When I Need A Pick Me Up, by my friend Ryan King

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

5 Potential Victims

(Originally 3/30/07)

I've had 5 hits to the website from people searching for the phrase "www.60seconddecision.com". I wonder why. Are they responding to the same letter I got? From their jobs, so that their work computers won't have the web address in their address bars? And they have bad credit? Join the club! I hope I illustrated how terrible the "deal" is.

Now today, I recieved an offer from one of my banks for a credit card. I'm currently on the phone with them as I type, and I fully expect a rejection. Because the yearly fee is $59. And that's it.

Here's the other rub -- the letter is advertising for "The Irish Heritage Gold MasterCard -- Good news! You've been pre-selected** to receive the Gold MasterCard that says a lot about you." But, um, duh people? I'M NOT IRISH. The only thing this card will say about me is that my credit sucks. So what they trying to say about my Irish brethren? Oo, oo!! And what else? The envelope on the outside says "DO NOT BEND" because there's a card on the inside, right? BUT IT'S A MOCK CARDBOARD CARD. LOL!!! Well, at least if I get approved, I'll a pretty new plastic one, WITH A SHAMROCK ON IT!!!! Please, Lord, let me be approved just to get the chance to say in a store, "Yeah, I'm just celebrating my Irish heritage."

Heck, it's good enough for Superman to be Irish--why not me?

Minimum credit line is $300 measely little dollars, and only as high as $1,500. But again, it only costs $59 bucks a year to use and THAT is cheaper than two overdraft charges.

But this is what I love; "And because you're pre-selected, there's no application fee, no security deposit and no long wait for approval." Well, I just got off the phone with them, and they said I'd get my results in a week. So much for the "no long wait". I think that was their way of saying, "Not this time Charlie. Now take that hit to your credit score, sucka!"

Thanks to the car loan, I happen to know what my credit score is. It's LOW. In the 500's. (What does one of these 100's actally represent? Why is it better to have more of them than less? Just who the hell are making these judgments and classifications? Leave it to us to find ANOTHER way to seperate ourselves into yet another category by which we can discriminate.)

So let's just see what'll happen.

What a country!

1 comment:

Me said...

Scott said...

In order to establish my credit, no mean feat because I had defaulted on an 18K school load (since paid off, thank you very much), I got a secured credit card, where you put money in the bank equal to your credit. Sounds silly, but it took no time at all to get a Sears card as a result, and on and on.
8:34 AM

Alan said...

Scott, about how long did that take from the secured card to the Sears card? And do you know what your credit score was then? And now?

I'd love to know what kind of timeframe I'm working with until I can get the car refinanced, because I wrote the check for my first car payment and new car insurance--$700 bucks combined! That was $700 bucks a month I could have been storing for rent in a new place. And when I am ready to be paying rent, $700 extra dollars to spend per month is going to hurt quite a bit.

It might just be what I have to do, but I need a better way.

Which brings me to the next post ...
10:00 AM