debt that never incurs any interest? I typically have an outstanding balance in the 3-4 figures on my credit card because I pay for rent, gas, and airline tickets with credit. However, it gets paid off every month. I guess that's technically debt, but it's not problematic or anything... I feel like the majority of credit card debt is the type of "debt" that…
Your feelings are way off. Most credit card debt is not paid off every month. Not by a very very long shot. Average credit card debt per U.S. adult, excluding zero-balance cards and store cards: $5,232.43 Average debt per credit card that usually carries a balance: $7,494.44 Average number of cards held by cardholders - bankcards: 2.24 Average debt per credit card that doesn't usually carry a balance: $1,128.44 http:…
That is amazing and terrifying.