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Originally Posted by aafc01
1. All lenders come under the scrutiny of the Office of Fair Trading or Mortgage Code Compliance Board or Financial Services Authority.
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Yes, however some recent debacles have shown how poor that scrutiny can often be.
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2. Whenever someone gets into trouble, they always have brought it upon THEMSELVES.
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That is IMO excessively harsh. Lenders often use what can best be described as "confusion marketting" techniques.
For instance if they give you a card that offers "0% on balance transfers for 6 months" how many people would look for, or *know* to look for something that says that if you pay off any amount on the card, it goes to pay off the *transferred* balance *first*, whilst all new transactions are running up interest?!
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3. It is quite simple to simply shred the "pre-approved" platinum card application you know. Nobody holds a gun to your head and makes you fill it in.
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If you do not *ask* for an increase in your credit limit on a card, you should not be *offered* an increase. Nor should you even be given one without asking! (On a related point, some years ago, Nat West kept trying to up the "credit zone" on my bank account, whether I wanted it or not).
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4. Anybody who borrows tens of thousands on CC's and is daft enough to believe it doesn't need paid back is stupid enough to go to a money lender instead.
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A lot of people simply do not *realise* how quickly debts can mount up until it's too late.
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5. If you think CC's have a high interest rate....
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Yes, I know there are store cards that have 30% plus interest rates. There are also "roll up" home equity release schemes that have left people tens of thousands of pounds in debt because they weren't told the full details before they took them out.
To blame people for falling for these sorts of things without levelling equal or much greater criticism on those who peddle them is, IMO, simplistic.