Re: Credit Card Debt (and unfair collection practices) Thread 6

[izabelle]

^^ ang alam ko basta you were able to settle it, walang problema.

ang usual nagkakaproblema, yung mga hindi talaga nagbayad.

[kikai]

i came across this article http://www.mb.com.ph/how-to-deal-with-credit-card-trouble/

this might help everyone in dealing with collection agencies.

[Queen Chokolah]

What happened to the previous threads? Di ko na sila makita.

I can't believe this is happening to me now. I used to be a VERY responsible credit card holder. I always pay my due in full and on time, I only swipe what I can pay. And whenever I hear horror stories about credit cards, I just say in my mind, that that is because they do not know how to handle it.

Kaya ngayon sobrang disappointed ako sa sarili ko. When I still have one card (supplementary ako ng tita ko), wala akong problem. Nakakabayad ako lagi in full. Then nagkaron ako ng sariling credit card (RCBC, June 2014), okay din yun nababayaran ko. Then sunod sunod dumating. PNB, Citibank na dalawa, Metrobank, BPI, then pinagamit pa sakin ng tita ko yung isang Eastwest nya. Bale by this time, 8 cards na yung mine maintain ko. Two of those, tita ko ang account holder. Then eto na nga. Nabuntis ako, nanganak, lumipat kami ng apartment na walang ka gamit gamit. So sabay sabay lahat talaga. Wala ako halos binayaran sa hospital kasi sagot ng HMO, pero marami kaming pinamiling gamit. Then sa bahay pa, from cabinets, to beds, to tables and chairs, lahat. Then bumili pa kami ng aircon kasi di kaya ang init dun me baby pa man din.

Then around July last year, nag start na na di ko mabayaran ng full lahat. Pero nakakabayad ako ng minimum.

Then to cut the story short, ngayon, ang binabayaran ko na lang ay yung RCBC ko and yung mga cards na tita ko ang account holder (ayoko naman madamay sya). Natatalo kasi ako sa interest. babayaran ko mga minimum ng cards then magkaka interest, dun lang napupunta. This month, pinabayaan ko na all my cards except RCBC.

By the way, to sum all my debts (including personal loan), aabot siguro ng 1 million. Pero most of those ay yung sa tita ko kasi sa kanya ang malaki ang limit. Yung sa akin naman,

RCBC-around 27k
PNB-15k
Citibank1-26k
Citibank2-20k
Metrobank-25k
BPI-45k (kahit 29k lang limit ko)

Hindi ko sila mabayad bayaran kasi, sa personal loans pa lang, halos kalahati na ng income ko. Nag personal loan ako para may ipang bayad sa credit cards (which was soooooooo wrong kasi sobrang laki ng interest and unlike credit cards, di pwedeng pabayaan ang personal loan).

Eastwest-3800 per month
Citibank-2900 per month
CTBC-2800 per month
PB Com-5900 per month

So yung sahod ko, yun ang unang unang binabawas. Matagal pa matatapos ang mga loans ko kasi 2 and 3 years ang tenure and nakaka almost 2 yrs pa lang ako sa EW and lagpas 1yr sa ibang banks, and wala pang 1 yr sa PBCom.

Ang problema ko, kahit di ko na binabayaran yung mga cards ko, halos di rin ako makapag bayad sa accounts ng tita ko kasi puro installment (balance transfer, credit to cash, if you are familiar with these)

Accounts ng tita ko na nakikigamit ako:
EW-around 11k per month
EW2-around 12k per month
Metrobank-3600 per month
BPI-eto mabigat. Every bill, umaabot sa 60-70k ang minimum amount due (lahat ng installment). EVERY MONTH YUN.

I am so doomed and stressed out. Hindi ko ma pre-terminate ang loans ko na mabibigat kasi inuuna ko lagi ang cards ng tita ko. And halos di ko nga mabayaran. 40k lang ang combined monthly income namin ng partner ko. Except on some months na umaabot ng 60 and 80k pag me mga bonus.

Warning lang, wag kayong masyadong umasa sa mga balance transfer at credit to cash. Yun talaga ang nagpabaon sa akin. Simula nung na discover ko yun. Oo mas malaki interest kesa sa mga finance charge, pero it gives you this thinking na you can buy more. Kaya ayun di na na control. And wag na wag mangungutang para mabayaran ang another utang, unless matatapos na talaga yung babayaran. In my case, nabawasan lang for that month pero tuloy2 pa rin.

