Who thinks it's alright to walk away from credit card debt when card companies act so wrongful and malicious?

who thinks it's alright to walk away from credit card debt when card companies act so wrongful and malicious? first of all, i am asking those people who do not spend on their card for fun or for superficial reasons. i am appealing to the card holder who is very serious about their financial responsibilities, yet finds them selves at odds with corporate greed, devious interest tactics, and a government who supports large multinational business rather than the american population.

i ask because of this article:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071204/credit_ca...

tell me, is it wrong for the consumer who might already have a car, a home, or any major investment already bought, and being paid for, to walk away from his credit debt utterly when faced with such corrupt tactics by the lender? i agree with being responsible and taking ownership of the contracts, agreements and debts that i take on, but when does it become abuse on the part of credit companies? it's like a bad marriage.

if one has all their major physical investments already, and their mortgage is fixed, then what is to stop a person from saying "screw you" to the credit machine conglomerates? it's only seven years of bad credit. who cares? why do the american people let themselves be slaves to the fear of bad credit? i actually support a widespread critical mass of card holders who in turn, walk away from their debt. the only only way to send a message sometimes is through a peaceful, yet aggressive maneuver aimed at the heart of lending corporations. and don't even get me started at what these companies call "fair lending rates!" 30%, 25%, 15%, even 10%??? that's like a tithe!!! how many people give 10% of their money to the church, which actually does some good? why then give it happily to the credit companies and act like we got a good deal? 3% strikes me as fair for the type of lending they offer. it's free money for them after all.

You pose a good question and discussion.

Credit cards have become way too easy to get. People in general believe they have an entitlement to have a credit card because they get flooded with offers at a too young age. We are constantly bombarded with offers of 'buy now - no interest for 2 years'. As a result, people tend to buy now figuring to pay later. We are all very good consumers nowadays.

But it all catches up with us.

The concept of saving up for a purchase has fallen out of favor and become old-fashioned. We want what we want and we want it now.

I believe one of the reasons credit card companies hike up interest rates is because so many people are willing to walk away from their debt. They happily took the money that was offered on an unsecured loan, then rationalize their plan to not pay because of 'greedy' credit card companies.

Having your interest rate go up because of late payments on another loan is nothing new. That's been around for a long time. A credit card loan is unsecured and has a variable interest rate. It can be changed due to lots of reasons. Late payments and a drop in your credit score sends a clear signal to credit companies that you're becoming a risky borrower.

Do I think it's fair for people to get charged over 30% interest - no, but then, it's not my money at stake because I didn't loan it. I think 18% interest is high and would never agree to borrow money on those terms.

In most circumstances, a debt hole is one that's been dug voluntarily. No one held a gun to your head and forced you to buy a big tv. I believe you're morally responsible to pay your debts.

Credit card companies do word their terms in a difficult to understand language. However, that's necessary to make it legal. Clear, easy to read terms would be helpful. But I still don't think most people would take time to read it even if it was at a third grade reading level.

Keep in mind with corporations... anytime corporate taxes are raised, corporations don't pay them - we do. They just increase prices to consumers (us) to raise their revenues to pay the higher tax.

We need credit education in this country! Read this board. Few people understand the terms and conditions of credit cards. They don't understand interest rates or anything else. They don't understand that they can pay their minimum payments for the next 25 years and not pay their balance down at all! I think most Americans don't have one iota of an idea how credit cards work until they find themselves in a mess that is absolutely impossible to get out of.

It used to be called usury and was illegal until lobbyists managed to get laws passed that made it legal. In the 1970s to get a credit card you had to make a ton of money to even be approved for a credit card, and you were lucky to get $1000 credit limit. Now people have $25000 credit limits and don't even make that much money!

Although I completely disagree with Universal Default and other similar tactics currently being used by some card companies it is never okay to walk away from our responsibilities. Not only did we agree to the terms and conditions when we accepted the card but we would only be hurting ourselves by not paying the company, who would ultimately get all of their money and then some from us, and our credit would be completely anhilated!

Well good luck! I have no problem with giving these crooks the finger, but who can afford to?
Having credit in todays economy is very important, unless you have a serious income. How are you going to become an owner of property, with out credit? Buy a decent vehicle? Get a loan to go to school? Start a Biz? Credit is esencial for sucsess, unless you have a large income or are a drug dealer. The current interest rates that these people charge was considered criminal from the vast majority of human history. It was called usery at one point and considered a violation of god's law and human law, then banking folks got togather and said "hey look credit money makes the world go round."....This money from the BANKS is what aloud the world to be explored by CHRIST C. and for the first co's to get the cash to exploit the world during the imerialistic phases of history. USE-her-hee, usery was aloud by law and vaawwaaala! modern banking was born! These bastards have the whole world by the neck! You can say..."hey F.. You!" to these guys but hey....they will make you pay for it in the end......unless we all together said "hey!!! NO MORE!!!" but lets get that group effort organized first before we say F.O. to the banks.....okay?.!.?

I did. I was young, I felt like I was tricked and I walked away. 4 Years later another collection company sued me. They withdrew when they found I knew that it was past it's Statute of Limitations.

If you own property they will most likely sue much sooner and place liens. Not a good idea.

In addition for my act of defiance I have received higher insurance premiums than normal, an interest rate of 18.5% on my previous car loan and 16% on my current one and am slowly starting to rebuild my credit.

I don't suggest it.

Corporate greed? It's the corporations that give us ALL jobs, that feed us, that allow us to live with the highest standard of living in the world.

Credit card debt is not a good thing... but you promised to pay your debt, and you should. Then, cut up the card and never use it again.

But walking away and not paying is not much different then shoplifting.... and it hurts ALL of us in the long run.

The key thing here is to act adult and be responsible. People who walk away from it cost other people money. Why? If a bank issues a CC to you and you go default, that's a bank loss. The person responsible for these loans may get fired. The stockholders and bondholders lose because the bank did not make enough profit. If you have a pension, 401K, IRA invested in stocks and bonds, you would lose money because the price of the stock or bond goes down.