Foo - Debit Cards - For the love of God

Back in the day it was simple: If here was money on the account, you could buy stuff. If there wasn't enough funds, you couldn't buy.

Now days, banks have bobby-trapped the system to screw you over. Take my latest example... I subscribed to an online gaming site for my son. It had the option to subscribe for ONE MONTH ONLY. I chose that option, this was back in July. My son played the games and got bored. On Aug 21, the site sends me an email asking if I wanted to renew. I didn't. By Aug 22 I logged into the site and the account was indeed disabled, no access to the games.

I checked my bank account on the 22nd, I had like 225 bucks. My daughter's birthday is comming up so I withdraw 200 and gave it to my wife for party supplies. Check the account again on the 23rd... around 25 bucks there... We went out on the 24th, doing some errands, with the children. I stopped a few times along the way to get stuff for them:

- One bag of candy for the baby girl --> 0.99
- One soda for the boy --> 0.89
- Two cheeseburgers --> 1.99
- Orange Juice for the girl --> 1.25
- Soda for wife --> 0.89
- Water for me --> 1.25


So the six transactions didn't got to 10 bucks and I had 25 there, so I'm good right? WRONG!

I checked my account this morning and the online gaming site decided charge me for a renewed subscription anyway. The charge didn't showed up till this morning (28th) but it appears with a date of Aug 23. The charge was for 24.99, leaving only a few cents on my account. Every single one of my mini-transactions on the 24th now appear as going against a negative balance and I got hit with 6 overdraft charges of 30 bucks each. $180.00 bucks total in overdraft charges alone.

Now I have to call the website, if they ever answer... visit the bank in the morning (I'm supposed to sleep at that time, I'm a night shifter), go through all the drama... I hate this.

From my research, it seems that now all banks operate like this, hiding charges for days just to post them later with an old date and screw you over really good.

ack. yeah they're hoping you will just roll over on it and eat those charges, so good for you for going in to fight it (sorry to hear those are your snoozin hours, though).

I think if people would walk in and stick one of the desk jobs at the corporate office in the neck with a pen they'd stop doing that.

Over here in the UK we have a bloke who's always on TV railing against banks and bank charges. He spearheads the campaign for ordinary people to get their money back of the theiving B-stards. He's Ace

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/

Dunno if theres anything like it in the US

I subscribed to an online gaming site for my son.

????

i don't have any children, but seriously, i don't understand why you would do this?

btw, never, never, never, never give a third party access to any of your credit or bank accounts - never! it's a bad, bad, bad, bad idea!

????

i don't have any children, but seriously, i don't understand why you would do this?

btw, never, never, never, never give a third party access to any of your credit or bank accounts - never! it's a bad, bad, bad, bad idea!
So.... never use them?

Unless you're assuming he gave the kid his card, in which case when games expire I delete my card info from the site too.


I never had an issue, but I've always found the security around debit cards to be horribly lacking, especially considering all the automated computer systems, programmers looking for work, and card theft there is.

????

i don't have any children, but seriously, i don't understand why you would do this?

btw, never, never, never, never give a third party access to any of your credit or bank accounts - never! it's a bad, bad, bad, bad idea!

So...then...what exactly is the point of having them?

in college I had an issue with someone getting a hold of my card number and making fraudulent charges. at the time I was informed by the fraud officer not to utilize my debit card for online purchases (I'd made a couple). Don't recall the reasoning behind it (maybe they aren't as secure? and i think it may be more of a hassle and less protection in those instances?).... but from then on I've only used my CC for online purchases.

????

i don't have any children, but seriously, i don't understand why you would do this?



I think in this case "gaming" probably does not = "gambling". (Is that what you were thinking?)

At least I hope not.

ugh i hate places that automatically renew crap for your convenience!

I think in this case "gaming" probably does not = "gambling". (Is that what you were thinking?)

At least I hope not.

yeah I would imagine - that could mean like warcraft etc.

The reason you should never use a debit card to make purchases is because it's essentially a direct line to your $$$. If anyone steals the number and starts making purchases, it comes directly out of your account and most banks will give you a really really really hard time about replacing your money regardless of their policy of "protecting" you in such an event.

If you use a credit card you essentially have an extra buffer layer to soak up those charges. If you're a customer in good standing, most credit card companies will bend over backwards to fight fradulent charges for you and remove them from your statement.

