Sometimes you bite the bear, sometimes the bear bites you......

[cpaharley2008]

Yesterday I got to bite the bear.....went to my credit union to close out an old account that has been dormant for months. Took the money to my regular bank and was surprised with several offers. Due to my good credit rating I was offered a free Visa with no payment nor interest for 24 months....I'm, thinking, I have a big trip coming up in about 60 days to pick up the new Escape and gas prices have increased. So we signed up for the freebie offer......just have to be careful with this 'free' loan......and only use that one Visa card. Put my other credit cards away in a secure place.

[emers382]

Jim, congrats on getting this "special" Visa. I think the banks are doing a lot to try to get your business, although as as you say this was your regular bank. This month in Canada Costco has switched from Capital One Mastercard to CIBC Mastercard, CIBC being one of our five "big" banks. Since I had to sign up for CIBC on line banking to access my account out of curiosity I looked to see about opening a regular account there to find they are offering for new customers a $350 bonus to do so. Of course there are conditions such as keeping a minimum balance of a few thousand which would also elevate account fees, and setting up some auto deposits and payments.

[huskersteffy]

We use our no-fee 2% cash back CITI credit card like a debit card. Use it on most monthly expenses like groceries, gas, bills, etc. Stay disciplined, frugal, and pay off the full balance every month. Then use the cash back towards an account credit. It's "free" money. Can't believe they haven't started charging us fees as we've redeemed thousands over the last 7-8 years or so.

It's wise avoid consumer debit if at all possible. That said, I certainly made some stupid financial moves in my younger years.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by huskersteffy

It's "free" money.

It's not "free" money. It's your money. The merchant raises prices to pay the charge card a fee so the charge card company can give it back to you, minus administrative costs.

Some companies won't accept certain premium cards because the fees are unreasonable.

[huskersteffy]

It's not "free" money. It's your money. The merchant raises prices to pay the charge card a fee so the charge card company can give it back to you, minus administrative costs.

You are right about that. There is a local "mom-and-pop" Chinese food restaurant we've frequented for years that doesn't accept credit cards for precisely that reason. Cash or local check only.

However, I'm just a tiny fish in a big ocean. If I stopped using credit cards tomorrow the world would keep spinning and prices would do what they do regardless of my behavior. I think the bigger profit for the credit card companies is from those folks that keep racking up huge charges and then only pay off the minimum each month.

[gbaglo]

Yup. Don't know what can be done to reduce price at the till as long as people buy into the scam.
I pay off my no fee card in full, sometimes twice a month.
Credit Karma says my rating is 888, which is a very lucky number in the Asian community. Coincidence? I think not.

[MyronL]

Re: sometime the bear, etc etc etc.

I have found the best key to life is always take nothing for granted. With gas prices approaching killer heights the big guzzler sits more, use our ’13 Subaru for routine trips a lot more.
However, we only have one full service electronic key. So I’ve been using the “valet” key. Problem is, when you use it to unlock the driver door the screaming alarm gets triggered. Won’t shut up until you put it into the ignition. Also, with the valet key cannot remotely unlock the hatchback, or other doors, since there is no key entry on them. What the hay??

I went to Subaru for a second electronic key. Surprise! They wanted three hundred dollars, plus another hundred to calibrate a new key. I told them, “not in this lifetime, sweetheart.” Then found a good key business in town, ordered a new key from them, ten days later it was in (from Subaru,) for a hundred and forty bucks, calibration included.

Now, remember my opening sentence. My key guy couldn’t do the calibration to the car because he needed an access “Pin number.” This is only available through the Subaru computer system. Just show Subaru proof of ownership. So I went back to my dealer but they wanted to charge me a hundred bucks just for the Pin.

I told him that may work for your little old lady customers.

My very loud, indignant response the counter guy (“…not in this lifetime…etc”) was heard by the service manager, who had the good sense to immediately recognize a very irritated, unhappy customer. She rushed out, I gave her my documents, she spent a minute on her computer, gave me the Pin Key numbers I needed. No charge.

