930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface on March 27, 2008, 11:34:00 am
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OK, so I logged into my credit card's website today for something, and it has a pane with my recent transactions and there's one made Tuesday for $1.50 from "Wash Post Subscription" followed by the phone number for their subscription department. Obviously, I'm not sweating $1.50, but I find it odd since I (a) do not live in or near The District, (b) have never had a subscription to the Washington Post, and (c) find $1.50 to be the bargain of the century for a Washington Post subscription.
I tried calling the number and spoke to their billing department and they have no record of a charge to my name, address, card, etc. What should I do? My concern is maybe my account number has been compromised, but I checked all my other charges (and have no outstanding authorizations) and can't understand why someone would scam me for a buck fifty. Incidentally, my credit limit on that card was raised yesterday without any notice as well.
Forget it or call the credit card company and freak out over 6 bits?
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I'd call the credit card company.
You know never what the next charge may be.
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I would call the credit card company.....whoever it is may have run the $1.50 through to see if it works, thinking you may not notice a $1.50 charge, then once it's gone through hit your card bigtime.
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Call. Small charges like that are sometimes used to check if an account is current. Gas stations typically charge a buck at the pump to make sure a card is good before allowing you to fill up. If you check your account after filling up, you see an authorization for that buck. A couple of days later it changes to a charge for the full amount.
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They're going to send me a form, and they left a note in the account. Apparently the credit limit increase was some automatic thing, no one requested it.
I have a baaaaaaaaad feeling about this though. I suspect next time I log in I'll have a $7500 charge or some crap like that.
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Call your credit card company NOW.
A similar thing happened to me and to one of my friends.
Some credit card thieves working abroad have started just putting together random strings of 16 digits and running them through legitimate businesses for small amounts to see if the numbers work. Once they hit upon a strong that works, they start charging bigger amounts. Be happy you caught it now.
Tell the CC company this $1.50 is not your charge, tell them to cancel your card and issue a new one.
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Originally posted by MyraEllen:
Call your credit card company NOW.
A similar thing happened to me and to one of my friends.
Some credit card thieves working abroad have started just putting together random strings of 16 digits and running them through legitimate businesses for small amounts to see if the numbers work. Once they hit upon a strong that works, they start charging bigger amounts. Be happy you caught it now.
Tell the CC company this $1.50 is not your charge, tell them to cancel your card and issue a new one.
Yeah this is exactly the scenario I have in mind.
I don't really have time for this today, but I'm calling back and telling them to change my account number and issue me a new card. Stupid WaMu.
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use cash. the digital age will kill us all, just like it tried to in die hard 4.
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Originally posted by walkonby:
use cash. the digital age will kill us all, just like it tried to in die hard 4.
Cash is for poor people.
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I wouldn't do anything.
And then in a few months report back on how hard it is to reclaim your identity. I love a good story...
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Credit cards are for poor people who like to think they're rich.
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Or they're for smart people that actually know how to use them.
Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
Credit cards are for poor people who like to think they're rich.
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Are you sure it's not $1.50 for 3 day free trial on a porn website? :eek:
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Originally posted by wanderlust j. marshmallow:
Are you sure it's not $1.50 for 3 day free trial on a porn website? ;) give it away.
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Originally posted by nkotb:
Or they're for smart people that actually know how to use them.
Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
Credit cards are for poor people who like to think they're rich.
[/b]
Everyone knows how to use them...it's how to manage them that's the problem for the vast majority of Americans.
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Originally posted by walkonby:
Originally posted by wanderlust j. marshmallow:
Are you sure it's not $1.50 for 3 day free trial on a porn website? ;) give it away.
Evidently not, they charged $1.50 for it.
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Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
Credit cards are for poor people who like to think they're rich.
I never had one until I turned 22 because I felt this way. Then I realized having no credit card means terrible credit score/history, so I got one simply to build credit. It gets paid off every month and I've never paid any interest. I still subscribe to the "if you do not have the money for it, you should not buy it" mindset.
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Originally posted by wanderlust j. marshmallow:
Are you sure it's not $1.50 for 3 day free trial on a porn website? :eek:
I called the 1-800# that was in the transaction details, and it was in fact the Washington Post's subscription service but they had no record of my ordering anything whatsoever. I do not view pornography intentionally.
I canceled the card and asked for a new card on the account, just for anyone who's interested. 30 minutes of my time and a minor inconvenience now is good insurance against months of potential chaos down the road.
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Or they're for people like us, who use them to accumulate miles. We've done two or three free trips to the West Coast, now we're flying to Belgium and France for free in June. And we're pretty much all the way up to another free domestic flight.
And we're not even big spenders. Just put everything on the card and pay it all off at the end of the month.
Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
Credit cards are for poor people who like to think they're rich.
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Ditto. Free miles rule.
Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
Or they're for people like us, who use them to accumulate miles. We've done two or three free trips to the West Coast, now we're flying to Belgium and France for free in June. And we're pretty much all the way up to another free domestic flight.
And we're not even big spenders. Just put everything on the card and pay it all off at the end of the month.
Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
Credit cards are for poor people who like to think they're rich.
[/b]
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It's morning in America
And you can be your best
If you have a valid credit card
And can pass a urine test
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Originally posted by Julian, gay agenda ILLUMINATI:
It gets paid off every month and I've never paid any interest. I still subscribe to the "if you do not have the money for it, you should not buy it" mindset.
Well, la-di-freaking-da! Aren't you SPECIAL? Do you poop cotton candy, too?
Brian
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Originally posted by wanderlust j. marshmallow:
Are you sure it's not $1.50 for 3 day free trial on a porn website? :eek:
Which reminds me. Has anyone ever used one of those credit card style gift cards to pay for a porn site? I'm shocked I haven't tried this yet...
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Originally posted by vansmack:
Originally posted by wanderlust j. marshmallow:
Are you sure it's not $1.50 for 3 day free trial on a porn website? :eek:
Which reminds me. Has anyone ever used one of those credit card style gift cards to pay for a porn site? I'm shocked I haven't tried this yet... [/b]
paying for porn died when porntube and the other various free sites "popped up."
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I'm not really a porn hound so never subscribed to a porn site....but I'm no prude either so once in a while will lurk a little. www.thehun.com (http://www.thehun.com) is the site I visit when the urge takes me. It's kind of lame but it's free and offers quite a variety.
I like the girls riding a sybian website.
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Originally posted by walkonby:
paying for porn died when porntube and the other various free sites "popped up."
Totally agree (I'm a youporn guy, myself).
I'm intrigued by the High Def offerings, but just can't bring myself to pay for them with something that would keep a record (hence the gift card idea).
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Originally posted by nkotb:
Ditto. Free miles rule.
Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
Or they're for people like us, who use them to accumulate miles. We've done two or three free trips to the West Coast, now we're flying to Belgium and France for free in June. And we're pretty much all the way up to another free domestic flight.
And we're not even big spenders. Just put everything on the card and pay it all off at the end of the month.
Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
Credit cards are for poor people who like to think they're rich.
[/b]
[/b]
But aren't those miles programs just a scam? Like you can only fly on a Monday if the date is an even number, between 5:27 and 6:04 in the morning if the sun is shining and the cabin crew chief is on her period, that's not so heavy so she only needs to use the 'light days' pads?
I still have my Irish mastercard card that hasn't been used in almost two years now, so it's probably inactive at this point. I should get one though for emergencies.
Correct me if I'm wrong but to build credit isn't it better to carry a bit of a balance each month? Finance companies don't want your business if they aren't making interest off you, so if they look at your credit report and see you never carry a balance over they'll just turn you down.
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Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
Finance companies don't want your business if they aren't making interest off you, so if they look at your credit report and see you never carry a balance over they'll just turn you down.
Not when purchasing bigger items like a house or a car. A good ratio of low debt to high credit limits can be very beneficial to a low interest rate.
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Originally posted by vansmack:
Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
Finance companies don't want your business if they aren't making interest off you, so if they look at your credit report and see you never carry a balance over they'll just turn you down.
Not when purchasing bigger items like a house or a car. A good ratio of low debt to high credit limits can be very beneficial to a low interest rate. [/b]
I was referring just to credit card companies. I think I know how auto finance works!!! ;)
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I use the Capital One No Hassle Miles card for almost every purchase, and so far, its really been no hassle. I'd recommend looking into it.
Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
But aren't those miles programs just a scam? Like you can only fly on a Monday if the date is an even number, between 5:27 and 6:04 in the morning if the sun is shining and the cabin crew chief is on her period, that's not so heavy so she only needs to use the 'light days' pads?
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Originally posted by Julian, gay agenda ILLUMINATI:
It gets paid off every month and I've never paid any interest. I still subscribe to the "if you do not have the money for it, you should not buy it" mindset. [/QB]
Wait a minute. You're trying to tell me last year, when you went to see "The Smashing Pumpkins" 463 times, you NEVER charged tickets or transport and didn't pay off the entire balance by the next billing period? I find that VERY hard to believe. Or else, your mommy and daddy are rich.
Jeez, no wonder you like the Clintons so much.
Brian
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Originally posted by Brian Wallace:
Wait a minute. You're trying to tell me last year, when you went to see "The Smashing Pumpkins" 463 times, you NEVER charged tickets or transport and didn't pay off the entire balance by the next billing period? I find that VERY hard to believe. Or else, your mommy and daddy are rich.
I put some of those tickets on the card, but everything was within driving distance so there really wasn't any travel expenses, and yes, it was paid off the end of the month. I don't buy things if I cannot afford them. Period.
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Hey Brian, some people gots better paying jobs than the one you gots at the mall.
Originally posted by Brian Wallace:
Originally posted by Julian, gay agenda ILLUMINATI:
It gets paid off every month and I've never paid any interest. I still subscribe to the "if you do not have the money for it, you should not buy it" mindset. [/b]
Wait a minute. You're trying to tell me last year, when you went to see "The Smashing Pumpkins" 463 times, you NEVER charged tickets or transport and didn't pay off the entire balance by the next billing period? I find that VERY hard to believe. Or else, your mommy and daddy are rich.
