subject: Beating the Credit System [print this page] Beating the Credit System Beating the Credit System
Beating the Credit System
I recall a couple who thought they had figured out a way to beat the system. They had financial problems that resulted from all of the above symptoms. In other words, they had a home that was too expensive, two new cars, school loans, and a variety of consumer debt items from department stores. There was absolutely no way their income could ever stretch far enough to manage their expenses, so they charged nearly everything each month except their utilities (the utility company wouldn't accept credit cards). They had been able to do that for nearly three years without being delinquent on a single bill.
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Their method was to charge on one card until the limit was reached and then pay that card off with two or three others. Being a good credit customer, they had no trouble getting their credit limit raised on the first card so they could charge more, and on they went for the better part of three years. Ultimately, the whole house of credit came tumbling down because it became too large to manage. When their credit binge ended, they owed nearly $23,000 in credit card debts. They were advised to go bankrupt and were considering doing so until they received notice that two of the credit card issuers were considering filing fraud charges against them. The potential consequences of that forced them to face reality and make a commitment to repay the loans. As far as I know, they are still paying $500 in monthly payments--eight years later.
