PNC Bank Outta Their Minds! Let's give-up more Constitutional Rights

[Murphy4570 15]

I use a debit card. No fees or any BS like that, and if I don't have the money for something, I can't get it! Makes it real easy to keep my finances in the black.

 

I'm mostly a cash operation myself, have no credit card as of yet. I'll probably get a Visa for gas and other small purchases, just to have a current viable credit record when I go to buy a house...

[JackDaWack 2,895]

That's not entirely accurate.

 

CC companies get a percent of the total sale, plus a swipe fee every single time the card is swiped, so even those who never carry a balance, like myself, still give the CC companies money albeit indirectly. The swipe fees range between 5 and 25 cents, and the company gets between .5% and 4.5% of the charge, depending on the card and company. AMEX is the highest by far, which is why many places won't accept AMEX.

 

For a number of reasons I only use cash in limited situations, though I do always carry a small amount with me.

1) Credit cards make tracking expenses infinitely easier, since every month I get a statement that tells me how much I spent where. If I used cash I would have to save receipts and input the data manually.

2) If my CC ever gets stolen, I can call the bank, cancel it, have a new one in 2-3 days, and be out the $20 I keep in my wallet. If I used only cash and it got stolen, I'm out anywhere from 20-150, depending on the day and what I was doing.

3) Paying by card is simpler and faster in most circumstances, and all but eliminates the possibility of being short changed.

 

There are some situations where I prefer to use cash though, primarily when I am dealing with small, local businesses.

 

My statement comes on the 14th, on the 15th I schedule a payment for the full balance due to be paid 5 days before the payment is due. That way I can't forget about it and I get to get the small amount of interest instead of the bank.

 

True, they DO make money on every transfer AND some places charge you more for using a CC, or offer cash discounts.

[Anselmo 87]

True, they DO make money on every transfer AND some places charge you more for using a CC, or offer cash discounts.

 

Those places that have different prices for cash vs credit card seem limited to select gas stations and gun stores. I try to not shop at those businesses.

[mipafox 438]

It's an arbitration clause.

 

Nobody wins in Arbitration..............only loosers.

 

True. I've worked on these cases several times. (I am not a lawyer). But everybody loses small. That is why they have these clauses. They transform the complaint into a big shit sandwich and everybody has to take a bite.

[SW9racer 262]

I use a debit card. No fees or any BS like that, and if I don't have the money for something, I can't get it! Makes it real easy to keep my finances in the black.

...

 

I dont use those debit visa cards anymore. A few years back was buying some stuff at a local camera shop. The guy accidently rang up some extra stuff on the counter that was not mine. He voided the transaction immediately, but visa did not release my funds back to me for 5 days, it locked my balance out and I could not use the card until I put in more cash into the account. I shredded the card after that and only use real visa cards now.

[HINCHMAN 4]

Hate to tell you this but it is a very common practice. Why would they want to go to court, why not bind you to arbitration?

It is VERY common...its been going on for about 40 years.

[Texas Shooter 35]

Standard Arbitration agreement.

 

Typically with all financial related matters, you waive right to a jury trial, and go to binding arbitration, which is a lot cheaper for everyone.

 

I believe it also has to do with reputation. If you sue a bank, it can appear in the papers and affect their reputation. To be fair, all a service company has is their reputation. If they lose that, they are out of business. Look no further than Arthur Andersen for an example. With binding arbitration, no one will know.

 

Also, I believe that with arbitration, the bank has advantage since it's done on their terms, but I might be wrong on this. My general opinion is that if the bank puts something into the agreement it's because it benefits them, not you.

[deadeye74 5]

I hate the credit card companies. Made some bad choices in my early/mid 20's cause I got offers left and right. Long story short, it ended in a bankruptcy like 11 years ago. I decided at that point to never use credit cards again. Manage to buy a house without a CC, however that was before the housing bust when loan regulations were lax.

 

Fast forward to 2011. Started looking into buying another house and selling mine. Sat with a reputable realtor in my area and his finance people ran my credit to see if I would get approved. Paperwork came back from the bank saying I did not have proper credit. The fact that I pay my car and mortgage on time for the past 5 years did not mean anything. I was told I had to get at least 2 credit cards and use them to build my credit. WTF?

