Absolutely gorgeous weekend here in Atlanta. Highs in the mid sixties. Lots of yard work done and a little garden preparation. Nothing exciting otherwise.
Home Depot sent me a love letter in with the statement this month. I still owe for the 3 low flow toilets as the terms were 12 months same as cash so I don't owe them a payment. Anyhow, the love letter was to let me know that they are upping the interest rates you pay on regular purchases to 22.99% and the default interest rate to 29.99%. In other words, if you carry a balance on regular purchases your APR is 22.99% but if you miss a payment or are late then your rate goes to 29.99%. What assholes!
Basically Home Depot is saying that..."We know times are tough but if you are stupid enough to charge something on our credit card we are going to stick it to you. If you are really in bad shape and happen to have lost your job or have medical bills or whatever and are late or miss a payment we are going to charge you "payday loan rates"". They really aren't too worried about losing business I guess. This is caring and customer service with a capital C.
Guess which CC is going in the drawer to be used only for the direst emergency. The bad thing is that they have driven all the small hardware and lumber stores out of business and they are the only game in many towns. We have the option of Lowe's if you want to drive a few extra miles but there aren't any Mom and Pop hardware or lumber yards in my area any more.
Finally, can we all cross our fingers and toes(and call and write your Congress person) and hope that some sanity is brought back to the process of writing a stimulus bill. The Senate version sucks bigger than the House version but they both are too heavy on tax cuts and too small on spending. We need a bold move here.
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