Gordon Hageman couldn’t believe the credit card offer he got in the mail.
“My first thought, it was a mistake,” Hageman said.
The wine distributor called the number on the offer, gave them the offer code and verified his information. Sure enough, it was right: the pre-approved credit card came with a 79.9 percent APR. The offer is for a Premier card from First Premier Bank, which is based in South Dakota. On its Web site, First Premier says it is the country’s 10th largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard credit cards. The site also says it “focuses on individuals who have less than perfect credit but are actually still creditworthy.”
“I think they’re trying to take advantage of me,” said Hageman.
Ya think?
Hageman acknowleged that his credit isn’t perfect, but he said it’s about average. He said the pre-approved offer didn’t mention the actual interest rate on the card — for that, he had to read the enclosed fine-print disclosure. The California Attorney General’s office said there’s nothing it can do about the cards since they are issued out of state and out of its jurisdiction.
Again the do-nothing govt. is there to protect the consumer.
Sure, it’s a do nothing government at the urging and legislation pushed by neocons and neolibs plus the anti-regulatory crowd fostered in office by Nixon on.
I am becoming a true conservative in that I think we should go back to the 50s and 60s in terms of much legislation and regulation. This would provide us with several benefits. Aside from such credit practices being instantly illegal and the highest incomes and largest corporations actually paying their way in taxes again, my tv commercials wouldn’t be so loud anymore!
this is a federal case.
Why do you need the government to protect you from credit card offers that have a 80% APR? Isn’t the high interest rate a DETERRENT enough? You can just simply NOT apply for the credit card! Duh.
Banks lately really don’t care if your credit is good or not, they will dole out credit cards like a poker dealer. They don’t care if you can afford it or not, as long as you’re in debt; your ass belongs to them till you’re dead, and your life insurance pays the bank off.
Poor you, it must be so difficult to reject that 79% APR, that you need to have government involved to do it for you.
Listen, I will help you out here, and it won’t cost the taxpayer a thing. Take the offer, place it in the shredder, now push the shred button. Look at that, problem taken care of, and we didn’t have to cost the government millions to create yet another program.
If you are too dumb to reject and offer like this, you probably are too dumb to own credit cards in the first place.
Good to see all you tough manly men LIEBERTARIANS out in force on this topic. Screw those who don’t speak/read english well enough to see the traps. Screw those poor and destitute who just got told they need a credit card in order to transact some business.
Yea–screw everyone but me. I’m god and you all should worship my prowess.
the fact that any one of you thinks this is either “just business” or not illegal — morally if not actually illegal — and you are not outraged and ready to burn down the government makes me really wonder about the health of the country.
This is NOT fine, and we should NOT be quibbling over it. We should each be putting pressure on our local legislators and raising hell.
At what point is too much?
Health care insurance costs going up 600% in 20 years? Oil costs manipulated? Banking without usury laws? Predatory collections, predatory lenders, predatory scam artists — roaming freely and with no restraint? Our Senators and Legislators having nothing, until they start getting elected, then suddenly having millions (how does that work? Think about it….do WE pay them that much?). At what point do we wake up and realise we are the peons and the cash cows for a bunch of corporations?
When do we get fed up?
“Again the do-nothing govt. is there to protect the consumer.”
Somebody call a Waa-ambulance.
How about the individual consumer getting a clue, like Mr. Hageman did, look out for their own best interests, and tell these parasite banks to EFF OFF, instead of expecting the nanny state to always wipe their butt!!
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Hey this is kinda cool, Premier bankcard is from my home state. I actually have many friends that work at collections in the town I’m from. All I ever hear is about how stupid the people are that they collect from. Things like saying they sent their bill to Obama to take care of, and just stupid excuses in general. The others they collect from usually have relatively small amounts owed and pay it on the spot b/c they had just forgotten about it or something. Point is, it sucks giving credit to people who lack the mental capacity to be responsible with their money but someone has to do it, and the way to level out the risk is to jack up the APR. I also know the owner of the company and he is a pretty well known philanthropist in the area and a really nice guy in case anyone wanted to know.
SD,
yeah, there are some fleas that are really cute when they’re in a flea circus. Doesn’t mean they still aren’t parasites.
Collection companies should be jobs for child molesters other ex-cons. Fits right into the mindset.
The reality…banks that are set up for no other reason than to make millions on high rates, fake fees, and other unregulated activities (and the collection scum that do their nagging) should be rounded up and punished (tar and feathered or peeled would work for me).
What happened to an honest days work for an honest wage? Moral bankruptcy is nothing to be championed.
meetsy,
I have never had to deal with collection “scum” because I have never spent more than I can afford. Your general negativity towards these companies and collection agencies leads me to believe that you have to deal with them. Maybe take some time to make a budget….
no..used to work for them
I find that hard to believe. How can you call them scum? what if you loaned me $500 and I never payed you back…wouldn’t you call me and politely ask me to pay? If not the whole thing, maybe a part of it?
I’d be an idiot to loan you money..unless you agreed to MY TERMS (which I can change on whim, MY WHIM).
If I loaned you money it would be with the terms of 50% interest per month, a $100 fee for “handling the loan”, and another $5.00 per day for each day the loan is outstanding and if you pay the amount in full, there is a $200 penalty. (And, remember, these terms may change if I decide to change them, and you’re going to agree to do that. Plus, if you want to take me to court, it must be ARBITRATION, and the arbitrators are those that I chose, and pay to find in my favor.)
Do you AGREE?
Where do you want me to send the check?
WOW! I have never heard of a card with that high of an interest rate! What is really said is it looks like that card has an annual fee attached to it and no rewards to speak of. I guess if one had super bad credit and that is the only card that they could qualify for then it may be smart to get the card to use just for the sole purpose of boosting your credit score (assuming that they pay off the card balance in full every month of course!)
the joke of it is…the credit card companies do whatever they CAN to make sure you miss payments, or the payments are posted late (short billing cycles, delayed in “processing” — up to 15 days to “process”) so the credit card is only sucker money. It won’t help your credit report….but it will keep you in the group that gets the worst credit interest rates, highest health and car insurance rates, and makes it near impossible to get a loan that isn’t a rip-off, plus it will bleed you dry.
My advice….get rid of all credit cards, stop buying anything — until the bastards figure out how to play nice. (Which will never happen. And government isn’t going to help matters any, either.)
What kills me is that stores like Macy’s are crying how no one is shopping….duh, they charge some insane rate of interest on their “charge accounts” (citibank handle it, I think.)
Maybe if Macy’s had thought about valuing the customer instead of gouging the customers…. but, nah, that isn’t how they think.
How about we quit blaming the government and start blaming banks.
Your ideas on this topic is very captivating and I hope to see more articles on your blog about it. I have bookmarked http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/10/15/got-bad-credit-no-problem-have-we-got-a-card-for-you/ so I can avoid missing on any future pieces related to this matter.