[ivwshane]

So a while back you guys may remember that I had some unauthorized activity on my debit/checking account, they reversed the charges and I got a new account # and a new card.

So I'm looking at my account today and I find two charges from www,match,com 214-576-9516 for $26.97 each!

A quick search on google revealed that others have been hit as well with the amounts varying.


Anyway, I think it's ridiculous that this is happening again.

[Torx]

holy shit dude, not again! thats scary.

you think someones probably stealing your mail?
think you should change banks?

[mistawiskas]

I'm in the proccess of being totally un-American. I am giving up on the whole banking scam in the USA. Crdit cards have been destroyed and are being paid off, never to take part in the legal theft again, bank accounts are being done away with. This is a great challenge, because every cent goes therough a banking system and has been super set-up to make money off of your money. While we weren't paying attention the banking industry made us slaves. I'm going off the grid, and reducing the money trail that has my name on it.

[sims]

Originally Posted by mistawiskas

I'm in the proccess of being totally un-American. I am giving up on the whole banking scam in the USA. Crdit cards have been destroyed and are being paid off, never to take part in the legal theft again, bank accounts are being done away with. This is a great challenge, because every cent goes therough a banking system and has been super set-up to make money off of your money. While we weren't paying attention the banking industry made us slaves. I'm going off the grid, and reducing the money trail that has my name on it.

enjoy the audit they'll send your way :P


Banks can be assholes to the little guy at times, but I don't know how you can call them a scam or legal theft. that’s the equivalent of saying that Mcdonalds owners are murderers because they sell a product that if abused will lead to a heart attack. Bank’s don’t hid the fact that they charge interest or what your rate is, its all right in front of you on the dotted line everyone is so eager to sign. If someone isn’t capable of budgeting properly, the bank isn’t to blame, personal incompetence is. Credit cards provide a spectacular service. In the 6 years I’ve legally been able to have a credit card I have no paid 1 cent of interest to a bank, yet I have enjoyed being able to borrow from the bank for free as all Credit cards have a grace period, I’m provided with 10’s of thousands of dollars worth of free insurance, and on top of this I’m given rewards for my spending and have enjoyed various free products (and air fair if I so choose) of my choosing on the banks tab.

Banks are business, a successful business and like an other they provide a service and make a profit off that service, it’s no different then any other successful business operation.

[namelessentity]

Originally Posted by sims

enjoy the audit they'll send your way :P


Banks can be assholes to the little guy at times, but I don't know how you can call them a scam or legal theft. that’s the equivalent of saying that Mcdonalds owners are murderers because they sell a product that if abused will lead to a heart attack. Bank’s don’t hid the fact that they charge interest or what your rate is, its all right in front of you on the dotted line everyone is so eager to sign. If someone isn’t capable of budgeting properly, the bank isn’t to blame, personal incompetence is. Credit cards provide a spectacular service. In the 6 years I’ve legally been able to have a credit card I have no paid 1 cent of interest to a bank, yet I have enjoyed being able to borrow from the bank for free as all Credit cards have a grace period, I’m provided with 10’s of thousands of dollars worth of free insurance, and on top of this I’m given rewards for my spending and have enjoyed various free products (and air fair if I so choose) of my choosing on the banks tab.

Banks are business, a successful business and like an other they provide a service and make a profit off that service, it’s no different then any other successful business operation.

QFT.
It's not like they could make any money by just letting your money sit there in a vault safe from prying eyes.

BTW, good luck when your house burns down and you lose everything in your life because you're angry with "the man".

[ThatHideousStrength]

Everything in life is made to take money away from you. Keep that mentality and adjust.

[mistawiskas]

Originally Posted by sims

Banks can be assholes to the little guy at times......that’s the equivalent of saying that Mcdonalds owners are murderers because they sell a product that if abused will lead to a heart attack....

Already been audited, banks are ass holes and I don't partake in mickyD's either.

Originally Posted by namelessentity

QFT.
It's not like they could make any money by just letting your money sit there in a vault safe from prying eyes.

BTW, good luck when your house burns down and you lose everything in your life because you're angry with "the man".

I have lost everything and have no house. You ever think that's maybe, perhaps why i'm "angry with the man"?

[ivwshane]

So I logged back in today and the charges were gone (I couldn't call them last night because they were closed).

If there was a way that I didn't have to use a bank, believe me, I wouldn't. Unfortunately its a necessary evil.

[WoodButcher]

Did you not put a fraud alert on your credit files?

[Jishory]

did you try calling match.com and telling them your card was used without their permission and to tell who the name of who charged it? if they wont give you the info, hopefully you have filed a police report and the detective has the authority for them to give him the information

[Mr. Ali]

Originally Posted by Jishory

did you try calling match.com and telling them your card was used without their permission and to tell who the name of who charged it? if they wont give you the info, hopefully you have filed a police report and the detective has the authority for them to give him the information

Not to shit on your suggestion but I really doubt anyone is going to even spend a second looking into this.