Unless someone has really poor credit, I have no idea why people use debit cards. The instances people cited above are perfect examples why. Get a no cost credit card that pays benefits (cash rebates, gas credit, miles, etc.) and pay the balance off every month. You come out way ahead like getting 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase.

discover card FTW. keeping some cash in the checking account as a buffer might be a good idea too, probably save you a few phone calls w/ the bank in this case.

I cannot stress this enough debit cards are bad, at least with a credit card you have time to fix it before you have pay it.

Witha debit card they can empty your bank account just like that.

ugh i hate places that automatically renew crap for your convenience!

yep! i'm been "renewed" automatically before with active.com against my wishes. i'll never buy a membership with those kinds of terms again.

renewing, ongoing, continuing, etc. are all words that should raise a red flag.

getting down to $25 bucks in an account is waaaaaaay too low ruben!

Don't use your debit card for online transactions.

Then you have my wife how takes credit cards as a license to spend money without any recourse. No thanks. I know debit cards have issues but the alternative is far worse. That being said I never use mine online. I send money to my credit card and then order an item. Speaking of which I need to order my fenders today.

getting down to $25 bucks in an account is waaaaaaay too low ruben! And making six transactions for a total of less than $10 is kind of strange, too. Coins and currency are still legal, ya know.

Then you have my wife how takes credit cards as a license to spend money without any recourse. No thanks. I know debit cards have issues but the alternative is far worse. That being said I never use mine online. I send money to my credit card and then order an item. Speaking of which I need to order my fenders today.
a few swings with the Bat of Financial Knowledge might help here. or give her a separate card with a low limit.

She is bipolar. Nothing helps but restricting her from the finances. Even then she goes out and opens 4 credit cards, proceeds to max them out, and I pound my head into a wall.

Online shopping = credit card. More protection with a credit card. Just pay it off at the end of the month. It's a LOT safer.

i never trust anyone with access straight to my funds. credit card for all purchases for me. 250 rewards check every couple of months is when i get to splurge on stuff i dont need.

Unfortunately, automatic renewal has become the norm lately for many types of subscriptions. That is one reason I subscribe to almost nothing anymore. It seems to take several billing cycles to stop a subscription, once you manage to get their attention. I don't auto-renew anything with my checking account.

I don't use debit cards. I still have a regular ATM card, and if funds are not there, no transaction happens. I have been told that my ATM card will eventually be useless, but until that day, I refuse to have a debit card. I use an American Express card for most stuff, and cash for most of the rest. A plain green American Express card must be paid off on a month-to-month basis. Mine has a limit, which they calculate based on, I believe, my annual income, but a lower limit setting might be available if one asks.

Back in the day it was simple: If here was money on the account, you could buy stuff. If there wasn't enough funds, you couldn't buy.

Now days, banks have bobby-trapped the system to screw you over. Take my latest example... I subscribed to an online gaming site for my son. It had the option to subscribe for ONE MONTH ONLY. I chose that option, this was back in July. My son played the games and got bored. On Aug 21, the site sends me an email asking if I wanted to renew. I didn't. By Aug 22 I logged into the site and the account was indeed disabled, no access to the games.

I checked my bank account on the 22nd, I had like 225 bucks. My daughter's birthday is comming up so I withdraw 200 and gave it to my wife for party supplies. Check the account again on the 23rd... around 25 bucks there... We went out on the 24th, doing some errands, with the children. I stopped a few times along the way to get stuff for them:

- One bag of candy for the baby girl --> 0.99
- One soda for the boy --> 0.89
- Two cheeseburgers --> 1.99
- Orange Juice for the girl --> 1.25
- Soda for wife --> 0.89
- Water for me --> 1.25


So the six transactions didn't got to 10 bucks and I had 25 there, so I'm good right? WRONG!

I checked my account this morning and the online gaming site decided charge me for a renewed subscription anyway. The charge didn't showed up till this morning (28th) but it appears with a date of Aug 23. The charge was for 24.99, leaving only a few cents on my account. Every single one of my mini-transactions on the 24th now appear as going against a negative balance and I got hit with 6 overdraft charges of 30 bucks each. $180.00 bucks total in overdraft charges alone.

Now I have to call the website, if they ever answer... visit the bank in the morning (I'm supposed to sleep at that time, I'm a night shifter), go through all the drama... I hate this.

From my research, it seems that now all banks operate like this, hiding charges for days just to post them later with an old date and screw you over really good.

This sounds like what Bank of America did to me a few months ago. I couldn't get out of it; the best that they could do was credit one of them back. Though I hear that going to a local branch might give you a better shot.

