Handing Out Credit Cards

17 May Handing Out Credit Cards

In the run up to the enactment of the mislabeled Bankruptcy Reform Act, I spoke and wrote frequently about the irresponsible lending practices of credit card issuers. I said card issuers passed out credit cards like flyers at a political rally. I thought it was a figure of speech.
Well, darn if it isn’t true: on Mother’s Day, I bought my mom a gadget at the nearby chain electronics store and was confronted between the shelf and the cash register by a man wanting to sign me up for a credit card earning “points” to spend at the store!

The clientele of this store is generally a whole lot closer to high school age than to my age, and markedly less likely to be financially stable. Yet here was a guy who wouldn’t let me pay for my purchase without hearing his pitch for a credit card, so I could spend my way to discounted goods from their store. Finally had to tell him I was a bankruptcy lawyer and was fundamentally opposed to credit cards. But you can bet the next young person he challenges may not see the danger.

So, back to the political argument: is our “problem” with bankruptcy irresponsible lending or irresponsible borrowing?

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Cathy Moran, Esq.

I'm a certified specialist in bankruptcy law (California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization) practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 30 years. In addition to practicing bankruptcy law, I train new practitioners at Bankruptcy Mastery.

Latest posts by Cathy Moran, Esq. (see all)

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