You can judge me and tell me how wrong I was, but I already know that.

Ngayon di ko sinasagot ang mga tawag sa phone ko. I'm sure mga collections agency yun kasi ayokong ma harass. I am in enough stress right now. I did send an email to them that I am willing to pay, but not right now. Inuuna ko lang ang personal loans ko and other debts.

[Girltalker2]

^ thanks for sharing your story. So sorry to hear that.
Where is your hubby, family? Kasi if they can help pay your debts muna now, at least sa kanila mapunta yung bayad mo kesa lalo ka mabaon sa interest.

Do you have a schedule when mata Tapos lahat ng bayarin? Coz Mas-stress ka talaga if you feel it is not ending. If makita mo na by 2017 you can be debt free, somehow this can give you a target and some consolation.

The way I see it, mukhang nanganganak nang nanganganak ang outstanding. Even if your debt is 1m, you pay monthly 100k, next month, 1.05m na outstanding. Parang you may want to consolidate everything. Talk to each bank and agree on a payment scheme na di na masa dagdagan? Like if you're paying bpi 45k monthly for an outstanding amount of 500k... Why not take the 500k divide it up by one year at Yun nalang babayaran mo. At di na tataas pa beyond 500k ang total cumulative payments mo from now til end ng payment arrangement mo.

------

Ako naman share ko narin naging lesson learned ko. I used to hold a lot of credit cards. When I say a lot, mga 20+ siguro. Wala lang, I just thought it would be nice to enjoy the cc promotions in shopping and dining, plus the points! Sobra akong Addict sa points.  Until recently, when I applied for a bank loan, katakot takot na docs hinihingi nila, at risk pa na mareject ang loan ko because of my CCs. To think all my CCs are paid in full every month as I buy only what I can pay. Hindi pala ok  na maraming CC kahit zero balance sila lahat.

So lesson learned - ONLY USE or HAVE 1 - 2 CARDS, to 3 cards MAX, aside from clearing the full outstanding amounts monthly. Now I only maintain 1 visa, 1 master and 1 amex. 

[izabelle]

^^ sometimes, we really need to experience such things to learn.

I was also in debt many years ago. And sobrang nakakastress kapag ang dami ng binabayaran. It came to a point na gusto ko nalang mangutang sa dad ko to pay off everything para walang interest charges kaso pinairal ko pride ko haha! I felt that time na ako gumawa ng mga utang na ito so dapat responsibilidad ko lahat.

Fortunately, I was able to pay off everything naman. And from then on, i really promised myself it will never ever happen again. Sobrang natuto ako kasi laki ng hirap ko sa kakabayad e haha!

Ang rule talaga dapat sa CC is not to consider it as emergency cash or extra cash. It is only for convenience. So any amount you swipe dapat may pambayad kang naka ready.

I also agree with Girltalker2, mag maintain lang ng 2 to 3 CCs. Mas madali mag monitor ng expenses.

[lyrahs]

May credit card din ako around 2004/2005, BPI and Eastwest. Bago ako umalis ng pinas ng early 2006, na-settle ko na yan.

Siguro a month before ako umalis, may tumawag sa bahay na collecting agent. Sinisingil ako sa utang ko daw sa EW.
Nag-init ulo ko kasi unang-una, settled ko na yung EW ko at tinawagan ko pa sila after ko mabayaran para iinform na putulin na nila yung CC ko.
2nd, pasindak si kuya nung kausap ako. Nasigawan ko tuloy at sinabing settled ko na yan. Kako tanggalin ang pangalan ko sa database nila dahil wala na akong utang.
Pagkababang-pagkababa ng fone, tinawagan ko ulit ang EW para iconfirm sa kanilang settled na ako, which is confirmed naman nila na wala na nga akong utang.

Yung BPI ko, settled ko na din yun.

Fast forward late 2015 till now...nakaka-receive na ako ng email sa CA na may balance pa din daw ako sa EW. Diretso sa trash.
Nitong Monday lang, may tumawag naman sa bahay namin (mind you mga sis, around 6yrs pa lang yung bagong landline number namin) na CA at sinisingil naman ako sa BPI CC ko daw!
Nagulat nga ako at sinabi kong settled ko na yun 10yrs ago pa!