The gambling institution probably processed the transaction as a CREDIT charge, meaning that it doesn't officially hit the account until three business days later (I think). Which means that technically, you haven't overdrafted until the charge actually goes through. If I'm not mistaken, DEBIT transactions fail if there is not enough money in the account to process it.

The only way to really avoid overdrafts now a days other than checking your balance meticulously (which is hard to do, ESPECIALLY with Bank of America's super faulty email alerts system) is to sign up for Overdraft Protection, which will use any linked accounts to cover the OD fee.

Unless someone has really poor credit, I have no idea why people use debit cards. The instances people cited above are perfect examples why. Get a no cost credit card that pays benefits (cash rebates, gas credit, miles, etc.) and pay the balance off every month. You come out way ahead like getting 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase.

I don't use my credit card often because the risks to my credit score from late payments or other things are much higher than the (low) probability of my debit card account number being captured somehow. Dings in credit score can take a while to repair, and one late payment can do you in pretty good. I also like money that I know (with more confidence) that I have available, and if you're not very fiscally responsible (like me), credit cards can easily compliment a lifestyle of buying things one can't afford and procrastinating the charges. The only time I use my credit card is for online transactions, and even then I use my handy-dandy virtual credit card service, where I can allocate just enough to cover the item I need, and dispose of the number when I'm done. It's great.

FWIW, my credit score is pretty good. It was excellent a few months ago, but dropped because of some behaviors I took.

Then you have my wife how takes credit cards as a license to spend money without any recourse. No thanks. I know debit cards have issues but the alternative is far worse. That being said I never use mine online. I send money to my credit card and then order an item. Speaking of which I need to order my fenders today.

And you're complacent with that behavior?? Seriously??

It appears the Bat of Financial Knowledge that black_box speaks of could be very helpful for many. :D

Wow, many of you have been duped by millions upon millions of dollars of advertising by the credit card companies. Big surprise.


You're the type of consumers who'd charge $50,000 on credit cards just to get $750 cash back, overspending way more than the $750 in the process. Even if you pay your card off monthly, it's been proven that the average person spends 12-18% MORE using a credit card than using cash.

Why do you think places like McDonald's started taking credit cards? ;)

Guess how much their average sale went up when they started accepting them? Try over 40%

According to Consumer Reports 75% of airline miles go unused - another great credit card bargain.
I could go on, but what's the point? :D


You can use debit cards and they work fine if you use them and manage your finances responsibly.

Post above = point.

Wasn't over-reliance in credit one of the factors in the housing market bubble burst?

I do know that in the more fancy/artsy areas of NYC, credit (and sometimes cash) is what makes the world go round.

I have a ton of credit card debt. Switching my debit card for a credit card is idiotic for me. The discipline is just not there. That and the wife is not helping any.
So, the credit card is for extreme emergencies. I don't have the cash= I don't spend it.
To be honest I do not know what exactly an extreme emergency is. Possibly the furnace going out in the dead of winter. I had adopted this stance in the past but my definition of an emergency slowly expanded through out the years.

Anyhow, my balances are now dropping. Thank god.

Credit card companies are the enemy. They are not looking out for your well being.
Perhaps one should start using checks again. I know my spending would drop if I had to spend the time to write a check.

I have a ton of credit card debt. Switching my debit card for a credit card is idiotic for me. The discipline is just not there. That and the wife is not helping any.
So, the credit card is for extreme emergencies. I don't have the cash= I don't spend it.
To be honest I do not know what exactly an extreme emergency is. Possibly the furnace going out in the dead of winter. I had adopted this stance in the past but my definition of an emergency slowly expanded through out the years.

Anyhow, my balances are now dropping. Thank god.

Credit card companies are the enemy. They are not looking out for your well being.
Perhaps one should start using checks again. I know my spending would drop if I had to spend the time to write a check.

I don't agree with you completely, but I can see why you feel the way you do. I usually label my bank institution as "evil" when I mess up on a transaction or something, despite the fact that Bank of America is actually one of the better ones out there...

While I use my credit cards conservatively, they are really helpful for establishing a credit base for huge ticket items like a house, a car or something that requires a LOT of money upfront. I had a small debt incurring on my credit card, and I decided to apply for a credit card with a larger credit line (I could pay for my Cervélo in one fell swoop with it -- with accessories), make a balance transfer to that credit card and gave the credit card to my mom and pledged to never use it until it's all paid off. (Though I had to use the other card to fill up my tank today and I had to purchase a $670 set of wheels/cassette, but THAT was an emergency purchase and an upgrade that was needed.) The original card is still active and remains in my room somewhere, and is only used when I absolutely need it. Have you tried giving the card to someone else that you absolutely trust and pledge to not use or request for it until it's paid off?

