Kyuzo's Comments (1203)

“Uh ... no one is forcing the banks to charge 30% either. remember, it's your money they are lending back to you at about 1 percent interest. get it now?

this guy has 40 fans?”

“Yes, people are indeed being forced to borrow at 30%.

When you start out at a reasonable interest rate then jack it up to where you can't afford to pay it off ... ever.”

“So ruining peoples lives is moral to you?”

“The immorality has to do with your inability to borrow at the same rates as the banks.”

“If everyone is subject to usurious rates, how can most businesses start? How can most people buy homes?”

“Kyuzo:
But that is not what the article says. What the article says is "this guy's," bank actually downgraded his credit limit thereby putting him into a cash squeeze. and that is the reason for the possible validity of a lawsuit. Few people read the fine print in terms of the credit card companies in being able to increase their monthly credit rate. Would anyone subscribe to a credit rate or 27% if all other banks would offer it at 11%? This is really the equivalent of Loan Sharking, and has always considered illegal in the USA until the Congress made concessions to the banks which allowed them to do this. Furthermore, article after article has proven that these tactics which penalize people--especially the poor--are consciously designed by these banks to entrap individuals into these kinds of desperate deals which make them literally slaves to the banks by only paying off interest and no principle. It is about as close to slavery as we have seen in westernized society. The only remedy to this kind of ruthless business dealing is to throw both the Repubs and the Demon party out of office. This was not banks that implemented this travesty, but the people in power--Congress. Note that if you feel that people should not borrow money, then there is really no point for Fed Reserve which loans money to banks so that they in turn can loan it to businesses and individuals to stimulate the economy.”

“The issue is that the banks jack up the interest rates without the client's agreement and breaching the contract.

For instance : tomorrow you buy my car for 10 000 dollars and pay me the full 10 000. Tomorrow I show up at your house and ask for 3000 more, would you agree ?? That's what the banks are doing.”

“I would almost agree with you except for one thing, my rates have doubled in the last six months despite a stellar payment history. This month I will pay off all of my BofA cards (2) and put $30 a month on each until they get rid of me. Then I will sue them for ruining my credit rating.

They made a good living from me at 9.99% and 11.99%. I consider 19.99% and 20.99% to be nothing more than theft. In the beginning they agreed to let me float at the lesser rate. Now they decide that they need double the rate because of their bad decisions despite a taxpayer bailout?!?!!

I think that if everyone paid off their cc's BofA would still be insolvent. Shall we try that? How about bailing out individuals? Let everyone pay off their debt to the Big Guys and see where they stand.

They play, I pay.....no more.

Y'know, it's interesting that corporations have legal "personhood". Tell you what, I will assume (as an actual person) "corporationhood" and pay the same taxes. Y'know what? I didn't make any profit last year at all!!! Imagine that. Where would we be if every family "corporation" in America paid taxes like (and collected "welfare") like Corporations do?

If I have responsibility then they do too and they have not been very good members of society (I'm talking about the TooBigToFail group) and they need to get some gratitude quick.”

“You missed my point entirely. I do only use my card for special purchases which are paid off immediately. What my point is - is that in the current credit friendly world, if you don't have some sort of plastic, you will find purchasing things a lot more difficult. Cash = criminal activity.”

“typical response for a guy who pays probably $50/month for the
luxury of a broadband internet connection”

“Yes. Borrowing money at 30% is insane.

But that's not the point. There are minor convenience uses for credit cards that are not crazy (ie paying off your balance every month), but the companies don't make any money from that behavior.

So there are only two possibilities here.

Either everyone will start acting responsibly, in which case the consumer credit market will dry up and the banks will come running to us with their "too big to fail" hats on demanding a bailout...which we will give them.

Or a significant number of people will get themselves in over their heads in credit card debt, in which case they will default, in which case the banks will come running to us for a bailout.