Hindi ko alam kung saang baul kinukuha nitong mga CA ang records natin!

[izabelle]

^ grabe lang, Dyan ako inis na inis. Yung sisingilin ka pero wala ka naman utang.

That happened to me before pero ang nangyari kasi is nagkamali sila ng mobile number na tinatawagan. Sa HSBC credit card ito. Iba yung name na hinahanap nila haha! siguro naka 10 tawag sa akin inis na inis ako.

Sa sobrang inis ko, tumawag ako sa HSBC hotline at sinabi ko talaga na kapag hindi ako tinantanan ng collecting agent nila, papa cut ko CC ko. Sobrang hassle lang tinatawagan ka ilan beses e hindi naman ikaw ang tao na hinahanap nila.

after that, hindi na ako tinawagan then they sent an apology letter lol

[ayrise]

hi mga sis, hope someone can help me on this. i have an unsettled cc debt from a foreign bank and now the collecting agency is hounding me about it.  i have offered a lump sum payment but they didnt accept the amount. now they are asking for my payslip and proof of income for their assessment.  legal ba ito? at dapat ba akong pumayag na makita nila buong finances ko? nabasa ko kasi na korte lang ang pwede humingi ng ganitong documents.

TIA sa mga magrereply

[forsix10]

mga sis badly need help/inputs on our situation
way back 3-4 years ago, one of the big banks just send us credit card without applying thru the name of my husband who is an OFW. he didn't activated it, nor used since then so it became inactive already. this oct 2016 we received a billing statement that the credit card was been used online transaction. we call right away to the bank & we found out that it is already inactive on their record.  it was purchased in London while my husband is in Middle east. upon calling & telling us that it is inactive we were relief. but sad to say it still gave us stress, because we still receive billing statement as well as from the law firm etc. we call from time to time (overseas call) wasting time, money & effort then email them &  the call center agent told us to ignore it because the card is inactive. But  today we receive again a letter from the bank that the transaction was legitimate & regret to inform us that we should pay that amount. how come it was legitimated while it is in inactive status? what are our legal rights pertaining to this issue? hopefully somebody can help us to this matter? thanks

[izabelle]

^ Kapabayaan nila yan kasi inactive nga ang card tapos maniningil sila ngayon?

file a complaint sa BSP. Kainis yung mga ganyan e, Kasalanan nila tapos sa inyo ibabato.

[Chili1113]

 Just last month, Citibank called me to remind me that my payment was due the following day. I was like? What the heck? I already paid in FULL 3 days prior by check by at their Greenhills branch.

The month before that, I ALSO PAID before my due date. My credit card bill was really expensive as we had just traveled for 1 month to Europe and we used my card to pay for all our hotels and tours. Again I was already fully paid. I was SHOCKED when my next bill came and they were charging me around 19k for late charges, Turns out, Citibank posted my payment 1 week LATE. I was furious!! AND YES I was getting charged 19k for 1 week supposed delay in payment.

I told them I had a receipt, and that there is date stamp to prove I paid in full before the due date. I had to call their call center many times for the charges to be reversed. It was so annoying. Feeling ko, they did that on purpose because how can my payment be posted on my statement 1 week late? I told them, my gosh I can email you a copy of the receipt, or drop by one of your branches to show the original receipt. Then they just apologized and told me that they will reverse the charges.

[izabelle]

^ sometimes, I want to cut all my credit cards na kasi nakakastress ang customer service ng ibang banks. Actually, plano ko na cancel ang ibang cards ko lalo na yung mga hindi nagagamit tapos ayaw mag waive ng annual fee.

[tischarmedlife]

When I was younger, nabaon din ako sa CC. That's why never na ko nag-CC ulit. Six years have passed and three weeks ago, Metrobank sent me a CC. Nate-tempt ako pero ayoko na ng sakit ng ulo. Mas nako-control ko finances ko pag cash ang gamit ko when shopping. Kase I only spend the money that I actually have. 

