Fees Fees and Fees

Didn't you know you were getting close on your credit card limit?
Before I paid mine off and cut them up, I ALWAYS checked my balance
over the phone before engaging in any major spending, just as a
precaution. Maybe that's a bit obsessive, but after going $30 over
limit one time and having to pay a $29 fee because of it, learned my
lesson.

Also, they WILL work with you, any credit card company would rather
you pay them something than nothing, although if you think an extra
$10/month will do it, you're being far too naive and optimistic.
They'll probably tell you to come up with half the overlimit, or maybe
$100-$200 extra a month over what you were paying, I don't know. But
as others have suggested, you can always return the merchandise.

I agree with what a lot of people have already stated.

If your purchases does not amount to services, I would sell off any
merchandise to pay down the debt.

Bankruptcy courts will not just discharge consumer debt any longer, so
that may be a somewhat futile avenue.

I couldn't believe that any credit card company would not wish to
speak with you about your debt. If I'm not mistaken, they have
departments established for just this type of thing.

Before even considering filing for bankruptcy, it sounds like you
could use some help with someone structuring a plan for helping you
get out of debt. Don't just go to anyone for help though. Contact
your local city and county division. Ask them who you can contact for
help in debt management. They may be able to work with you to design
such a plan and help you budget for your future costs.

calm down, you'll just be charged "extra"...

Have I missed something? I thought credit cards did allow
"installment" payments. Sure, there's a monthly minimum, but you're
not required to pay more than that. Of course, yes, you'll pay
interest and fees.

I presume that the problem is that $1200 over-limit means that your
monthly payment is more than you can afford. Yes?

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you
honestly needed to spend all that money (especially with a baby on the
way). If that's the case, I wonder what would have happened if you'd
been denied going over your limit. If all of your purchases were
really necessary (which I presume they were), surely you're happy with
the fact that the credit card company extended you an extra $1200.
Yes?

A tip: don't make the threats of bankruptsy. While that may end up
being a sad reality, what you're basically doing is making a demand
with "I'm not going to pay you... nyah nyah nyah... if you don't bent
to my demands."

Um, waitaminit. YOU spent more money than you had to the tune of
$1200 (!) and you are complaining that Chase charged you overdraft
fees? Huh? Did I miss something? When could you not spend more
money than you had and not get penalized for it? I want that account,
dagnabit!
If you have such a problem managing your money, I recommend you
purchase Microsoft Money. It's an excellent financial manager, and
allows you to see where all your money goes and assists you in making
a budget to fit your income and spending needs.

BTW, I prefer to use cash or a debit card. Kind of hard to go over
limit with those.

Irresponsibility of the OP aside, the credit card companies often
low-ball the credit they issue their customers, knowing that a high
percentage of individuals are irresponsible with money and will likely
go over their established credit limit.

The established limit is the 'soft limit' and does not represent the
true credit worthiness of the customer, which is why the customer is
allowed to go over their limit to the 'hard limit.'

This is highly unethical, and is done solely for the purpose of
generating additional fees and interest charges.

It is unfortunate that our public school systems are producing so many
financially irresponsible individuals. It seems that public schools
do not teach kids how to think or how to use common sense and actually
promote consumerism.

This gives the credit card companies an unlimited supply of new
suckers to pay their fees.

We need to expect more from everyone involved, this OP who somehow
went $1,200 over her limit AND the credit card companies who prey on
these types of people. The credit card company could have simply
rejected the transaction(s) that were over the limit and embarrassed
the crap out of the OP. It would have been a much less costlier
lesson and would have been far more positive for her in the long run.

BTW, this credit card company did not use Grannies savings to pay that
$1,200 bill they just created the money out of thin air, so it cost
them nothing to let her go over her limit. If the OP files bankruptcy
over this, and is freed from her obligations to repay the money, that
money will be written off by the credit card company, with the
inflated costs of trying to collect this debt taken off their tax
bills. The end result is inflation, something that everyone of us has
to pay for; only the OP and the credit card company will benefit.

actually pointed out a very valid thing about this letter.