[Jishory]

i beg to differ, ill post up why some other time

[Chair]

banks are so fucked in the states. Nobody can touch my money and I can barely make bill payments through my bank (which I'm quite happy about) From what I've learned, bankgs in the states are almost turnkey the're so easy to set up. Scary if you ask me.

[krod]

Originally Posted by sims

enjoy the audit they'll send your way :P


Banks can be assholes to the little guy at times, but I don't know how you can call them a scam or legal theft. that’s the equivalent of saying that Mcdonalds owners are murderers because they sell a product that if abused will lead to a heart attack. Bank’s don’t hid the fact that they charge interest or what your rate is, its all right in front of you on the dotted line everyone is so eager to sign. If someone isn’t capable of budgeting properly, the bank isn’t to blame, personal incompetence is. Credit cards provide a spectacular service. In the 6 years I’ve legally been able to have a credit card I have no paid 1 cent of interest to a bank, yet I have enjoyed being able to borrow from the bank for free as all Credit cards have a grace period, I’m provided with 10’s of thousands of dollars worth of free insurance, and on top of this I’m given rewards for my spending and have enjoyed various free products (and air fair if I so choose) of my choosing on the banks tab.

Banks are business, a successful business and like an other they provide a service and make a profit off that service, it’s no different then any other successful business operation.

I went to Mcdonalds and told them I have no job, no credit, no savings but could they let me borrow a gift card for 10,000 cheeseburgers. They said fuck no. Mcdonald's is evil, Citibank, however, is your very, very best friend.

[mistawiskas]

Banks started out as a good thing. In the States as with most good things, in a commercial sense, greed and power lust took over. 20% of credit corp proffits come from
late fees, overlimit fees and from finding excuses to jack interest rates. The thing is, they have set it up where they don't even need a reason to raise interest rates.
If greed were taken oput of the picture, banks and lending institutions would be a good deal. Just look into how much banks and securities/insurance, have you by the nutz.
Do you think that is "just the way it turned out"? No, it is by design. I've simply gotten to the point that I cannot afford to play the game any longer. It is not out of "anger for the man" that I've made this stand. It is out of a re-examining of how much of my life the financial institutions want and own. We have a choice, more of one than you think, and they'd have you believe.

Commerce used to be a good thing until these guys got strong/influencial enough to be in charge:

[Goofus Maximus]

I blame it all on what happened since "Reaganomics" and it's associated "less regulation burden on US businesses" and "privatization" (which Clinton didn't really stop during his reign [probably because he was too busy in his oval office with other things...]), which have led to the popcorn popping back to back bubbles and scandals a-la Enron and Country-wide (both of which had Banks complicit in what they were doing). Ever since then, all the money is flowing to the top, through lawyers and banks, and all the debt and job loss is flowing to the bottom.

Politicians pay attention to the ones who PAY, so none of them are strongly interested in cutting their own throats by seriously doing anything about this. It will take another Great Depression and Theodore Roosevelt to roll this trainwreck back.

[sims]

Originally Posted by krod

I went to Mcdonalds and told them I have no job, no credit, no savings but could they let me borrow a gift card for 10,000 cheeseburgers. They said fuck no. Mcdonald's is evil, Citibank, however, is your very, very best friend.

Well I can't really speak for American institutes, but none of the major banks in Canada will give you a dime if you don't have a job. I can’t see even Citi handing out a credit card if you tell them you have no means to pay them back, banks aren’t in the business of purposely loosing money.

Originally Posted by mistawiskas

Banks started out as a good thing. In the States as with most good things, in a commercial sense, greed and power lust took over. 20% of credit corp proffits come from
late fees, overlimit fees and from finding excuses to jack interest rates. The thing is, they have set it up where they don't even need a reason to raise interest rates.
If greed were taken oput of the picture, banks and lending institutions would be a good deal. Just look into how much banks and securities/insurance, have you by the nutz.
Do you think that is "just the way it turned out"? No, it is by design. I've simply gotten to the point that I cannot afford to play the game any longer. It is not out of "anger for the man" that I've made this stand. It is out of a re-examining of how much of my life the financial institutions want and own. We have a choice, more of one than you think, and they'd have you believe.

Its easy to play the victim all the time.

