I’ve said this before, but it’s amazing to me how aggressive credit card companies are, and the lengths they will go to try and “trick” the consumer. Sadly, they succeed more often than not. I think there are many people who don’t take the time to read the fine print, and get screwed in the process.

Over the past year, I’ve paid off a lot of debt. I’m down to nothing but my mortgage and a 2nd mortgage. So, I don’t have any credit cards any more. I’ve been there - done that, and have no intentions of EVER going back. I got an offer the other day that proclaimed in large orange letters on the front, 0% APR FOR LIFE*. They always throw that asterick(*) on there, don’t they? I’m sure that many times, you have heard “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. I will ammend that right here and now, and say “if it sounds to good to be true, IT IS”….the word probably can be thrown out.

I was curious exactly what the catch was on this one, so I took a look at the fine print. I only read the first couple of sentences and realized there was nothing new here. Basically what I learned about this particular offer from Discover Card was this:

• The 0% only applies to balance transfers, which will cost you 3% of that balance to transfer(minum charge of $10). So, if you transfer 5k, they will charge you $150 to transfer the balance to them.
• If they receive your payment even one day late, they can charge you a late fee of up to $250. Do you trust the US Postal service enough to place that in there hands? I wouldn’t recommend it.
• For you to enjoy(their words, not mine) this 0% APR on your balance transfer, you only have to make two purchases per month using this new Discover card. - gee, that sort of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?
• If you fail to meet their repayment criteria, the default APR of 30.99% will apply. Wow, that sounds like a great deal, huh?

Here’s the bottom line

Discover, or any other credit card company for that matter, are not looking out for your best interest. In fact, in my honest opinion, they are out to scam you. Some people believe that it’s OK to use these companies, and that if you’re smart about it, you can outsmart them and actually make money from them. What these people don’t take into account is the risk involved. I know that risk is present in every situation, but not at this level. These companies can litereally ruin your life.

If you are in credit card debt, do whatever you have to do to get out. Don’t play around with these companies. Their intentions are to trick you into thinking that your being ’sofisticated’ handling your money, but all the while they know that they will find a way to hook you. It will cost you a LOT of money to get out of the rut. Don’t take the bait. You play with snakes, you get bit. Play with fire, you’ll eventually get burned.

As far as I’m concerned, credit card companies rate right up there with cash advance services as being true scum of the earth.

My Experience(in brief)

After I got married, we racked up more bills quickly than we could afford. We both worked sales jobs and were paid commission, so neither of us had a steady paycheck. So we made the mistake so many others make everyday, we used credit cards to buy groceries, go out to eat, buy clothes, and whatever else we wanted. Once we slowed down enough to realize we were about $4000 in credit card debt, we tried to transfer the balance to another card with a lower interest rate. To make a long story short, the new card only accepted about half of the balance, so we now had two credit cards. Over the next several years, the debt multiplied to around $18,000. some of it was credit card debt, some was medical debt, etc. We’ve now been married for 13 years, and I’m still not completely out. I no longer have credit cards, but I still have some debt I’m trying to get paid off……..thanks to these credit card companies who prey on young people and thanks to our naivity.

If you’re considering signing up for one of these offers, heed my words. Save yourself a lot of money, years of frustration, and your freedom.

Filed under: Debt