2 ms·

When I was a student I was broke, and lived off a tiny income of $800 a month for food. I bought a 3G mobile stick which didn't work, and immediately returned i

When I was a student I was broke, and lived off a tiny income of $800 a month for food. I bought a 3G mobile stick which didn't work, and immediately returned it the next day and cancelled the service. Of course, they never cancelled service so a year later I get collection phonecalls that I owe them $1,000. Regardless of me disputing the bill they instead debited my bank -$1,000 which I had no idea they could do since I didn't have overdraft. What they did was wait until 11:59pm the day before I was to be paid out $800 direct deposit from my pitiful p.t job and the bank allowed it to go through, then charged me interest on the negative balance for those few hours where they overdrafted the account. I woke up to -$280 in my account in overdraft fees and the theft of my money from that telecom. Being that I couldn't feed myself I had to go out and do cash loans at extreme interest and was in a cycle of poverty for 3-4 months after that until finally got my money back from those assholes. I closed my account after that and asked to be paid out in cash from my job instead.

millstone 13y ago
What a distressing story. The collection agencies are happy to pick on those who do not have the resources to defend themselves. The bank is happy to let your balance go negative, because it permits them to rack up fees. The interests of the customer (you) do not even register as a footnote. Good on you for closing that account, and clawing your way back to solvency. One day you'll be wealthy, and that same bank will come a-knockin'. Tell them to go pound sand.
rmc 13y ago
I had to go out and do cash loans at extreme interest and was in a cycle of poverty for 3-4 months after that That's one of the biggest problems with poverty. You can get stuck in the trap and you can't work your way up. Often things get more expensive as you have less money. You can't buy things in bulk and get the savings of economy of scale. You can't afford to go further to get a cheaper thing. You can't afford to get that item today even though it's cheaper. You can only afford short term, more expensive solutions.

millstone 13y ago

What a distressing story. The collection agencies are happy to pick on those who do not have the resources to defend themselves. The bank is happy to let your balance go negative, because it permits them to rack up fees. The interests of the customer (you) do not even register as a footnote. Good on you for closing that account, and clawing your way back to solvency. One day you'll be wealthy, and that same bank will come a-knockin'. Tell them to go pound sand.

rmc 13y ago

I had to go out and do cash loans at extreme interest and was in a cycle of poverty for 3-4 months after that That's one of the biggest problems with poverty. You can get stuck in the trap and you can't work your way up. Often things get more expensive as you have less money. You can't buy things in bulk and get the savings of economy of scale. You can't afford to go further to get a cheaper thing. You can't afford to get that item today even though it's cheaper. You can only afford short term, more expensive solutions.