If the OP is SOOOO broke and can't afford the $1200 they didn't have
to spend in the first place, why don't they just return or sell off
what they got to pay the bill?

Unless the whole thing is a big scam and they are angling the
bankruptcy thing to try and get Chase to give them better interest
rates they aren't entitled to, I can't understand why they wouldn't
either.

I still stand by my comment that there is NO WAY on this Earth that
the OP didn't know the charge was going to put them $1200 over their
limit - that is not Chase's fault, nor is it their job to police them
like a little child and continually ask, "Are you sure you want to
charge that? It's gonna cost you!"

And to think, they're procreating!

A credit card company or bank should not have to contact a customer
every time they make a purchase to make certain the customer knows
what he or she is doing.

Even if it is on a very basic level, a customer has a responsibility
to keep himself or herself knowledgable about what has been charged
and how much is available to charge.

My God. You blame them because you can't keep track of your spending.
Amazing.

Why should they have to let you know about your spending>

You need to grow up.

If you don't even have a CLUE on how much your spending, give or
take... you need to grow up.

I'm pretty poor. My husband and I are both college students, and we
don't have much money. We're not starving to death, and we can
(susually) pay (most of) our bills. I'm not ashamed of being poor, and
I never look down on people that have less than we have. So I
understand not having money lying around.

My husband and I recently paid off and cancelled our credit card. We
had gotten a bit out of hand with our use of it, and it had become a
strain on our finances and our marriage. So we scrimped and saved,
sent them more than the minimum, and basically lived on love until we
could pay it off. So I understand about overspending on a credit
limit as well.

What I don't understand is your assertion that Chase should make
allowances for you. You are apparently adult enough to bring new life
into the world. I would hope you are adult enough to take
responsibility for your spending. Especially when you have a baby on
the way, I would hope you would be extra careful about your finances.


Others far more knowledgeable than myself have pointed out that
bankruptcy does not absolve you from debts, so your threat to go
bankrupt is a bit empty, as well as shady.

Please educate yourself about smart money handling. I'm bad with
money by nature, but I have made the commitment to be a more
responsible person and learn how to budget and plan my finances a bit
better. If I can do it, anyone can. Your new baby deserves to grow
up with parent(s) that make sound financial decisions to safeguard his
or her future.

Usually you can send payment in installments. No payment is ever
turned away. But you will still accumulate interest, and you will
still have to eventually pay it in its entirety.

I'm bad with money, in all honesty, and I have overspent when I
shouldn't have. But I wasn't entitled to freebies, and even though you
have a baby on the way, you aren't either. And I took responsibility
and made payments.

$1200+ Seems pretty steep, but I know that daily living expenses when
you include bills and rent can add up. But ultimately it is your
responsibility to keep track of your purchases. Not everyone is born
great at that, i personally carry around a little notebook where i
write down everything i buy and keep all my receipts.

Okay, I'm sorry, but how can you go over your limit by over a thousand
dollars and not realize it?

It is not the company's responsibility to look after you. You are an
adult, and therefore should know better than to spend money that you
don't have. If you can't control yourself, don't have a credit card.

This is completely your fault. I don't have much more to say. I can't
imagine a person having a child when they are still one themself.

If you can't come up with the money to pay Chase, how are you going to
afford a bankruptcy attorney?

However, should you find an attorney that will work with you, I'm sure
Chase's attorney will be at your bankruptcy hearing with this letter,
proving that you made purchases with your card that you KNEW you
couldn't afford, intending to file bankruptcy. Guess what account
WON'T be getting discharged??

You really should know your IQ before attempting to outsmart others.

OK, I could see maybe not knowing you were making a purchase that was
going to put you $10 or $20 over the limit, but $1200?

I'm sorry, there is no way you can say you didn't know that attempting
to spend $1200 would put you over the limit.