[forsix10]

thanks izabelle, bsp ba tamang puntahan to file complaint? thru email or call? no idea kasi kung pano na gagawin dito, di nga kami nag aaply ng credit card dahil sa mga ganyang klase then ma victim pa rin pala kami. mukhang this bank kasi will insist us to pay this certain amount. nkka stress at nasa malayo kami. yearly lang uwi ng phils so di namin alam pano. matagal pa kami makakauwi. kung ginamit lang sana namin to eh ok lang bayaran, eh hindi nga namin ginamit. we didn't apply pa for credit card dahil di naman namin kailangan. hays.... stressful christmas

[twinbee]

Ingat lang sa mga CC sa Dubai ha.. first hand experience ng kakilala ko (anak ng friend ko)...
meron syang unsettled cc sa dubai eh naka sched na syang umuwi ng pinas with ticket na
kaso naharang sila sa immigration, kasi nasa list yung name nya na may unsettled card sya.

ang ending, di sya nakauwi, no choice sya kundi, bayaran cards nya...
so far naman, nasettle at nakauwi na rin sa pinas..

kung maging applicable sa pinas yan.. wala ng makaka alis ng bansa... lol

[izabelle]

^^ As far as I know sa BSP.

Ito email nila    consumeraffairs@bsp.gov.ph

Sumasagot sila although medyo ilan days din. nag complain kasi ako dati sa HSBC card ko pero hindi naman napush yung complaint kasi nakipag ayos sa akin ang bank dahil fault naman talaga nila yung nangyari.

^ problem kasi sa Pinas, walang disiplina ang karamihan. Para sa akin Ok lang ang may credit card basta responsable ang tao. For me convenience kasi ang CC, para no need magdala ng cash pero I make sure may pambayad ako sa bawat swipe ko. Mahirap mabaon sa utang. Masakit yan sa ulo.

[RoadrunnerXCX]

sisses read on...this is so informative.


http://diskarte1.rssing.com/chan-8328544/all_p3.html

[MoonshineLady]

hay naku ive been there too! sakit talaga sa ulo ang credit cards! as much as possible 1 credit card lang tlaga at pag ginamit bayaran agad! before i thought credit card was extra cash, i was so stupid lang tlaga! well lesson learned! and sana our kids will not fall to the same trap too!

[lonely_dad]

more than 20 years na akong credit card holder and ive never had any problems with them
gaya ng sabi ng iba make sure meron ka ibabayad everytime magswipe ka
6 ang cc ko. yung dalawa pang dollar purchases, the rest pang phils lang

[iluvescadasport]

Before getting a credit card (kahit sobrang gandang benefits pa yan), make sure you are willing to MAKE TIME to read terms and conditions, list the questions you can think of and email (yes, email para meron hard copy. pag calls kasi, baka sabihin pa nila na hahanapin pa yun recorded conversation nyo) them the questions and keep a copy of the answer. May mga credit card na automatic nagchacharge ng insurance even without you telling them that you don't want it.

Sa debts, I read an episode sa Pesos and Sense sa youtube na you can negotiate with the company to lower late payment charge but totally putol na credit card mo. Umabot ng 6 digit yun dapat niya bayaran because of the penalties, pero ang net amount lang talaga ng hindi nya nabayaran is less than 20k. But of course, bad record na siya sa ccard companies but at least tapos na yun utang nya.

Sa mga may utang, be RESPONSIBLE to pay your bills. Hindi excuse na walang pambayad. First and foremost, bakit ka gagamit ng credit card kung wala kang pambayad? Hindi tumutubo sa puno ang pera. KAhit na sabihin mo na hindi ikaw gumastos kasi yun supplementary mo ang gumastos, hindi excuse yan. Naka-pangalan sa iyo yan. Lahat ng nakapangalan sa iyo, be RESPONSIBLE.

If na-terminate na yun credit card, save the last copy of the billling statement and your payment and keep it until you die. Yes, until you die kasi hindi naman masasabi kung ano mangyyari in the future. Besides, 2 pcs of thin papers lang yan.

Almost 11 years na ako na hsbc credit card owner. So far no problem naman with them. They send me texts everytime I use the card amounting to 2k pesos. No company is perfect, kahit multinational company pa yan. On my part, what I do is make sure that I pay bills on time (I make it a point na responsibility ko icheck kahit wala pa billing statement), I call everytime I will use the ccard abroad, and I avoid using my ccard if hindi ko nakikita ang transaction mismo sa harap ko. I have friends who have been victims of that, so avoid ako sa ganun.