granted to financially substantial commercial borrowers). Are you aware that bankruptcy laws have radically changed, and that it is not nearly as easy to walk away from credit card debt as it used to be?

Do you realize that complaints about credit cards have been ranked among the top four consumer com

“But Everybody’s Doing It”

Are you familiar with that plea some children make in an attempt to get what they want based on the behavior of their peers: “But everybody’s doing it”? Should you, as a business founder or one who wants to be, use credit cards, just because a majority of your peers are using them? Ironically, the answer may lie in the same type of parental analysis that might be applied to a child’s situation. Are you mature enough to handle the freedoms and responsibilities that are associated with the behavior? Do you know what you are getting into?

Have you checked your credit card statements and account terms lately, and read the fine print? What those disclosures say, once they are translated into non-legalese, is that if you use the credit card account, you both understand and agree to the terms. Have you noticed default interest rates (if you miss making even a single payment on time) in excess of 30 percent? These default rates are not all that dissimilar to those of loan sharks, especially in light of the fact that they have emerged during a period of record lows relative to interest rates set by the Fed and corresponding prime interest rates (the most favorable rates granted to financially substantial commercial borrowers). Are you aware that bankruptcy laws have radically changed, and that it is not nearly as easy to walk away from credit card debt as it used to be?

Do you realize that complaints about credit cards have been ranked among the top four consumer com

s are using them? Ironically, the answer may lie in the same type of parental analysis that might be applied to a child’s situation. Are you mature enough to handle the freedoms and responsibilities that are associated with the behavior? Do you know what you are getting into?

Have you checked your credit card statements and account terms lately, and read the fine print? What those disclosures say, once they are translated into non-legalese, is that if you use the credit card account, you both understand and agree to the terms. Have you noticed default interest rates (if you miss making even a single payment on time) in excess of 30 percent? These default rates are not all that dissimilar to those of loan sharks, especially in light of the fact that they have emerged during a period of record lows relative to interest rates set by the Fed and corresponding prime interest rates (the most favorable rates granted to financially substantial commercial borrowers). Are you aware that bankruptcy laws have radically changed, and that it is not nearly as easy to walk away from credit card debt as it used to be?

Do you realize that complaints about credit cards have been ranked among the top four consumer com

redit card statements and account terms lately, and read the fine print? What those disclosures say, once they are translated into non-legalese, is that if you use the credit card account, you both understand and agree to the terms. Have you noticed default interest rates (if you miss making even a single payment on time) in excess of 30 percent? These default rates are not all that dissimilar to those of loan sharks, especially in light of the fact that they have emerged during a period of record lows relative to interest rates set by the Fed and corresponding prime interest rates (the most favorable rates granted to financially substantial commercial borrowers). Are you aware that bankruptcy laws have radically changed, and that it is not nearly as easy to walk away from credit card debt as it used to be?

Do you realize that complaints about credit cards have been ranked among the top four consumer com

payment on time) in excess of 30 percent? These default rates are not all that dissimilar to those of loan sharks, especially in light of the fact that they have emerged during a period of record lows relative to interest rates set by the Fed and corresponding prime interest rates (the most favorable rates granted to financially substantial commercial borrowers). Are you aware that bankruptcy laws have radically changed, and that it is not nearly as easy to walk away from credit card debt as it used to be?

Do you realize that complaints about credit cards have been ranked among the top four consumer com

granted to financially substantial commercial borrowers). Are you aware that bankruptcy laws have radically changed, and that it is not nearly as easy to walk away from credit card debt as it used to be?

Do you realize that complaints about credit cards have been ranked among the top four consumer complaint categories based on data from state and local consumer protection agencies (just behind automobile repairs and home improvement)? Have you used your favorite search engine and combined various words and phrases such as “credit cards,” “consumer complaints,” and “hate”? (Be prepared to wade through millions of hits.) It does not take much perusing to come across stories of woe written by consumers who have been tricked and trapped by credit card companies. You need to understand that some banks are engaging in predatory lending practices.

There are stories being told by people who signed up for a low rate for the “life of the balance” only to later receive a notice that in the fine print it was disclosed that the bank could change this rate based on factors such as credit ratings (and other criteria, at the sole whim of the institution). Many banks have sent these notices although their customers have not even missed a payment, which is clearly egregious. You’ll note that these are not “shady, off-the-wall” banks relative to the names that you will see mentioned—these are brand name banks engaging in shady business practices.

The banking industry constitutes a powerful lobbying force, which ex