The squeaky wheel gets the case closed.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Yesterday I got to bite the bear.....went to my credit union to close out an old account that has been dormant for months. Took the money to my regular bank and was surprised with several offers. Due to my good credit rating I was offered a free Visa with no payment nor interest for 24 months....I'm, thinking, I have a big trip coming up in about 60 days to pick up the new Escape and gas prices have increased. So we signed up for the freebie offer......just have to be careful with this 'free' loan......and only use that one Visa card. Put my other credit cards away in a secure place.

Hi: cpaharley2008... I hate to bear bad news but IMO there are no "Freebies". Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by MyronL

Re: sometime the bear, etc etc etc.

I have found the best key to life is always take nothing for granted. With gas prices approaching killer heights the big guzzler sits more, use our ’13 Subaru for routine trips a lot more.
However, we only have one full service electronic key. So I’ve been using the “valet” key. Problem is, when you use it to unlock the driver door the screaming alarm gets triggered. Won’t shut up until you put it into the ignition. Also, with the valet key cannot remotely unlock the hatchback, or other doors, since there is no key entry on them. What the hay??

I went to Subaru for a second electronic key. Surprise! They wanted three hundred dollars, plus another hundred to calibrate a new key. I told them, “not in this lifetime, sweetheart.” Then found a good key business in town, ordered a new key from them, ten days later it was in (from Subaru,) for a hundred and forty bucks, calibration included.

Now, remember my opening sentence. My key guy couldn’t do the calibration to the car because he needed an access “Pin number.” This is only available through the Subaru computer system. Just show Subaru proof of ownership. So I went back to my dealer but they wanted to charge me a hundred bucks just for the Pin.

I told him that may work for your little old lady customers.

My very loud, indignant response the counter guy (“…not in this lifetime…etc”) was heard by the service manager, who had the good sense to immediately recognize a very irritated, unhappy customer. She rushed out, I gave her my documents, she spent a minute on her computer, gave me the Pin Key numbers I needed. No charge.

The squeaky wheel gets the case closed.

It is a shame that sometimes you have to raise your voice to be heard......

[MyronL]

Hear hear, Jim. And... the little victories do count for a lot.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by MyronL

Hear hear, Jim. And... the little victories do count for a lot.

Yes, and it makes you feel good about yourself, like the feeling of finding a lost wallet in your desk with money inside.......

[Ooshkaboo]

I think nowadays they call that-going Karen, or mean spirited…

[Iowa Dave]

I dealt directly with the fleet reps from local car companies when buying cars and pickups for municipal use, back in the day. I was talking to him about specs one day. He said he had handled all commercial accounts until recently. The dealership owner had hired a second young man and split the accounts. The new guy had sold a new small Ford car to the local newspaper. There wasn’t much margin. It was to be one of the cars that reporters could check out. So they spec’d 10 extra smart keys which at that time were about $100 each. The young guy “missed” that on the spec sheet or didn’t know what they cost and “just threw them in”.
The dealership balked when the car came in but without the extra keys. They refused to honor the bid and said it was a simple oversight. The newspaper made one call to their “on retainer” lawyer, he made one call. Problem solved. That was my first experience with smart keys and their cost.

Some dealers are jerks some are ok.
Lately one dealership in our area has been trying to buy used cars.
Their tag line
Trade or get paid,
I finished the rhyme for them. I will say my wife doesn't appreciate my poetry
Trade or get paid
Either way you get l…d
Iowa Dave

[MyronL]

It's really a jungle out there. My wife ordered something on line she thought cost forty bucks only to find that online company had charged her for five more items at 5 times as much. A few minutes later I got through to their customer support number and had to fight aggressively before they finally agreed to cancel a bogus order. Not taking anything for granted there, we also called our bank to stop payment on any potential charges from that online company.

Quoting Forrest Gump's mother..."stupid is as stupid does..."

