You Should Know Your Thieving Credit Card Companies

For a number of credit card consumers, lending options are widely available. However for individuals with bad credit, the options are few and far between. With this in mind, lenders may take advantage of individuals who have problems repaying debt. These organizations typically target people with tarnished credit, elderly, or low-income individuals. Predatory lending for credit cards companies are becoming rampant thanks to the ease of targeting certain demographics and markets.

Predatory lending is a practice that provides unreasonable rates and fees for bad credit consumers. They offer high interest rates and, often, high fees for each credit that they sell to the borrower. By doing so, the repayment amount becomes too steep - or fees become unusually high for the average cardholder.

For people with tarnished credit scores, careful consideration should be taken for “bargain loans.” Bargain loans are programs that promise that an individual’s tarnished credit isn’t a problem. The offers are often labeled as a “limited time” offer and consumers are enticed to quickly apply. In many instances, the lenders offer instant approval or even guaranteed approval for their card application.

Interestingly, it’s illegal for lenders to require payment of fees before a loan is actualized. If this happens, the borrower should immediately report this to the proper agencies. There are plenty of scam operations that charge a huge fee and then not offer the loan to the applicant.

Before applying for such a loan, the applicant should check to see the terms of the credit card before signing the dotting line. One should verify that the terms of agreement is the same as what was discussed with a sale representative.

Individuals with bad credit should try to determine if the lender is a trustworthy company. One can simply ask for references from the lender, or contact the Better Business Bureau for any complaints. Sometimes information about the lender can be found by a simple search in a search engine like Google. News or complaints by customers on popular websites such as ripoff.com can raise red flags. There are even forums for credit cards that have opinions and complaints from cardholders.

Card applicants should shop around as well. The consumer should look at the rates and fees for each credit card and assess which one is right. Sometimes customer service is an important factor. Ask for the customer service hours and service quality.

Credit cards can also come in the form of a secured card. In other words, you would need to provide collateral such as cash to get the credit card. For example, a $300 credit card limit will require you to upfront $300. However, if the credit card company requires that the collateral amount should be over the card limit, then it may be best to walk away from the program.

Predatory lenders also take advantage of the grace period. In fact, the lending company could issue the bill with a payment due date of the mail issue date. This means that by the time the recipient receives the bill, the bill will be already past due. The lender now has means to raise the rates and fees.

Consumers need to be aware of Credit Card companies that are involved in predatory practices, especially consumers with bad credit. As more of these practices become apparent, consumers now have the means to arm themselves from such lenders.