 

I got a department store card and a visa. Since my credit score was low, could not get more than $300 credit limit on each of them with like a 20% APR. The kick in the a$$ to this: as per my loan guy, never carry more than 50% of my total available credit over from one month to another, and don't pay off the balances when you get the statements immediately make a purchase. So if I leave one card with a 0 balance, and charge $250 on card number two, I should at minimum pay $100 on the first month, carry $150 balance into the second month and not make a purchase till the third month after I pay off the $150 balance in month number two after the initial purchase.

 

This has become more work than I feel it's worth. Makes no sense to be punished by banks for not paying them their monthly/yearly fees and APR's. So much for the idea that paying the bills that matter on time would make you look responsible!

[JackDaWack 2,895]

I hate the credit card companies. Made some bad choices in my early/mid 20's cause I got offers left and right. Long story short, it ended in a bankruptcy like 11 years ago. I decided at that point to never use credit cards again. Manage to buy a house without a CC, however that was before the housing bust when loan regulations were lax.

 

Fast forward to 2011. Started looking into buying another house and selling mine. Sat with a reputable realtor in my area and his finance people ran my credit to see if I would get approved. Paperwork came back from the bank saying I did not have proper credit. The fact that I pay my car and mortgage on time for the past 5 years did not mean anything. I was told I had to get at least 2 credit cards and use them to build my credit. WTF?

 

I got a department store card and a visa. Since my credit score was low, could not get more than $300 credit limit on each of them with like a 20% APR. The kick in the a$$ to this: as per my loan guy, never carry more than 50% of my total available credit over from one month to another, and don't pay off the balances when you get the statements immediately make a purchase. So if I leave one card with a 0 balance, and charge $250 on card number two, I should at minimum pay $100 on the first month, carry $150 balance into the second month and not make a purchase till the third month after I pay off the $150 balance in month number two after the initial purchase.

 

This has become more work than I feel it's worth. Makes no sense to be punished by banks for not paying them their monthly/yearly fees and APR's. So much for the idea that paying the bills that matter on time would make you look responsible!

 

A bill is a bill is a bill is a bill.... Doesn't matter what it is. If you don't pay your cc but u do pay your mortgage, your credit rating still goes down. Any time you have a bill that doesnt get paid on time your credit takes a dump...

 

Story: My father with A++++++++ credit, never missed a bill in his life.... had my dim wit brother use one of the family emergency cards with out telling him, he didnt realize there was a balance, and missed payment by one day, his rating went down a significant amount and he was PIIISSSED. All it takes is one missed bill to drop your rating, even if you've never missed a bill in 20 years and you payed it one day late.... Credit bureou's are very quick to drop your rating, and are very slow bringing it up.

[raz-0 1,259]

A bill is a bill is a bill is a bill.... Doesn't matter what it is. If you don't pay your cc but u do pay your mortgage, your credit rating still goes down. Any time you have a bill that doesnt get paid on time your credit takes a dump...

 

Story: My father with A++++++++ credit, never missed a bill in his life.... had my dim wit brother use one of the family emergency cards with out telling him, he didn't realize there was a balance, and missed payment by one day, his rating went down a significant amount and he was PIIISSSED. All it takes is one missed bill to drop your rating, even if you've never missed a bill in 20 years and you payed it one day late.... Credit bureou's are very quick to drop your rating, and are very slow bringing it up.

 

One day late? No, that doesn't happen. They have to report the account in delinquency for it to appear on your credit, and they wait way more than one day for that. One day late, will however get your rate for the card jacked, mainly because they are waiting for any excuse to do that. I've missed a couple of payments by the due date, mostly in the early days of electronic payments where things didn't go quite right. Not a one showed up on any credit report ever. But we are talking literally missing the grace period by one or two days. Almost nothing official happens in less than 30 days, including credit reporting.

[Murphy4570 15]

I dont use those debit visa cards anymore. A few years back was buying some stuff at a local camera shop. The guy accidently rang up some extra stuff on the counter that was not mine. He voided the transaction immediately, but visa did not release my funds back to me for 5 days, it locked my balance out and I could not use the card until I put in more cash into the account. I shredded the card after that and only use real visa cards now.

 

Hrm, haven't had that issue with mine. I've got a Mastercard debit though, not Visa.

 

There are places that don't take personal checks anymore (mostly small businesses), so carrying around my checkbook is a rarity for me these days. I either have cash, know where an ATM is, or just use my debit card. Found out the hard way there's a permanent $700 daily limit on the damn thing though! That pisses me off.