Credit card bills

First there was Rep. Winston Castelo (2nd district, Quezon City). Now Senators Francis Escudero and Bong Revilla too are taking up the cudgels for overcharged credit cardholders. They have filed separate bills to regulate arbitrary rates and fees charged by card companies. This, in light of several Supreme Court rulings, latest in Sept. 2009, limiting interest to only one percent and penalty to another percent per month. (See http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2009/september2009/175490.htm) The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas keeps claiming that the ruling pertain only to the specific plaintiffs and defendants in the cases. But critics insist that SC decisions form part of the laws of the land. Besides, the BSP must protect vulnerable consumers.

Meanwhile, among the numerous e-mail from readers about credit card abuses is this sharing and advice from Rick Levy of Eastwood City:

“I am an American expatriate with experience on both sides of the credit card issue, as a former debtor and a retired bill collector. Some observations: Your e-mailer is wrong; many credit card lenders in the US do charge annual fees. Watch that number increase as banks look for ways around new restrictions against other charges.

“Among the complaints you received, there seems an underlying attitude of entitlement, that is, that credit cards are a right, not a privilege. Many if not most card users both here and in the US share this distorted outlook. And it explains why so many people are trapped in debt.

“When people become dependent on credit cards, that’s a danger sign. Put another way, what did people do before credit cards? I’m old enough to remember. The answer is, if they couldn’t afford to buy something, they did without and saved up until they could pay for it.

“Granted, credit cards are valuable tools in emergencies, such as an uninsured urgent medical expense. But for the most part, overextended cardholders are in that condition usually due to indiscreet spending on luxuries.

“My advice, and I think that stressed-out cardholders who wrote to you and the millions who didn’t would agree: Folks, pay off your bills and cut up your credit cards or severely curtail using them. This is also a way to get back at the predatory banks that screwed you in the first place. And for those who don’t yet have a credit card but are envious of those who do, don’t apply for one. You will be better off and more financially secure than your freewheeling friends and relatives who find themselves in trouble whenever the bill comes due.”

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E-mail: jariusbondoc.@workmail.com

–Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star)