topic Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad in Credit Cards

Fingerhut ain't that bad

QAMngrGirl — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:32:01 GMT

Most posters seems to hate them but in the midst of rebuilding they extended me credit (no deposit or special repayment plans/up front fees). I have used the account 2 times (when I receive free shipping offers) for less than $75.00 total over the 6 months I have had the account. I started with $400.00, they auto CLI to $900.00 after 3 mos, and just auto CLI to $1400.00 as of 3 days ago.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

Revelate — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:41:50 GMT

Have to take the negativity in this online forum with a grain of salt sometimes.

The vast majority of credit products work moderately well for their intended purpose and credit strata, Fingerhut is not an exception. Are there better products than that? Absolutely, but we tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater at times (Fingerhut, FP, BOFA, list goes on).

This forum population is well outside the bell curve when it comes to our credit seeking and using practices; lender reactions to outliers are not going to be the same as they are with the needle in the haystack folks.

End of the day, if a given card or other loan product is working well for you while you should absolutely keep an open mind, look critically at advice suggesting dumping it like a bad habit.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

djrez4 — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:51:22 GMT

Fingerhut absolutely works for some people as they rebuild their credit. Personally, I've never used them and don't have any particular issue with them. I've heard (but not confirmed for myself) that Fingerhut prices are inflated. If so, it's rather poor form of them to take advantage of people who may have no alternatives. Then again, that seems to be par for the course in a capitalist society and, to be fair, no one is forcing consumers to shop there.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

nyancat — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:55:01 GMT

I just looked them up. Here's some problems I found immediately:

1. Predatory marketing similar to rent-to-own businesses (sells on the idea they'll give you credit, not on their merit as a shop).

2. Very high prices. 15-30% overpriced on the items I looked at. Granted, not as outrageous as rent-to-own, Blue Hippo, etc.

3. Extremely difficult to understand shipping rates and repayment terms. "Shipping codes," no clear APR info, huge long table of repayment plans. Just an utter nightmare designed to prey on the most vulnerable.

So, sorry, but I'd have to agree - Fingerhut is not okay.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

Revelate — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:00:14 GMT

@nyancat wrote:
I just looked them up. Here's some problems I found immediately:

1. Predatory marketing similar to rent-to-own businesses (sells on the idea they'll give you credit, not on their merit as a shop).

2. Very high prices. 15-30% overpriced on the items I looked at. Granted, not as outrageous as rent-to-own, Blue Hippo, etc.

3. Extremely difficult to understand shipping rates and repayment terms. "Shipping codes," no clear APR info, huge long table of repayment plans. Just an utter nightmare designed to prey on the most vulnerable.

So, sorry, but I'd have to agree - Fingerhut is not okay.

Except you're not in their market demographic. I'm not either for that matter, and wasn't even when I was deep subprime, but there are legitimate uses for this card if you have a slew of derogatories of some nature... and I definitely fit that bill.

I'm not certain specifically what their underwriting criteria happens to be; however, it's likely 600 FICO or lower for acceptance, and if you're living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford the deposit on a quality secured card then it's not a bad option, even compared to other credit products out there (FP, Credit One) that exist in that strata.

Any financial decision needs to be evaluated on the basis of one's individual capability; in your case nyan, you're well above needing Fingerhut or similar product, but other's aren't in the same good spot.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

QAMngrGirl — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:03:16 GMT

I'm not saying they are perfect or anything, but I am not a low class consumer for using them to get my available credit higher when I had none to report.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

navigatethis12 — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:15:31 GMT

@nyancat wrote:
I just looked them up. Here's some problems I found immediately:

1. Predatory marketing similar to rent-to-own businesses (sells on the idea they'll give you credit, not on their merit as a shop).

2. Very high prices. 15-30% overpriced on the items I looked at. Granted, not as outrageous as rent-to-own, Blue Hippo, etc.

3. Extremely difficult to understand shipping rates and repayment terms. "Shipping codes," no clear APR info, huge long table of repayment plans. Just an utter nightmare designed to prey on the most vulnerable.

So, sorry, but I'd have to agree - Fingerhut is not okay.

You sound like my mom, lol. People should read everything and compare prices. If someone sees a computer on there for $500 and does not bother to look and see that they could get it for $350 somewhere else, that is there problem. Many retailers are hugely overpriced but people still buy from them. A case of toilet tissue at Quill is 79.99, and the same kind from my parents' business is about $45. I am sure Quill pays a lot less or near the same then we do, yet their price is a lot higher.

