Oh no...

cspellot 2009

My Discover credit card payment history is a thing of beauty, up till recently that is.

At last, I had found a card with a low interest rate to which I could transfer a scary balance from another card which was kicking at a much higher rate than 3.99%. This would have been my rate, according to the "generous" Discover Card company, up till 2011. By then, I would have swiftly lightsabred my outstanding balance. I was so determined to eliminate that credit card debt that I was paying substantially more than the minimum monthly payment. And since I didn't want to get bogged down with the tedious process of writing a check, stamping an envelope and mailing a payment, I did what most people do nowadays. Through my checking account, I automated my monthly payments a few days in advance of the due date. I was set on the path to eliminating personal UNSECURED credit card debt. I was hailing, I've got the power!

Boy, was I naive!

The months went by one by one. I had peace of mind knowing my payments were being credited to my balance on time. The principal balance was dwindling and so was the amount of interest I was paying. Above all, I was praising God for Discover Card who aparently was on my side wanting the credit card consumer to be credit card debt free. My bill due date would always fall on the 4th of the month. On the 1st, my payment would be posted. Until one day... Yes, amigos, there's always that day, that curve ball, that sudden turn, twist, you name it, unleashing financial wrath upon you. The Day of Reckoning...

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Credit crawls in search of blood
To terrorize y'alls neighborhood

The foulest rate is in the air
The funk of forty thousand more payments to make
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom

All of a sudden, arbitrarily, the Discover Card company decided to CHANGE MY DUE DATE a few days back to the end of the month! So I find myself having two due dates in the one month they decided to make the change, one at the beginning and the other one at the end. Of course, my peace of mind only covered the beginning of the month. And I was digging this peace of mind thing so much that I overlooked their notice about their arbitrary change. My very bad... But the question is why would they make such an arbitrary change? In reality, that's an easy question to answer. This is a credit card company after all, with all the predatory senses alive and well, ready for a feeding frenzy on any and the many unsuspecting consumers who are trying to keep their head above water.

So what happened when I didn't make that dreadful payment at the end of the month? you ask. Well, amigos, this is what happened,

Did they double (8%) my original rate to punish me? In my estimation it would have been reasonable to double it, but...

Oh, no.

Did they increase the rate three times (12%) the original to zap the peace of mind out of my system and emotionally torture me?

Oh, no, no, no, my dear amigos!

Did they switch it to four times (16%) the original rate to kick me hard between the legs?

Oh, nooooo, no, no, noooooo!

And what did they do? you ask again. Well, they jacked the rate up more than 5 times the original rate of 4% to a whooping 20something percent.

Trust me, amigos, this is not credit card business as usual. (Then again, it may just be.) This is not even evil. There's a few appropriate words, but I won't say them. There may be children reading this which might actually be a good thing.

Lessons learned:


1. Do not get a personal credit card if you can help it. The credit card business is overrated. You're worth more without a credit card than with one despite Visa telling you the contrary.

2. If you carry a balance, always check your email alerts from your credit card company even if you have set up automatic payments from your checkin account. Or better yet, set the payments directly from your credit card company's website. That way their arbitrary changes won't affect you, hopefully.

3. Credit card companies, i.e. ...she's a man eater.... o o o, here she comes... watch out boy, she'll chew you up... o o o...

4. By all means, save all the money you can while you can. Credit cards (borrowing) and savings don't mix.

5. _______(Fill in the blank.)