Just how much do the execs at Citi suck?
An interest rate on cards at about 28%.
Well over 10% on, dishonestly applied, late fees.
Jump the % to 29% or more after a payment is made “late,” like when Mr. or Ms. Consumer calls their confusing phone tree that encourages the caller into pressing an option that makes them think they’ve just payed, but only “promised” to pay.
On a $500 card balance the late fee for being fooled by that shell game is a little less than $50 dollars. And when such cons are used, why do some always blame the conned and not also the con-er?
A “help” center that promises dishonestly applied late fee will be subtracted; then… it’s not subtracted.
And this is only their cards.
Citi is into everything, credit-wise. Chances are if you have a Radio Shack card or any other business credit cards, you’re wallet is being Hoovered by Citi.
So to repeat my question…
Just how much do the execs at Citi suck?
After all that they’re still going belly up and begging for bailouts. Just how bad do you have to be to be using every con in the credit industry arsenal and still destroy your own Butch Cassidy and Sundance-run business? Far worse than just using too much dynamite. Probably more suck than all the Electrolux vacs ever made. But to be honest, probably no worse than all the other corporations “too big to fail.”
Joe and Mary Consumer either miss, or ignore, the tiny print at the bottom of the loan form. They take a loan; over estimating if they can pay the new mortgage. They don’t understand that floating interest rates can equal rape. They take a loan that in better; more regulated, times a bank or credit company would not make… especially with Joe and Mary’s credit rating; and how much property they have to back up the loan.
I have some sympathy for John and Mary, though not a hell of a lot.
But as bad as the the Consumers are, should we have sympathy for failed execs who when bailed out will probably be back for more? (Strike “probably.” Some already have.) And unlike the common consumer, who probably wasn’t a grade A math student, and certainly didn’t get a bonus for their failures, Big Daddy government must save the buns of these high paid biz wizs who most likely went to business school ? And save them again? And again?
Joe and Mary Consumer at least have the excuse of not knowing better, and not knowing what they should pay attention to, and sometimes being about as dense as granite? But these “biz wizs” execs work harder than everyone else and are justly rewarded for, no failure, but their success by then “free” market: work harder and more than poorly paid teachers, grave diggers, mechanics, sewage process plant employees… or so we’re led to believe by the “business is run more efficiently than government” crowd. High pay is ultimate “proof” of this, supposedly.
Not.
The Right is busy moaning about that “socialist” Obama.
With bailing out failed businesses that use that money to reward failure through bonuses, junkets… maybe they’d be better ranting against National Socialism.
So far, all I hear from them regarding companies like Citi is the silence of what they used to called “being a good German.”
-30-
Inspection is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 30 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks and into the unseen cracks and crevasses that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
Copyright 2009
Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions
All Rights Reserved
Late fees and penalties, not even thugs or loansharks would demand the kind of money banks charge these days.
The thing is money flows. And now that computers have entered the picture the data of the money flow can be controlled. So if I deposit money it may take just a tad longer to regidter the deposit than my withdrawal. Sounds reasonable. Unless every month you wind up having problems because of a bank charge that sets you out of balance by a couple of bucks. Which if you get paid every two weeks could wind up costing you about a hundred, in late fees and penalties. These ridiculous balances can rack up so fast you can’t make enough money to pay them off and survive. It’s crazy. They won’t let you close an account so you don’t rack up fees and when you tell them you don’t want them to pay out any money you don’t have they won’t listen.
Why?
Because they make so much money with all of these late fees and charges and they have so much power to screw with you that unless you decide not to use them you will probably wind up paying an I need to use some of my money to pay my bills toll.
I stopped. I started figuring out what I owed for bills, purchased money orders and figured out how much money I could spend a week and then lived within my means. And surprise, no more problems. No more stress or headaches or begging and pleading for a banker to back off some of the fees because it took me ten days to get a notice in the mail that I was overdrawn on my debit card.
It’s so ridiculous. These policies ruin people’s credit ratings, frustrate people who are just trying to make a living and pay their bills and disheartens everyone who is stupid enough to think the banking system is their to take care of their money until they need it. No. It ain’t necessarily so.
@ Jenn:
I wrote an Inspection a while back specifically about fees; especially one. When they charge to use an ATM and it’s not your bank, I understand, as long as the fee isn’t absurd. That ATM has to be maintained. But I travel the east coast, touring… I get checks from customers all over the place. These customers pay to have their checking accounts: one way or another, and to be able to use those checks to pay vendors like me. So if they charge me to cash their checks at their own branches they are ripping me and their customers off. It’s called double dipping.
I have a letter from the CEO of National City to use at his banks asking the tellers to cash those checks. When I wrote a scathing letter about the first time I ran into this practice he wrote back, “We’re doing this to encourage local customers to bank with us.” Oh, yeah, I can see how well that would work: I ask any bank first whether they do this now and tell them “no,” if they do.
This is one of many fees that are basically forms of rip offs and provide cover for cons like “free checking.” No one really offers “free checking.” It is paid for somehow.
I think credit ratings are downgraded intentionally. They make more money that way.
So much for the wonders of deregulation.
I remember how the banks sold ATM machines to their customers 20 years ago: The angle was that the ATM’s would never have a fee and it would be more convenient than going to the bank to withdraw money. What a set-up — now they all charge fees for using an ATM (with rare exceptions) and if things go awry, there’s no way to straighten it out on the spot. Also, some ATM’s have become ‘thief magnets’ — muggers hang out near them late at night and wait for somebody to withdraw cash and then rob them.
Just another wonderful service provided by your local bank — motto: ‘We care.’