Credit Cards Watch

Kapag kami ay naglalakwatsa ng buong pamilya, kung maaari ay tag-isang credit card lang ang dala naming mag-asawa. Dalawang mag-kaibang credit cards, just in case magkaron ng aberya. At kung sa malayo-layong lugar tulad sa Pinas, kung kailanganin man naming bitbitin ang mga cards namin: health cards, credit cards, discount cards, miles cards, greetings cards etc. Lahat ng yon e nakalagak sa baul ng kweba kung saan kami napadpad…Yun ang unang hanap namin, ang maitago sa safe na lugar ang mga importanteng karda sa aming buhay.

Isang masamang karanasan ko tungkol sa pag-gamit sa credit card na mababasa nyo dito, ay tungkol lang sa mga transactions na nag-appear ng di ko alam. At mabuti rin na naibalik sa amin yung pera. Pero marami na akong nababasang nalintikan tungkol dyan sa credit cards na yan.

Unang una yung halos maubos ang kanyang limit dahil nalinlangan sya pagkatapos kumain sa isang restaurant. Kaya kami ngayon, para kaming buntot na sumusunod sa mga waiters kapag credit card ang gamit namin sa pagbayad. Ayaw na naming iwan ito sa kamay ng isang stranger, kahit na isang sekundo lamang.

Mabuti na lang, dito sa Oyropa, karamihan e sa mismong table mo ikaw magpipindot ng iyong credit cards. Sa harapan mo mismo, mas maganda di ba. At kundi naman, sasabihan ka nilang sumunod sa kanila para ikaskas yung karda mo. Kaya lang medyo lax pa rin sila sa pag-compare ng signatures e. Minsan nga di na nila tinitingnan yung signature kamo. Di bale na kung kilala mo na talaga yung tao sa cashier tulad sa mga suking tindahan mo…

Heniway, meron akong nakitang makabuluhang babasahin na galing kay Market Manila. Paki-basa na lang…

Here are Marketman’s serious tips to help insulate you from unnecessary credit card losses; please forward to your friends if you care about them:

1. Check your local credit limits right this instant. If the total credit limits far exceed your normal or even peak usage, call your credit card companies immediately and ask them to lower your limits to a level you can truly manage.

2. When you go out and it is not likely that you are going to max out your cards, do NOT bring all of your local cards with you…leave some safely put away at home.

3. Every evening when you get home, check your wallet to make sure all of your credit cards are in their slots, if not, call the credit card company immediately even if you are unsure where your card is. It’s easier to have a new one issued than to risk a PHP50,000 charge on your stolen card.

4. In a restaurant, always leave those faux leather jackets/folders that they use for credit cards OPEN on the dining table, this will make you more cognizant of the fact that you may have left your card still in the jacket.

5. Beware of unsolicited increases to your credit limits, reject these unless you really use the additional limits. Just think, if 500,000 consumers are given a PHP20,000 increase that is PHP10 billion more in open credit limits and if only 1% are subject to fraud, that is a potential PHP100 million that the credit card companies can come after clients like you and me for!

At may konting comic relief, nakuha ko naman ito dun sa comment page ni Market Manila from a certain HD who got this forwarded email:

Subject: Cancel Your Credit Cards Before You Die

I don’t know if this is true but its funny and it shows how stupid credit card companies are! Hehehehe!

Motto: Be sure to cancel your credit cards before you die……… This is just so priceless….and so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is….

My Aunt died this past January. Citi Bank billed her for February and March for their monthly service charge on her credit card, and then added late fees and interest on the monthly charge…the balance had been P0.00…now was somewhere around P3,600.00. I placed the following phone call to CitiBank:

Me: “I am calling to tell you that she died in January.”
CitiBank: “The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.”

Me: “Maybe, you should turn it over to collections”
CitiBank: “Since it is 2 months past due, it already has been.”

Me: “So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?”
CitiBank: “Either report her account to the frauds division, or report her to the credit bureau maybe both!”

Me: “Do you think God will be mad at her?”
CitiBank:”…excuse me ?”

Me: “Did you just get what I was telling you…. the part about her being dead?”
CitiBank: “Sir, you’ll have to speak to my supervisor!”

(Supervisor gets on the phone)

Me: ‘’I’m calling to tell you, she died in January.”
CitiBank: “The account was never closed and ! the late fees and charges still apply.”

Me: “You mean you want to collect from her estate?”
CitiBank: “…..(stammer)” …. “Are you her lawyer?”

Me: “No, I’m her great nephew.” (Lawyer info given… )
CitiBank: “Could you fax us a certificate of death?”
Me: “Sure.” ( Fax number is given )
( After they get the fax. )

CitiBank: “Our system just isn’t setup for death”
Me: “Oh…”
CitiBank: “I don’t know what more I can do to help…”
Me: “Well… if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her…I suppose…don’t really think she will care….”
CitiBank: “Well…the late fees and charges do still apply.”

Me: “‘Would you like her new billing address?”
CitiBank: “That might help.”
Me: ” (Manila Memorial Cemetery #### Sucat, P’que, and plot number given. )
CitiBank: “Sir, that’s a cemetery!”
Me: “What do you do with dead people on your planet?