It’s the Sunday, 17th April 2011. Very windy, cold & quite Weekend for most of the people in the small town of Middleborough placed North East of England. Just an Hour drive from the city of Newcastle. But Bob was sweating & smoking continuously throughout the day. His mind was running in many directions, thinking & thinking. He was unable to sit or do anything other than roaming inside the small one bed room house.
First Call
It all started a year ago when he got a call offering Gold Credit Card from NatWest Bank. He was in no mood to take it but got excited when the advisor explained on the 5 % Cash Back offer, 250,000 Pound Credit Limit, 60 Days no interest period, EMI facility to pay back, Transfer of present credit from other cards !!!. He was like, “Let me have one” & signed up the deal. Within a week, the card with his name printed on it arrived to his communication address. He just opened the seal and put it in his card folder in his drawer. If it was only this, there was no need for him to face this day !!!
All was fine until he visited the Hartleepool Electronic Fest over a week end. He saw a Laptop with all the features he ever wanted. He already had one but it was bit slow as it was fully loaded with data & applications. He worked out his financials and realized he will not be able to afford this with his current savings and will take minimum 3 – 4 months to make it up. He lost his peace and then realized he has the brand new Gold credit card ready to swipe & shine. Next day with a single swipe he bought home his dream child laptop and I wish I could have said “He happily lived ever after “.
He did the repayment very promptly but got in to the habit of swiping. His mindset itself changed to an extent that he was ready to afford anything and everything. Thanks to NatWest. Bob bought many more things, some out of necessity and some as an up gradation. As he spent more, he owed more. What he owed was less than what he earned. In his savings he can’t pay back complete due amount. As he dint pay, interest of 17% was thrown on him. He skipped some payments. Extra interest and huge processing fee was added. The total amount was growing & growing. But not the salary. Bob doesn’t play Lotto also!!!
Calls after Calls
When he filled the form initially to apply for the card, with the best of his hand writing skills he has filled his mobile, home and residential numbers as all these were mandatory fields. Now he is repenting what he did. Now he is contactable on his mobile or house landline or Office extension. They call and give deadlines & abuse when he fails to meet. They visit his office during office hours and his home during late nights.
He is wondering what to do !!!
Some of the tips on how to use the Credit Card :
Source : http://www.credit-card-debt-info.com/Tips-for-Using-Your-Credit-Card-Wisely.html
Use your credit cards wisely and sparingly. Remember: Paying goods and services using credit cards are more expensive than using cash or checks. Credit payments include interest and other fees. Use credit cards as sparingly as possible. If you really need to use credit cards, carry only the cards that you will actually use.
Use credit only if you are sure you can repay it fully at the end of the payment cycle. Paying your debt on a credit card using another credit card does not count.
Avoid impulse shopping on your credit card.
Use credit for money emergency only.
Credit Card Facts:
Typical credit cards ask for a number of charges, including:
A finance charge, which is an interest charge for the unpaid portion of your monthly bill;
An annual membership fee;
Or if you're paying after the deadline, there is also a late payment fee which could have a higher interest rate.
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