News: King Cnut orders the tide to stop coming in

[Rave]

Not quite, but nearly:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...ing-rates.html

[wombar]

Mr Brown called for a "new responsible approach to lending," revealing that he was planning a Downing Street summit to discuss the matter with the credit card firms.

Yup, that's what you should have been doing for the past 10 years my friend Whilst I'm a firm believer that everyone should be free to make their own decisions, some people just aren't good with money and needed to be protected from themselves.

The banks/CC companies will nod, agree with GB and stick another couple of percent on top for good measure.

[Fraz]

I wouldn't say it's "some" people that aren't good with money. I'd say it was a lot. People that actually have large sums of money sitting on a credit card are bona fide idiots. Why not just get a bank loan...

[wombar]

I wouldn't say it's "some" people that aren't good with money. I'd say it was a lot. People that actually have large sums of money sitting on a credit card are bona fide idiots. Why not just get a bank loan...

Or even better, don't spend money you don't have

I use my credit card to pay for absolutely everything, BUT I pay it off in full every single month. I get points on the card, which usually amounts to a free case of beer every few months plus you get more protection with a CC.

[iranu]

I use mine for nearly everything too but again I pay it off every month without fail. I don't see a credit card as giving me credit except for the time period between getting the goods and paying off the card.

Anyway, how can El Gordo dictate to credit card companies what their rates should be?

The fact that this man has splurged a huge amount of tax payers cash, produced huge public debts in the good times and is looking at increasing it in the bad times, uses underhand accounting practices with projects such as PFI and public pensions to keep the true cost off the books, encouraged spending and debt by changing the rate at which inflation is measured and as a matter of policy encouraged housing market price inflation. The man is a two faced hypocrite.

[moogle]

Or even better, don't spend money you don't have

I use my credit card to pay for absolutely everything, BUT I pay it off in full every single month. I get points on the card, which usually amounts to a free case of beer every few months plus you get more protection with a CC.

Exactly! Thats the way everybody should use them.. When my friends say "Oh I don't have a credit card because I'd be tempted to spend spend spend" I just think.. Idiot.

Plus more protection with Credit Card

[TheAnimus]

I wouldn't say it's "some" people that aren't good with money. I'd say it was a lot. People that actually have large sums of money sitting on a credit card are bona fide idiots. Why not just get a bank loan...

I've got the better part of 15k without checking i can't be precise.

Why?

Because its 'interest free' split over 2 cards, one 2% fee (for a 10months 0%) another 3% fee (for a year).

In the same period i've seen my savings go up by almost 35% in risky savings, and a disappointing 5% in low risk.

Now why would i bother paying cash for my kitchen, when i can stick it on that?

Funny thing was after spending 12k, they gave me another 3k, which i duly squandered more easily than i probably would have if i where spending cash, strange how that works isn't it.

However this debt is very managable as i've more savings (i hope ) than i've debt. Also i could pay it off without much of a problem if i lost those savings.

[Agent]

Exactly! Thats the way everybody should use them.. When my friends say "Oh I don't have a credit card because I'd be tempted to spend spend spend" I just think.. Idiot

The people who spend 1000's and can't pay it back are the only people that I'd put under "Idiot", if anyone.
People who don't own credit cards because they are worried about managing their finance are smart, IMO

[Stewart]

^ Doesn't have a credit card because is worried about managing their finance.

[badass]

Anyway, how can El Gordo dictate to credit card companies what their rates should be?

He is the PM. He can threaten them with legislation should they not stop being immoral.

How is it in any way fair that a company lends someone money, then once they have lent enough that the borrower can't pay it back very quickly decides to increase the cost of borrowing when the base rate has just been cut.
Just because people can be stupid does not mean it's OK for others to rip them off.

[Fortunate Son]

Brown is clueless, he built an economy on debt and now he is reaping what he sowed

[Whiternoise]

Or even better, don't spend money you don't have

I use my credit card to pay for absolutely everything, BUT I pay it off in full every single month. I get points on the card, which usually amounts to a free case of beer every few months plus you get more protection with a CC.

I just pay it off online as soon as i've bought whatever it is.

The benefits of having a credit card are useful enough to warrant this "hassle" about taking care with your money. So long as you make sure you've got a direct debit, the money in your account anyway and you never overspend, you're fine. Getting a card with a monthly limit that you can stick to is a bonus - that way at least if you max it out, it's maxxed out and you can't go into debt as easily. The odd purchase from the US, even doing your normal shopping with a credit card is fine, so long as you pay it off you can enjoy a free crate of wine a year, money off places like amazon, air miles, etc. It's when people start to buy things like TV's and house renovations on their credit cards that things start to go wrong.

[TheAnimus]

He is the PM. He can threaten them with legislation should they not stop being immoral.

How is it in any way fair that a company lends someone money, then once they have lent enough that the borrower can't pay it back very quickly decides to increase the cost of borrowing when the base rate has just been cut.
Just because people can be stupid does not mean it's OK for others to rip them off.

Why are they been immoral?

The worse credit risk you are, the more interest you have to pay to mitigate the risk. Simple.

As it stands this rule applies to banks too, just because the BoE rate is so low, dosen't mean that banks borrow the money this low. In fact if you look at 6M LIBOR its amazing credit card rates haven't gone up more than they already have.

This is the kind of word that only applies to morons who know not what they are talking about, i mean brown supporters.

[badass]

Why are they been immoral?

They are using those who signed up to a lower rate to pay for their **** ups.
That's hardly fair.

[Stewart]

You got the letters of Cnut in the wrong order.

[Clunk]

You got the letters of Cnut in the wrong order.

King Nutc.