The credit card industry relies on grotesquely irresponsible spending in order to stay afloat. Therefore they are going to sink because there is no way for this system to continue without collapsing for one of those two reasons.

I'm making no comment on who's to blame for what or what good people do with their lending practices.

The credit card companies are having a nationwide gasoline fight. We can stop them or we can say "so what? I don't smoke" and wait for the inevitable explosion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xXaYj33F0A#t=2m28s”

“Agreed! There are better ways to go about this than threatening not to pay. If he is a good attorney, he should be making enough money and should not be carrying a 30K balance oh his credit card. Seems to me he knows the system and is just trying to get out of paying. Remember, we are only hearing from HIS viewpoint and it probably doesn't tell the entire story.”

“There is an error in your post. If you wish to rent a hotel room you MUST have a major credit card. If you need to rent a car from a rental company, you MUST have a major credit card. This started in the early '80s and wasn't an issue till everyone (and his dog) were pre-approved for a credit card.

It isn't so easy to switch back to a cash based lifestyle as proposed. Most of us pull into the gas station and slip the "card" in the slot and it is very convenient. What many fail to realize is that the card companies are reaping the benefit of the fee they charge merchants plus the interest they charge the card holder.”

“No one forced the banks to go out and dangle $$$ in front of people with bad or no credit, and/or low income. They wanted to increase their customer base because they hit a plateau. Considering they are much more savvy that the average credit card holder, they took a big risk and they should live with the consequences. Not to mention that we were always told to spend, spend, spend. What's wrong with everyone receiving their equal share of responsibility?

Many people that shouldn't have been given credit in the first place will default. Duh!!!”

“We can regulate consumer lending now or we can find ourselves stuck with the bill in a year or two.

Lectures about no one being forced to do this or that or the virtues of personal responsibility will not amount to a hill of frickin' beans when Visa comes to congress demanding a few hundred billion to cover the cost of all their bad lending.

So you're right. We have a choice. We can sit back and act morally superior, and end up stuck with the bill when the system collapses.

Or we can regulate now and make it at all possible for a responsible person to use a credit card.

The only customers of the banks now are people who are either irresponsible or desperate. No one pays 30% plus a bunch of fees because it's a good deal.

So therefore, since the entire industry depends on irresponsible desperation, it will collapse. And we will all be stuck with the bill. Whether we pay our bills and brush our teeth every night or not.

It's beyond banks being in it for the money. Everyone is in everything for the money. It's that the way they are making money is fundamentally unsustainable.

And they are "too big to fail." We will be bailing them out. Democrat or Republican, everyone is in the, uh, "green" party.”

“It's been proven by experts in the past that those so called "terms and conditions" are deliberately made labyrinthine for the purpose of confusing even people who are experts in finance. So this idea that an average consumer is expected to understand the terms and conditions is almost laughable. Credit card companies work hard to make that almost an impossibility.”

“It's an obviously corrupt system. Billions in bailout money. 30% interest rates. Foreclosures beyond the eye can see. Responsibility goes around, but these guys are getting PAID for their bad decisions.”

“"The competitive nature of the credit market." Theo says, ?????? On which planet is that? Freemarketatopia? There's a whole lot of 'belief' between that statement and the facts. Stop believing, start thinking.”

“No at a 29.99 rate. That's robbery.”

“Hey false human... no one puts a gun to your head to get a credit card!!”

“Because interest is free money and the banks get paid when you spend. It's so easy to manipulate and exploit others over. *points to above story* There shouldn't be interest, but there definitely shouldn't be rates over 10%, even if it's standard practice.”

“It's not about his debt, specifically.

It's about the unchallenged practice of credit-card companies charging consumers usurious, Shylockian fees.”

“Question: What other way does this guy have to pressure BoA than to not pay his debt and threaten to sue? You have to hit them where it hurts to get what you want? I doubt anything will happen to them if you just pay off your balance and close your account. That is silly, this is why this country is where it is. All you self-righteous morons take this "personal responsibility" way too seriously and you don't really stick up for yourselves. Misplaced morals.