Can you live off of debit or cash, or is that impossible at this point?

I have a ton of credit card debt. Switching my debit card for a credit card is idiotic for me. The discipline is just not there. That and the wife is not helping any.
So, the credit card is for extreme emergencies. I don't have the cash= I don't spend it.
To be honest I do not know what exactly an extreme emergency is. Possibly the furnace going out in the dead of winter. I had adopted this stance in the past but my definition of an emergency slowly expanded through out the years.

Anyhow, my balances are now dropping. Thank god.

Credit card companies are the enemy. They are not looking out for your well being.
Perhaps one should start using checks again. I know my spending would drop if I had to spend the time to write a check.

it sounds like you got it all figured out... i hope you can get your wife on the same track. otherwise, it's the poor house for both of ya.

i consider emergencies anything that is not planned for. a couple of years ago, my grandmother died somewhat unexpectedly, and in short time i had to shell out almost $700 for a flight. shortly after that my GF's grandparents died and had to fly again for that. Both trips, completely unplanned, came out to about $2000 grand with all the little extra stuff (flowers, food, rental car, etc..) in about a month. it took almost a whole year to get it paid off with all the interest payments.

now, i've managed to build up a cushion of money. It just sits there collecting interest until i need to use it. i'm a bank that lends to myself now. a much better arrangment. :)

Aroun d here, my bank would just back charge the gaming company, and wipe all the other charges away. Not an unusual problem with companies that charge your credit/debit card for monthly seervices. many computer services are the worst.

I don't agree with you completely, but I can see why you feel the way you do. I usually label my bank institution as "evil" when I mess up on a transaction or something, despite the fact that Bank of America is actually one of the better ones out there...

While I use my credit cards conservatively, they are really helpful for establishing a credit base for huge ticket items like a house, a car or something that requires a LOT of money upfront. I had a small debt incurring on my credit card, and I decided to apply for a credit card with a larger credit line (I could pay for my Cervélo in one fell swoop with it -- with accessories), make a balance transfer to that credit card and gave the credit card to my mom and pledged to never use it until it's all paid off. (Though I had to use the other card to fill up my tank today and I had to purchase a $670 set of wheels/cassette, but THAT was an emergency purchase and an upgrade that was needed.) The original card is still active and remains in my room somewhere, and is only used when I absolutely need it. Have you tried giving the card to someone else that you absolutely trust and pledge to not use or request for it until it's paid off?

Can you live off of debit or cash, or is that impossible at this point?

While giving a card to someone else is a valid idea it does not address the fundamental issue. Meaning that many of us are addicted to purchasing crap we do not need. Like my wife and I.
Instead I have instituted these measures and things are improving for me. My wife is lagging behind. :rolleyes:
Anyhow, the idea is to fix spending and institute a few rules. Seems to be working.
At this point in my life I am uninterested in acquiring more stuff and do not worry about establishing a credit history. Mine started at 17 and I am 33 at the moment.

I have no issues with debit cards. Credit cards are another story.
So I have the following rules:
1) Redefine an emergency
2) Stash the cards
3) When making an online purchase schedule the payment to my credit card for the purchase before I complete it.
4) No cash = no purchase

I have tried so many different tactics over the years and everything just gets worse. Then it occurred to me I was not taking into account our spending habits. Finally it occurred to me that this was basically a sort of an addiction to shopping. The bulb came on at long last.

I'm very happy to hear that you found something that worked for you. For me, it was a matter of not falling back to my credit cards when my debit accounts look rough (especially when a noticeable portion is going towards a bike payment).

it sounds like you got it all figured out... i hope you can get your wife on the same track. otherwise, it's the poor house for both of ya.

i consider emergencies anything that is not planned for. a couple of years ago, my grandmother died somewhat unexpectedly, and in short time i had to shell out almost $700 for a flight. shortly after that my GF's grandparents died and had to fly again for that. Both trips, completely unplanned, came out to about $2000 grand with all the little extra stuff (flowers, food, rental car, etc..) in about a month. it took almost a whole year to get it paid off with all the interest payments.

now, i've managed to build up a cushion of money. It just sits there collecting interest until i need to use it. i'm a bank that lends to myself now. a much better arrangment. :)

I used to have huge cushion of cash. *sigh*

It's not really the poor house... we are already there. More like the big D if this does not turnaround. I can not handle stress like this for much longer. Soon a visit with a marriage counselor will be in order....again. I think financial issues are responsible for a large percentage of divorces.