The annual percentage rate is not hidden, and is 24.90. The shipping codes are unknown to me, but on the checkout page it does give shipping information. In the end, if people choose to sign up for something just to get credit, without reading the terms and everything else about the place, I say they deserve to be overcharged.

By the way, I have never dealt with these people so can not say anything about how they handle accounts. WebBank is the same bank that does Bill Me Later, and so far I have had no problems with that.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

beb86 — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:19:11 GMT

I got a finger hut account when I started to rebuild. Its no AF and reports to all three CRAs so it is IMO great for rebuilding. Would I ever buy anything from them? No, but it helps when your looking to add a positive TL with no strings attached.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

QAMngrGirl — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:22:59 GMT

@navigatethis12 wrote:
@nyancat wrote:
I just looked them up. Here's some problems I found immediately:

1. Predatory marketing similar to rent-to-own businesses (sells on the idea they'll give you credit, not on their merit as a shop).

2. Very high prices. 15-30% overpriced on the items I looked at. Granted, not as outrageous as rent-to-own, Blue Hippo, etc.

3. Extremely difficult to understand shipping rates and repayment terms. "Shipping codes," no clear APR info, huge long table of repayment plans. Just an utter nightmare designed to prey on the most vulnerable.

So, sorry, but I'd have to agree - Fingerhut is not okay.
You sound like my mom, lol. People should read everything and compare prices. If someone sees a computer on there for $500 and does not bother to look and see that they could get it for $350 somewhere else, that is there problem. Many retailers are hugely overpriced but people still buy from them. A case of toilet tissue at Quill is 79.99, and the same kind from my parents' business is about $45. I am sure Quill pays a lot less or near the same then we do, yet their price is a lot higher.

The annual percentage rate is not hidden, and is 24.90. The shipping codes are unknown to me, but on the checkout page it does give shipping information. In the end, if people choose to sign up for something just to get credit, without reading the terms and everything else about the place, I say they deserve to be overcharged.

By the way, I have never dealt with these people so can not say anything about how they handle accounts. WebBank is the same bank that does Bill Me Later, and so far I have had no problems with that.

I have Bill Me Later too

As for the rest of why Fingerhut is "bad", I know how to read, and use the FREE shipping promos (as listed in my original post). Additionally, not everything on their site (or in their catalogue) is way overpriced. Again, the total of $75 in purchases made was PIF before any interest hit, 24% or otherwise. Just because they target people lower ranked than the best ever credit card holders doesn't mean we are all completely ignorant.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

nyancat — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:26:36 GMT

Thank you, I'm glad I sound like your mom. I couldn't find the APR info in a quick 2 minute comparison shopping trip to their site. Didn't say it wasn't there, just that it wasn't clear. Just... there are better options. Much better options. I will be fair and say it's not Rent-A-Center level bad. But still, it's bad.

And I never said anyone was ignorant... just that they're targeting people who are by making it hard to understand their pricing, not clearly listing MODEL NUMBERS (essential to comparison shopping), etc.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:29:43 GMT

I don't think anyone was trying to say they're the best store in the world, or the model from which all businesses should be built from, compared to, and should aspire to be like, but they have their place when trying to rebuild credit.

When you have to start from the bottom, you do what you have to do. And you read carefully, take advantage of good offers, and buy a little of only what is fairly priced. I bought from them more than 10 years ago and still have the small TV and Yamaha keyboard I bought then! They are in awesome shape and my kids still use the keyboard (the TV is sort of in semi-storage, but it has a blue translucent console around it, it's very cute, and it works great! The keyboard is one of the best things I ever bought for my kids.

I started with Merrick and some other bottom-feeder credit cards whose name I can't even remember, and now I have more than $50K of available credit from banks like Chase, Citi, Navy Federal, USAA and others.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

navigatethis12 — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:35:21 GMT

@QAMngrGirl wrote:
I have Bill Me Later too

As for the rest of why Fingerhut is "bad", I know how to read, and use the FREE shipping promos (as listed in my original post). Additionally, not everything on their site (or in their catalogue) is way overpriced. Again, the total of $75 in purchases made was PIF before any interest hit, 24% or otherwise. Just because they target people lower ranked than the best ever credit card holders doesn't mean we are all completely ignorant.

I never meant to mean that everyone that gets it is ignorant. I really meant the people who get it and complain about it, much like everything else where people do not read.

