Credit Cards: Avoiding Cards That Make Bad Credit Worse
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by: barrywaters
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Word Count: 432
Is your credit rating poor? Getting credit cards when you have bad credit isnt easy. In fact, its easier to qualify for a card that will make your credit situation worse than a card that will help you. Predatory lenders exploit your lack of options and offer you cards with high interest rates, dangerously bad fee schedules, and other terms that you would reject out of hand if you had access to better offers. These are the top signs that certain credit cards are predatory:
* Ridiculously high interest rates. When you have poor credit, youll pay higher interest no matter what, but predatory credit card rates are well beyond anything reasonable. Look online to find out what interest rates legitimate lenders are charging for credit cards for people with poor credit, and turn down any offers that are noticeably higher than average.
* Weekly or monthly fees. Legitimate credit cards never charge weekly or monthly fees, and only rarely charge annual fees. Credit cards that charge monthly or weekly fees almost always have extremely small lines of credit. This is a feature, not a bug. The credit card company wants the fees to accrue so quickly that your line of credit is devoured by fees, not by charges. You get to charge almost nothing before you have no credit left, and the lender spends the next months or years collecting steep fees from you for the privilege of not being able to use your credit card.
* Loans or credit applications that require you to pay a fee up front. Its illegal to charge a fee before a loan is actualized, so if a company asks you to pay before it approves you (even if it swears that approval is guaranteed), turn it down and report the company.
* Unethical (and possibly illegal) billing practices. Predatory credit card companies sometimes try tricks like mailing you a bill on the bills due date, meaning that by the time you get the bill, your account is already past due. Cancel your account if you can afford to, and send in your monthly payments on your own, without waiting for the company to mail you a monthly reminder.
These are only a few of the signs that a credit card lender is predatory. Educate yourself before you start your search for credit cards. You are in a sensitive financial position, and you need credit cards that will help you to improve it, not dig you deeper into debt.
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More sites about student credit cards, visit getsmart.com/credit-cards.
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