Kimbery Credit Counselings Blog
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Credit card Marketing Scams
The FTC has taken action against many credit card companies that have deceptively advertised their major credit cards through various forms of advertising (tv, newspapers, etc) The ads may offer unsecured credit cards or secured credit cards. Both cards can be used to pay off goods and/or services, but a secured credit card requires you to open and maintain a savings account as security for your credit line. In turn an unsecured credit card does not. The ads that you see usually lead you to believe you can get your new credit card simply by calling a phone number which they display, or even a 900 number which will be billed to your phone!
Deceptive ads often leave out the important information such as: 1) The cost of the initial call. 2) The required security deposit and/or application and processing fees. 3) An annual fee or the fact that the secured card has a very high interest rate on balances.
To avoid being scammed you can look for the following signs: 1)Offers of easy credit. No one can guarantee you credit. Before they decide whether to give you a credit card, legitimate credit providers examine your credit report. 2) A 900 number call be a scam cause they will make you pay for the call and you may not even get a credit card in the end. 3) Credit cards offered by credit repair companies or credit clinics. These companies offer to clean-up your credit history for a "fee". However you can correct these mistakes yourself by contacting credit bureaus directly. Time and good credit habits will restore your credit worthiness.
If you are considering a secured credit card as a means of building your credit or to re- establish good credit, make sure the issuer of your credit card reports to a credit bureau. If not the card will not help you with your credit.
If you are having problems paying your bills, Non Profit Credit Counseling or Non Profit Debt Consolidation can assist you. Counselors can arrange a repayment plan that is acceptable to you and your creditors, as well as helping you set up a realistic budget.
Lastly, if you can not get credit on your own, try asking a relative or even a friend with a good credit history to co-sign for a credit card for you. The co-signer promises to pay the debt if you can not.
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