It's none of my business, but if somebody's cashflow is tight, then maybe signing up for online gaming services and spending $200 on party supplies isn't their wisest course.

Responsible financial management is tricky these days, but, walking around with only $25 in your account is just... unwise. You're almost asking for it (but not quite).

What happened to you does suck, but these days you have to plan for these kinds of contingencies. Nobody else is going to look out for you, and rightfully so. If it's hard for you to keep a buffer of cash in your account, you probably need professional financial management help.

Unless someone has really poor credit, I have no idea why people use debit cards. The instances people cited above are perfect examples why. Get a no cost credit card that pays benefits (cash rebates, gas credit, miles, etc.) and pay the balance off every month. You come out way ahead like getting 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase.
High interest rates?

I'd really rather not pay a sizable amount more on everything simply because I'm paranoid, really I'd just like the bank to come into the 21st century of security.

High interest rates?

I'd really rather not pay a sizable amount more on everything simply because I'm paranoid, really I'd just like the bank to come into the 21st century of security.

If you pay everything in full every month, the interest rate doesn't matter. I have no idea what my interest rates are on my credit cards, never needed to know, doesn't matter.

Back in the day it was simple: If here was money on the account, you could buy stuff. If there wasn't enough funds, you couldn't buy.

Now days, banks have bobby-trapped the system to screw you over. Take my latest example... I subscribed to an online gaming site for my son. It had the option to subscribe for ONE MONTH ONLY. I chose that option, this was back in July. My son played the games and got bored. On Aug 21, the site sends me an email asking if I wanted to renew. I didn't. By Aug 22 I logged into the site and the account was indeed disabled, no access to the games.

I checked my bank account on the 22nd, I had like 225 bucks. My daughter's birthday is comming up so I withdraw 200 and gave it to my wife for party supplies. Check the account again on the 23rd... around 25 bucks there... We went out on the 24th, doing some errands, with the children. I stopped a few times along the way to get stuff for them:

- One bag of candy for the baby girl --> 0.99
- One soda for the boy --> 0.89
- Two cheeseburgers --> 1.99
- Orange Juice for the girl --> 1.25
- Soda for wife --> 0.89
- Water for me --> 1.25


So the six transactions didn't got to 10 bucks and I had 25 there, so I'm good right? WRONG!

I checked my account this morning and the online gaming site decided charge me for a renewed subscription anyway. The charge didn't showed up till this morning (28th) but it appears with a date of Aug 23. The charge was for 24.99, leaving only a few cents on my account. Every single one of my mini-transactions on the 24th now appear as going against a negative balance and I got hit with 6 overdraft charges of 30 bucks each. $180.00 bucks total in overdraft charges alone.

Now I have to call the website, if they ever answer... visit the bank in the morning (I'm supposed to sleep at that time, I'm a night shifter), go through all the drama... I hate this.

From my research, it seems that now all banks operate like this, hiding charges for days just to post them later with an old date and screw you over really good.



been there done that....I've watched for the "hold em and post em later" hook and crook but haven't confirmed it with my bank.
I read somewhere about banks making money with overdraft fees the way you mentioned so I've watched ours closely ever since.

If you pay everything in full every month, the interest rate doesn't matter. I have no idea what my interest rates are on my credit cards, never needed to know, doesn't matter.

With credit cards, you do the smart thing:

1) Get a credit card with 0% promotional (at least six months)
2) Buy stuff and keep credit-to-debt ratio low (i.e. if LOC is $50,000, don't spend $49,999)
3) Apply for another credit card, 0% promotional that has free (or low-cost) balance transfers
4) XFER debt from (2) into (4), then HOLD ON TO (2) to minimize total credit-to-debt ratio (but only (2))
5) Repeat

I think if done this way, you'll never have to pay a minimum balance.

If you pay everything in full every month, the interest rate doesn't matter. I have no idea what my interest rates are on my credit cards, never needed to know, doesn't matter.

You completely sure of that? I'm pretty sure interest rate is rolled at the pay period, paid in full or not. Interest rates are the lowest at 12% it seems too, which mine is of course higher being 21.

You completely sure of that? I'm pretty sure interest rate is rolled at the pay period, paid in full or not. Interest rates are the lowest at 12% it seems too, which mine is of course higher being 21.