Why do some of you think that by him not paying he is somehow dodging his responsibility? What ALL of us should do is stop paying our credit cards, then we would all be in default, all of us would have bad credit so we would all be in the same boat. That would create such a mess and we would be able to call the shots for once. Ok, I woke up now. LOL”

“This is not what the OP said. Please go back and reread his letter to the Banksters. He simply presented them with an some contract options during their negotiations.

He is not trying to get out of paying, but rather keeping the banks honest and pointing out the consequences (legal) of them not doing so. It's their choice whether they decide to accept his proposal.”

“I beg to differ. To refuse to pay a bill has proven extremely effective at forcing banks' hands and is gaining traction. The continued insinuation that those who do so are deadbeats or worse is wholly unfair and betrays an utter lack of understanding of the situation. Those who are doing so successfully are not trying to sleaze their way out of debt. They are merely forcing banks' hands to pay that debt without unfair interest hikes and predatory fees. It's amazing and cynical how you and others can be so demanding of so-called responsibility on the part of a consumer but look entirely the other way at corporations.”

“I beg to differ. To refuse to pay a bill has proven extremely effective at forcing banks' hands and is gaining traction. The continued insinuation that those who do so are deadbeats or worse is wholly unfair and betrays an utter lack of understanding of the situation. Those who are doing so successfully are not trying to sleaze their way out of debt. They are merely forcing banks' hands to pay that debt without unfair interest hikes and predatory fees. It's amazing and cynical how you and others can be so demanding of so-called responsibility on the part of a consumer but look entirely the other way at corporations.”

“Sure it does--it accomplishes not having to pay your bill....”

“This is true, but they game the system to provide maximum profits after they sucker some people in. This is predatory in nature. I agree that everyone owns their own destiny, but changing the rules to in the middle of the game makes it difficult to be successful. If this guy has the track record to back up his use then I say go for it.”

“he has a 30K credit limit. spare us your sanctimonious drivel.”

“Waaah yourself. We are getting sick and tired of this kind of preachy response. To simply say that one should just "read and fully understand your credit card's Terms & Conditions" is terribly naive. Those terms and conditions are, in and of themselves, abusive. I also live on a pay as I go basis, but am not naive enough to believe that credit is important and, sometimes necessary in today's economic climate. The sources of that credit are extremely limited and for all practical purposes, monopolistic, allowing banks to create environments wholly stacked against the consumer. Predatory accounting practices, usurious interest rates and exorbitant fees are the norm. This system is allowed to remain in place by a scared and/or paid for politicians who are swayed by the huge sums paid for by the banks for lobbying.

You have done little more than provide cover for a predatory financial class and system that extorts money from those who actually do the work that creates the wealth they skim. I'm firmly supportive of all of those who participate in this "revolt" and hope it creates a large enough groundswell so that it becomes an effective market response to the current market distortion. THis revolt hews FAR more to the spirit of the tea party than any ridiculous teabagger event that has occurred in the past year.”

“You must work for this industry. Otherwise, it's odd that you would defend them.”

“Careful up there in that Ivory Tower. . . at that altitude you could get a nosebleed.”

“I agree that a cash basis, no credit is best. There is a way to use credit responsibly, though, and it sounds like this man has.”

“He doesn't owe 30,000 -- that's his credit limit.”

“I thought the same thing.
Why so amazed and amused that a "credible news source" actually called to verify the rumor before running a story?”

“Okay, no, that didn't occur to me.

Look, it's like reading Palin's book -- the important stuff gets buried under all the cr@p. I mean, we went on and on about little lies, when the fact that the governor of alaska invented a horrific threat against her daughers in order to accuse the school children of Juneau of serious criminal activities just hung there and waited for us to notice.

The important stuff dawns eventually. Hey, the alien sniffer is gone, right? Because of a story he told. Let's see if something pans out in this case.”