Jeez, no wonder you like the Clintons so much.
Brian [/QB]
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Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
Hey Brian, some people gots better paying jobs than the one you gots at the mall.
Originally posted by Brian Wallace:
Originally posted by Julian, gay agenda ILLUMINATI:
It gets paid off every month and I've never paid any interest. I still subscribe to the "if you do not have the money for it, you should not buy it" mindset. [/b]
Wait a minute. You're trying to tell me last year, when you went to see "The Smashing Pumpkins" 463 times, you NEVER charged tickets or transport and didn't pay off the entire balance by the next billing period? I find that VERY hard to believe. Or else, your mommy and daddy are rich.
Jeez, no wonder you like the Clintons so much.
Brian [/b]
[/QB]
Don't knock it...I hear chick fil'a pays pretty good and you get every Sunday off.
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Originally posted by Julian, gay agenda ILLUMINATI:
It gets paid off every month and I've never paid any interest. I still subscribe to the "if you do not have the money for it, you should not buy it" mindset.
If you don't pay interest, you're not actually building credit.
Also, in an inflationary economy, such as the one we appear to be entering, debt can actually be beneficial if the interest rate is lower than the inflation rate (although that is usually far from the case with credit card debt.)
And mileage is not a scam, unless you do something stupid like buying stuff just to get miles, or even worse, buying miles. I use miles to get business class upgrades all the time, and I've gotten round trip business class tickets to Indonesia and Canada, all on miles.
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I could be wrong, but I don't think that's accurate. When I just applied for a car loan, my wife and I had killer credit ratings, and I probably haven't paid any interest on a credit card in about 5-6 years.
Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
If you don't pay interest, you're not actually building credit.
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Originally posted by nkotb:
I could be wrong, but I don't think that's accurate. When I just applied for a car loan, my wife and I had killer credit ratings, and I probably haven't paid any interest on a credit card in about 5-6 years.
Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
If you don't pay interest, you're not actually building credit.
[/b]
yeah, but you have paid interest in the past. That stays with you forever.
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Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
If you don't pay interest, you're not actually building credit.
That isn't entirely accurate.
It's true that paying off a loan over time has a larger impact on your credit score than paying entire credit card balances every month. However, that does not mean you have to pay interest to build credit.
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My credit score went from 560 (when I was just making my car payment and rent every month and paying for everything else with cash) to 720 within a year of starting my "put it on the card but pay it off every month" plan. It probably would be higher if I carried a balance though, you're right on that.
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Different finance institutions look at credit reports in entirely different ways. An auto loan underwriter wants to see you paying on time every month, so if you pay your credit card balance every month they love it because the interest is built into the monthly payment of an auto loan. A credit card company want to see you carrying a balance because they don't make any money off you unless you're carrying a balance, so dont' want your busines if that's the case.
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I've always paid cash for my cars.
That probably tells you more about my cars than my bank account.
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During the 1980s, when people snorted coke at the office water cooler and chain smoked at their desks while typing on their monochrome PCs, I had a job as a slumlord for apartment housing, and I used to have to read people's credit reports when deciding whether to give them a lease. There were sometimes people who had zero credit history, and for us that was as big a red flag as people with bad history.
In those days I was a pay-as-you-go type too, and I ran a credit report on myself from time to time and it always came up as blank. Maybe things have changed since then.
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This is true...when people apply for car loans if they have no credit history it's a tough road to get a loan approved. I guess no finance institution wants to be the first to take a chance.
When we moved back from Ireland I opened a bank account and applied for the Bank of American visa card. They turned me down because my credit had gone blank for want of a better word, (even though I had a lot of money with BOA in our newly opened checking account) I had 20 years of US credit before our move, there had been no activity for two years so it froze or something. When I bought the car I got a small loan to get things rolling with the credit again and BADDABING!!! my credit was active again. Within a week BOA were whoring themselves to give me a visa card. I told them to shove it seeing as they had turned me down not a month before.
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Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
BADDABING!!! my credit was active again. Within a week BOA were whoring themselves to give me a visa card. I told them to shove it seeing as they had turned me down not a month before.
You tell them mankie! You're probably why their share price has fallen a point this week.
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Originally posted by vansmack:
Originally posted by 47 YEAR OLD VIRGIN:
BADDABING!!! my credit was active again. Within a week BOA were whoring themselves to give me a visa card. I told them to shove it seeing as they had turned me down not a month before.
You tell them mankie! You're probably why their share price has fallen a point this week. [/b]
I'll bring the fuckers down single handedly!
Another thing that pisses me off with that bank is they give illegals credit cards no problem, but you have to blow the branch manager if you're a us citizen.
Oh, another thing..they sent me a letter to my house asking me to verify my home address!!!! :eek: What the fuck??? You just did that yourselves you morons.
Needless to say I'm trying to convince my wife to close our accounts and go to another bank but you know what a pain in the arse it is to do that.
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Julian in a totally unrelated issue check your PM.