"Plaese (sic) help me set up a payment plan that can help us both
because if this doesnt happen with the overlimit and late fees I will
have to go bankrupt which means you will receiv e(sic)little or no
payment on this bill." WOW!!

See, none of this is going to hurt them because you owe the money and
you will owe them the money no matter what. You spent wht you didn't
have. Threatening bankruptcy is just low beyond words.

And to ask for an interest reduction when you've just exhibited such
blatant irresponsibility with your credit - Again, WOW!

Adding the bit about the baby on the way is just even more
irresponsible. If you're already as strapped for cash as you claim,
why were you making a $1200 purchase????

I can't believe you had the guts to even write this letter let alone
ask for an interest rate reduction.

This letter is even dumber than the fake letters people post to this
site. How in the world did you go $1200 over your charge limit and
not know it? I could be high on drugs and still be able to realize I
didnt have that much credit available to me. For the love of god and
your family, pay off this bill and cut up all your credit cards. Your
new baby will thank you whenever she may be able to eat.

"I will have to go bankrupt which means you will receive little or no
payment on this bill"

Well, thanks to the rewritten bankruptcy laws, good luck getting out
of paying off your consumer debt.

[I was allowed to go 1200$ overlimit on a purchase without a call or
anything authorizing this overlimit purchase.]

I'm sure you were. A lot of credit card companies do this. However,
that doesn't mean you are exempt from paying it.

[If I had known this was so far over my limit I would have never made
purchase.]

How didn't you know? It is your responsibility to know your credit
card limit and to not exceed it.

[Then when I call to ask for help because I dont have 1200$ just
laying around all I get is I have to pay 1200+ dollars before they
will help me. I have a new baby on the way and barely have money to
stay afloat and no one would even try to work with me on this.]

That's correct. Every time you use a credit card, you agree to their
terms and policies. If you spent $1,200 on your credit card, then you
have to pay $1,200. Ditto the interest and fees. I also have a baby on
the way, but that does not make me exempt from following the same
policies that everyone else has to follow.

I'm not sure what credit card you have, since it doesn't say so in
your complaint. I'm also not sure how they're going to help you if you
don't even have the letter addressed to them. However, it seems you
have a few choices: return the merchandise you bought, find a (legal)
way to get $1,200+ to pay the credit card, or make a minimum payment
every month and accept the interest and other fees that go along with
it. I understand this bill is coming at an inopportune time, but you
created it and you are responsible for figuring out how to pay it.

You don't have $1200 lying around but you had no problem spending it
when you didn't have available credit. You owe it and you need to pay
it.

Every credit card statement I get shows how much available credit I
have left. Do you even look at your statements?

I'm wondering what the original limit on your card was that you were
able to go over it by $1200? That amount to me would be some heck of
a shopping spree on top of any additional amount from the original
limit amount. You need to sell off whatever you cannot return back to
the store to help yourself while waiting for the approval of a payment
plan.

You're responsible enough to have a baby on the way so you already
know the "If I had known...then" argument doesn't hold water. Explain
how this is the fault of anyone else but Bernard?
I think a better option would be to get an extra job or two. Your baby
isn't going to wait until you can afford formula or diapers or heating
or doctors bills or having something set aside in case something
happens.
I hate to break it down for you, but it's all your responsibility. You
need to return what you can of whatever you bought and get a second or
third job. It's not going to get any easier.

Please let us know what the bank says after getting this letter!

How in the world do you go overlimit $1200 without realizing it?
Sweetie, this is your own fault. I hope Chase agrees to work with you,
but I also hope you learn your lesson from this.

How big of a fool ARE you? It's not like you went over by like $10,
and made a simple error. You used money YOU DON'T HAVE and now you're
complaining about it? Get rid of your credit card. YOu aren't
responsible enough to have one.

Umm. I have an idea! RETURN some of the $1,200.00 worth of stuff you
bought.

:)