@nyancat wrote:
Thank you, I'm glad I sound like your mom. I couldn't find the APR info in a quick 2 minute comparison shopping trip to their site. Didn't say it wasn't there, just that it wasn't clear. Just... there are better options. Much better options. I will be fair and say it's not Rent-A-Center level bad. But still, it's bad.

And I never said anyone was ignorant... just that they're targeting people who are by making it hard to understand their pricing, not clearly listing MODEL NUMBERS (essential to comparison shopping), etc.

True, you never said anyone was inept, that was me. I know there are multiple better options than them. A well known store card is a better place to start, which is what I did. I have no experience with Rent-A-Center either, but I was told by other people that if you actually buy the stuff you rent on their plan, it costs a lot more than just buying it. Really, I was just saying that people should not just jump to the first place they see that gives credit. If I did that, I would have a Horizon credit card, First Premier, Credit One, and a few others. I have never had to rebuild, but it's the same when you are young and have limited/no credit. Up until last year I was constantly denied credit by banks, except Macys and Amazon store card. It may have had something to do with me turning 21, because nothing else changed, but still, I was in that position once.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

nyancat — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:43:40 GMT

@navigatethis12 wrote:
True, you never said anyone was inept, that was me. I know there are multiple better options than them. A well known store card is a better place to start, which is what I did. I have no experience with Rent-A-Center either, but I was told by other people that if you actually buy the stuff you rent on their plan, it costs a lot more than just buying it. Really, I was just saying that people should not just jump to the first place they see that gives credit. If I did that, I would have a Horizon credit card, First Premier, Credit One, and a few others. I have never had to rebuild, but it's the same when you are young and have limited/no credit. Up until last year I was constantly denied credit by banks, except Macys and Amazon store card. It may have had something to do with me turning 21, because nothing else changed, but still, I was in that position once.

Turning 21 would've made a big difference due to the CARD Act, yes. I never had any trouble getting credit since I'd been an authorized user on my parents' accounts since 15, so I'll be fair - I don't know what it's like. I've *knock on wood* never been denied an application for credit.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

Give_Me_Credit_Please — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:50:21 GMT

I agree with you. Fingerhut is not for everyone but is for someone who istrying to rebuild credit, that is what Fingerhut is design to do. Is their price over charged? Absolutely!! but I believe that's the price you have to pay for the risk they have to take. It's easy for someone who has good credit and have noe need for Fingerhut but for someone trying to re-build or establish credibility is excellent for that. I know when I started to re-build, Fingerhut gave me cl for $400 where no one else would.

I had this account for 3 years now and purchase a few items. Fingerhut would not be the first place to purchase anything because of the over charge but it did it's purpose. The other great thing about Fingerhut is sometimes they email me offers for 20-30% off an item, with this discount, the item would cost the same as any other store and then I'll take advantage of that.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

QAMngrGirl — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:55:08 GMT

@Give_Me_Credit_Please wrote:

I had this account for 3 years now and purchase a few items. Fingerhut would not be the first place to purchase anything because of the over charge but it did it's purpose. The other great thing about Fingerhut is sometimes they email me offers for 20-30% off an item, with this discount, the item would cost the same as any other store and then I'll take advantage of that.

Percentage off & Free Shipping = the only purchases I made

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

Unique620 — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:55:39 GMT

I personally only have issues with there prices. They are not the only ones over priced. I shop on QVC and HSN and they sale items that I can get cheaper locally. I guess that how they stay profitable.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

Give_Me_Credit_Please — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 19:09:58 GMT

YUP!!! Gotta love those percentage off and free shipping!!! HSN & QVC are priced higher than most local retailer. I guess people shop there because of the convenience and actually see the host test out the product in front of you. Also "flex pay" helps too.

Re: Fingerhut ain't that bad

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:40:42 GMT

Was approved for $ 400 line of credit on march 3/6 after calling the Credit Dept to answer some security questions to make sure who I am placed an order on the same day for $ 147.98 then placed a other order on 3/10 $113 then used finger hut's bill pay on 3/22 $162.00 using my checking account a couple of days later on 3/27 got a statement for min due of $ 9.99 due on 4/15 used the bill pay again using a diff checking account to show good payment history for $ 15.00 got an email saying I was approved for $ 500 more so total of $ 900 line of credit within 30 days or so good luck . Just ordered $209 will pay at least $175 and see if they up my line of credit again .