Well check your credit card, but most have a grace period on new purchases until the end of the payment period. I have never had one that charged me interest, as I never carry a balance.

More on grace periods (http://www.federalreserve.gov/Pubs/shop/#long)


The grace period is the number of days you have to pay your bill in full without triggering a finance charge. For example, the credit card company may say that you have “25 days from the statement date, provided you paid your previous balance in full by the due date.” The statement date is given on the bill.

The grace period usually applies only to new purchases. Most credit cards do not give a grace period for cash advances and balance transfers. Instead, interest charges start right away.

If you carried over any part of your balance from the preceding month, you may not have a grace period for new purchases. Instead, you may be charged interest as soon as you make a purchase (in addition to being charged interest on the earlier balance you have not paid off). Look on the credit card application for information about the “method of computing the balance for purchases” to see if new purchases are included or excluded. Information on methods of computing the balance is in the section “How is the finance charge calculated?”

(emphasis mine)

I will never, never purchase something online on the assumption that it is for a "trial" or "free for your 30 day trial" type of schemes. Bad bad bad

Even giving a utility company your card number just one time, will give them the (what they consider their) right to haul out funds from your account for ANY reason if late. No PAYING BY PHONE with your card. This for the same reasoning.

Sorry, take it from someone who found out the hard way. I authorized a payment one time over the phone for something that was late. The next week it's entire amount I owed them was withdrawn from my account. Fine print stating something like your mortgage says, if it is late, they can demand full repayment of the loan.




Bad bad bad

Well check your credit card, but most have a grace period on new purchases until the end of the payment period. I have never had one that charged me interest, as I never carry a balance.

Me either. That's what I meant earlier when I said use a credit card instead of a debit card. Pay off the balances every month and get the protection that a debit card doesn't have. Plus if you pick the right card, some of the benefits are good - 1.5% cash back, gasoline company credits, air miles, etc.

I know it takes a lot of discipline for many people but just pretend it's a debit card and the money comes out of your account so you can't overspend.

UPDATE:

I have good news, but first let me address a few issues...

The Site: It's not a gaming site, gee! It's a web site with a lot of video games that you download and play. Beats going to GameStop and buying ONE game for 40 bucks. The child plays it for 3 hours, gets bored with it and turns it into a dust collector. But I'm changing to one of those that email you the DVDs (for consoles, Wii, PlayStation, etc) because my son's PC is always having trouble with the graphics, or the games run way too slow...

Who's at fault: This is a free country. If you choose to believe that it's the people's fault when they get screwed by the bank, it's your constitutional right to do so. If you chose to believe that the system is not rigged to screw you over, go ahead, believe it. Banks purposely make it easy for merchants to screw you over because they profit from it via the overdraft charges. Banks like to screw you, starting with the Federal Reserve, the biggest screw of them all.

About my credit: Not that is your business, but no, I have no credit. I haven't borrowed any money in decades. I hate borrowing money, I hate paying interest. I prefer to save and pay in full.

And now the update:

So I called the website, I fought with them for like 2 hours. I finally got them to to revert the charge but I had to agree to a prorated fee from the charge's date till today. Like 7 bucks, no biggie. I also got an email from them, wich I printed along with my billing history reflecting the charges being reversed. Armed with those I went to the bank. I've been with this bank for only a few months, it's actually a credit union. They advertise as being more friendly and pro-customer than their big bank counterparts. Kudos to them for upholding the promise, I got ALL THE OVERDRAFT CHARGES REVERSED! :thumb:

I also applied for a credit line to get some overdraft protection just in case. It was denied of course, because my credit history is a blank sheet of paper, nothing sip nada. But they gave me an option to fix that. I got a secured loan... they freeze 533 from your account (I got paid today), grant you a loan for 500 and put those 500 on your account. Every month they'll debit 43 bucks for the loan's payment, and unfreeze 43 (first payment is different, to make the rest be even numbers). It's almost transparent. A very easy way to build up some credit history.

The bad side of this: I worked yesterday night, 12:30 hours... I haven't slept, I didn't ride the bike and now I'm on my way to work for another 12:30 shift... and tomorrow is my daughter's birthday so no bike, little sleep. Right now it sucks to be me.

Well check your credit card, but most have a grace period on new purchases until the end of the payment period. I have never had one that charged me interest, as I never carry a balance.

Thanks, I'll definitely be looking into that...

It ALSO counts as credit transactions so is good for your credit too, yes?