They operate as a business, they have shareholders to answer to who expect profits as any shareholder in a company does, Banks are not a charitable organization. A business that wants to continue its operations needs to be a successful one, they provide you with a service, and you are charged for it. They don’t lie to you about anything, are you telling me that if a Bank tell you have a 1000 limit and the payment is due on the 15 of the month, and come the 15th you owe 1500 and don’t have any money to pay them that you shouldn’t be give a surcharge for your abuse of what you’ve been given and have legally agreed on? People need to take personal responsibility for there actions. Most credit cards have a clause that indicates that if you miss payments they will increase there interest rate, you know how you can prevent this? Pay them on the date that you legally agreed on to pay them on. It’s a simple concept. Any bank I’ve ever delt with rewards there clients who do this, my interest rates have only ever gone down.

You are correct that most banks reserve the right to increase rates at any time. This isn’t something they commonly due because it pisses people off and to the vaste majority a credit card is a credit card, they understand they will loose business when they do this to someone. When a bank up your interest rate it is because you’re a liability to the bank, they no longer really care to have your business and this is how they are letting you know. Banks determine rates by risk, if a product is risky for a bank(credit cards) they charge a higher interest rate. If a client is a risk to a bank they will increase rates to compensate for the risk they take on. it does not seem unreasonable to me to increase rates on someone who doesn't pay there bills, you have proven your inabiltiy to be a trustworthy client, you are a greater risk then most and should pay accordingly.

[mistawiskas]

Originally Posted by sims

Its easy to play the victim all the time.

It's also easier to stand on the outside and look in and naively comment on
things happening that you can't even compare. Get your ass down here and see if your experience compares. It's so fucking easy to tell that you work for the monsters that are sucking this planet dry. FYI, I have so many credit offers as a result of dropping away from that scene....that is how American financial institutions do it. I don't give a raggly ratz ass how the high and fucking mighty Canadian financial insti-fucking- tutions do it; that doesn't
happen to affect me at all....only you and your bottom line. If there were as much arrogance coming from the institutions I'm paying off and forgetting, I'd file a chapter 7 in a heartbeat, just to say fuck you. But seing as how they are fairly greatfull that that is not what I am doing, I'll just say fuck you and the arrogance you exibit.

[mistawiskas]

There is such a thing as predatory.....charity? yeah rigght, just the opossite.
Credit Card Penalties, Fees Bury Debtors (washingtonpost.com)
The outrage in your credit card's fine print | csmonitor.com
Credit card penalty fees keep climbing
Credit card fees can suck you in - USATODAY.com
I had good credit. paid on time, stayed under all limits. Still, when the housing market and congressional action was threatening, all, repeat all cards went above 21%, one (the biggest) went above 31%!! That is when I said fuck it. I wasn't eating and barely employed, then an injury. As an added bonus the extra interest made it imposible to make the monthlys. These leeches changed all the rules at thier own whim, for something I had not done and I was current with my bills and underlimit at all times. My credit score was up to 700 and there was no justification except for the industry I worked in. I immediately went into a debt management agreement throught the CCC. All have been OK to deal with except Amex. Who decides at thier discresion to raise the agreed amount every time thier profit margin takes a hit.....so there is no real agreement with them. I'm dropping them from my list of creditor being paid through CCC and they are just going to get the crumbs. Fuck them. Ruin my credit score!? Fuck, all that is., is the leash we get lead around with, the carrot in front of our noses and the first thing that gets heald hostage when there is a disagreement. Blame the man? Not really, I just don't care to play thier fucking game. All of you that care to be the robots can do what you want, I'll just stand over here and watch. Whenever an institution threatens me with a mark against my credit score, I tell them: " go ahead, I'm not using it anyway", then and only then are they willing to talk rather than threaten......and get this: they send me all kinds of nifty credit card offers!

Everyone laughs, feels high and mighty at the old fart who is having a tough time...."it must be all his fault, because we're doing just dandy". Well let me remind each one of the scoofers: "You are all one injury, one outsource, one downsize, one mistake, one of any one of a thousand things away from being right where I'm at. Just "One".

[ivwshane]

Hey I hate the institutions as much as you and I have thought about not "playing the game" many times! Instead though, I've decided to not only play their game but to beat them at it. My credit card companies make nothing off of me. When I need to use my credit card (which is very rare) I pay it off with in 30 days so that no finance charges are received. I have a bofa a credit card that I haven't used in over four years and I know it costs them money to keep me (billing notices, new cards, etc).

To give you an idea of how I like to play the game, there was one time I went to a McDonalds and paid via atm, when I got my food I asked for some bbq sauce, they wanted to charge me .20, so I said fine, put it on my card (visa), I know it cost them more to process that transaction then it was worth.

If I feel a company is trying to screw me or take advantage of their situation I'll do what ever it takes to cost them money. However, if it's a good company that I think genuinely cares about their customers I do what I can to give them my business.
For instance, when it comes to buying gas I always go to costco, simply because they are usually the lowest and they not only take care of their customers but also their employees.

Anyways, my point is, sometimes playing the game doesn't mean you automatically lose.