Credit cards..good or bad..

The MBNA bank has been accused by a High Court judge of "torturing" a customer with repeated phone calls demanding he repay his credit card.

Mr Keith Harrison had his debt of £20,270 written off by Judge Nicholas Chambers QC at Mold in North Wales.

He said MBNA had failed to give Mr Harrison the terms and conditions for the card, when he took it out.

MBNA said it was reviewing the comments and said it had been unable to have "meaningful dialogue" with Mr Harrison.

"[We] were unable to ascertain the reason for non-payment," the bank added.

The judge denounced the tactics that MBNA and its debt collection firm had used to force him to pay up.

"In my view, the claimant rightly complains that, mainly by MBNA but also by the defendant [debt collectors Link Financial], he was hounded by telephone calls seeking payment of what was said to be due," said Mr Justice Chambers.

"The calls were a form of torture oppressively frequent in amount and often without attribution to an identifiable number." ..Read more..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12622318.

Personally I dont have a credit card and never have had. Perhaps i'm old fashioned in my thinking of..If you cant afford to pay cash for it, go without till you can.. I've seen so many people get themselves into awful debt through banging things on their plastic and not thinking about the bill at the end of the month. A couple of them I know have gone under and lost their homes. Banks will practically throw CC's at you as they love to reel you in and once they've got you by the purse strings its a nightmare trying to get out.
any thoughts on this?

Credit cards can be good if you use them right. Unfortunately too many people use them wrongly and get into all sorts of trouble.

The banks should really be more accountable, they seem to hand them out to anyone and only bother when people get into trouble and cant repay the minimum payment.

I have 2 credit cards. these days they are useful for booking hotels/ holidays etc. Must admit I can be a bit loose with them sometimes though and have to pay for it later. Can be dangerous to people in debt already or spendaholics.

I used to use credit cards, but got rid of them all. It is simply so much more expensive to use credit, as the interest rates are exorbitant.

Easier, cheaper and more satisfying to save up for something and then buy it outright.

Yes its easy to get carried away but as Dolly says they are so handy for paying for items on-line. Essential for booking flights etc.

Going back to the original post. I dont understand how that man has gotten away with it? Surely not knowing the terms and conditions isnt an excuse. He absolutely must have known that if he spent then he had to pay and if he didnt pay then he would be asked to explaine why and make arrangements for payments to be made.

I think he has a bloody cheek saying they upset him by phoning and wanting answers. The judge is an idiot who has now paved a new path for the non payers.

Silver wrote:Yes its easy to get carried away but as Dolly says they are so handy for paying for items on-line. Essential for booking flights etc.

Going back to the original post. I dont understand how that man has gotten away with it? Surely not knowing the terms and conditions isnt an excuse. He absolutely must have known that if he spent then he had to pay and if he didnt pay then he would be asked to explaine why and make arrangements for payments to be made.

I think he has a bloody cheek saying they upset him by phoning and wanting answers. The judge is an idiot who has now paved a new path for the non payers.

You can do all that with a debit card. I have encountered a couple of hotels that insist on a credit card to book, but I just take my custom elsewhere.

As regards the original story, it does seem strange. Maybe the judge is resenting his OWN interest payments!

i always use credit cards cause hubby gets paid monthly , its a godsend
also if ya get ripped off anywhere your covered by your creidt card.

Some good comments..I suppose its like most things, if used wisely its a good thing. And I was wondering how the guy got away with having the debt wiped!..Shouldnt have run it up in the first place..

kinkyboots wrote:i always use credit cards cause hubby gets paid monthly , its a godsend
also if ya get ripped off anywhere your covered by your creidt card.

That is true, it is a good idea to pay for large purchases by CC, because of the insurance element.

i always pay it off the following month the whole balance x

kinkyboots wrote:i always pay it off the following month the whole balance x

If you have the discipline to do that, it is all good. Trouble is, I do NOT have the discipline, so best not have them for me