I think Amex is in more trouble than people realize.  Have had a platinum card for 18 years, never missed a payment and they just slashed my credit limit in half.  If they are doing this to their best customers they must be going down the tubes.

I think Amex is in more trouble than people realize.  Have had a platinum card for 18 years, never missed a payment and they just slashed my credit limit in half.  If they are doing this to their best customers they must be going down the tubes.

I have a few cards which I can no longer afford to make the minmum monthy payments on  because last month I lost my job. I have been forced to prioritize and at the top of my list is my mortgage, then utilities and food. Everything else comes next provided there is any money left. I have been worried about not making the payments on my cards, but what else can I do?

My question is this..  If worse comes to worse and I let the cards go unpaid, what will happen? Will there be a point when I can offer them something to settle the debt and how does that work? Otherwise, if they sue me I understand they could garnish my wages but I am no longer employed, I have 0 dollars in a savings account and I owe  more on my home than it's actually worth? Could they tap into equity if I had it? What are the options besides bankruptcy and what can they (the CCC) do to me?

www.cbsnews.com/.../main2593558.shtml

I would really like to encourage people not to use credit cards, we used to put things on lay away:

now we are their slaves

I would like to add this very interesting article to the last post, please, pass this on the web to as may as possible

www.nypost.com/.../senate_targets_abuses_by_credit_card_firms_business_paul_tharp.htm

I was 16 two years ago and got Credit Limit of 30,000$ from AMEX!  

I agree that the credit card companies have made some bad decisions when it comes to defining the target audience for their offers, and they really nail people with ihgh fees when they fall behind on their payments.  At the same time, it's really getting tiresome to hear so many people placing blame with the big, bad banks as if it's exclusively their fault that people are in financial trouble.  

Regardless of what you're offered in the way of credit, YOU are making the decision to sign up for it.  Millions and millions of households signed up for way too much credit, and did not take the time to understand how it was going to affect them once they had to pay the piper.  All they cared about was that their friends were buying houses, nice cars, stereo systems, clothes, vacations, etc. so they deserved that too.  Before this latest recession shook millions in this country back to reality, the excessive consumption made me want to vomit.  

Finally, finally, people are coming to grips with the fact that you can't live a champaign lifestyle on $50,000 a year.  More people need to quit looking everywhere else to point a finger of blame, and look in the mirror.  We all need to become more accountable for our own finances, and make sure we understand what the heck we're getting ourselves into when we sign up for that HELOC or our 4th or 5th credit card.  

As recently as the 50's and 60's, the vast majority of households had only a mortgage for their house where they had put 25% or 30% down, and maybe a car loan.  That was it.  They lived within their means, and everything else was paid for with cash.  If you really want to put the big, bad credit card companies out of business, then stop using plastic to buy everything, and they'll be out of business because they won't have any users of their plastic!  But maybe that makes too much sense...

Credit card companies are ripping the consumers off.  Yes, we are the ones who signed up for these, but they take advantage of all of us by charging too much interest, finance charges, and high minimum payments.  Our cards would have been paid off years ago, if it had not been for their crooked tactics.  They keep the bulk of our payments, which in turns never lowers the balance only by a few dollars.  They need to be stopped in their tracks.  I suggest everyone send a letter to www.whitehouse.gov, and tell them to do something with these banks.  They have robbed us long enough. There will be no spending for any of us until "We the people of the U.S." are given back the money that was taken from us.  They need to cut our balances in half, they've gotten enough.

I was 2 days late on my bank of america cc and they doubled my interest rate.

If my customers paid me on time I could make my payments on time. So now that my payment is double can I charge my customers double? Not   For I would be out of business. I now call Bank Of America ,  Bank of North Korea because they dont understand either.

The message is clear gov. will bailout

big Banks,air lines,auto industries,ect.!! But willnot the honest pepole ,Workers!!. They need to wipeout all CCdept and let the companys go broke. They could also take the 780 billion and give each head of house 200thousand and let them take care of the whole eco.,any one making over 1million should not recieveany.