[gbaglo]

You can't possibly have reached a human through customer support.

[MyronL]

I actually did! There were strange pauses in it though. He sounded foreign...I thought, India?

[Iowa Dave]

Sometimes I ask where they are located. They tell me and that’s when I’m reminded my 1956 globe of the world is outdated. Siam? Belgian Congo, Madagascar? Yugoslavia?
Iowa Dave

[kavm]

Back to gas prices, has anyone used GasBuddy card? It’s not a debit card with a saving of 2 to 25 cents per gallon. A saving of 2 cents is obviously not interesting, 25 cents per gallon is.

I am not keen to get another credit card. It’s too much hassle as we have permanent (self-directed and paid) credit freeze with all credit agencies to respond to attempts at identity theft. We can lift that if needed but one bank I talked with wanted us to lift it for a couple of days and I ended that conversation. Considering the GasBuddy card doesn’t require a credit check and is essentially a prepaid card or debit card, I am thinking it might be an option.

[jkoenig24]

I don't care what interests rates of fees are as I NEVER pay them. I ALWAYS pay my balance IN FULL EVERY month. Discover Card has been taking GOOD care of me for ~ FORTY YEARS now and, the very few times I have a question / problem, I speak with a U.S. based Customer Service rep who speaks PERFECT English (NO: "my name is Goopta, how may I be helping you today"). Over the years, there have been a few months where I've charged TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars. Those bills get PAID IN FULL and, I get hundreds of dollars in cash back rewards. Discover Card has my back. I return that by being a loyal customer who doesn't chase "Special Offers" which only last a short time before the "special rates" creep up to the "normal" high rates.

As for the car "key fobs". Sadly that IS a regular scam. I would like an extra fob for my Prius BUT, I will NOT pay a dealer's outrageously marked up product. I just got a call this morning from Kingsport, TN Toyota. Back in January, I ordered wiper blade inserts (rubber strips). They didn't stock them but told me they could get them in 4 days. They told me they would call when the inserts arrived. ~ 10 days AFTER I placed the order and had not heard anything, I found OEM inserts a CA Toyota dealer was selling at $9 per insert (found on eBay). I had all thee inserts for less than $30! Kingsport Toyota wanted OVER $90!!! Had they been in the $30 range, I would have bought them to have as spares.

Seems like MOST businesses are happy to screw over a customer NOW rather than treat them fairly in order to build a relationship that would last for years. Truly sad.

[Emjay]

Originally Posted by jkoenig24

Seems like MOST businesses are happy to screw over a customer NOW rather than treat them fairly in order to build a relationship that would last for years. Truly sad.

Hubby and I were in a local dealership waiting for oil change when we overheard on speaker phone an exchange between the customer rep and an obviously elderly woman who explained she’d misplaced her key fob on her newly purchased used vehicle. She had the week previously purchased the car from them and had been offered a second fob for some kind of minimal fee. She had refused it at that time because she had no more money to put ou on a car ,but now needed to take the dealership up on the offer. ( keep in mind, this was at a time when used cars were/are hard to find)

The customer service rep refused her request and said she’d have to pay the price( I think it was $350.00). The elderly woman said she didn’t have that amount after also paying for the required oil change before she could drive the car off the lot. She further explained she hadn’t counted on that extra expense on her new car and that she had needed the car or she wouldn’t have purchased it since she was “now out of money And now she couldn’t even drive it since she had no key. “. The more we heard of this exchange, the more horrified we became. Some salesman had taken advantage of
her age and sold her a car she didn’t seem able to afford not to mention also soaking her for an oil change! she was alone with no one to help her. Just reporting the conversation to the DA’s office wouldn’t help since she gave no name.

Needless to say, we are taking our own business elsewhere. If we knew who she was, we would have tried to help but when she started crying on the phone, it was the final straw.

After some words with the desk person who had been speaking to her, we left.

VERY shamed that we had almost patronized a business with so few ethics.

Emjay