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Amex claims they are going to crack down on gaming credit cards

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pipeguy
Senior Contributor

Re: Amex claims they are going to crack down on gaming credit cards


@sarge12 wrote:

I hope that if credit card issuers read this they get a good understanding of how I, and many others feel. My brother was a struggeling photographer who unfortunately had a negative net worth and owed about 15k on credit cards...which he made the monthly payments on like clockwork. About 12 years ago, at 49yo he had a heart attack and died. There was not enough assets to bury him, and my then 77 year old mother had to withdraw from her savings to do that. Me and my sister were appointed executors of his estate by the probate court. He was barely buried before the credit card issuers were calling multiple times a day, wanting their money. They even went so far as to say that us and our mother would dishoner his memory if we did not pay...and we were crooked. Nobody in the family signed these credit apps except him. How dare they try to browbeat my mother who was having a hard time with the loss. I gave them his current address of the cemetary and told them they could feel free to go discuss the debt with him, but they had better leave my mother alone. So excuse me if I feel no loyalty to any credit card issuers....you are not my friends, you will not be there if I get hospitalized. You are a business relationship...and that is all. Just giving me rewards will not make me feel I should be loyal when another issuer offers a better deal...sorry!!!!


Having gone through several probate/estate (as the executor) settlements ANY harrassment by creditors after they have been notified as to the death of a creditor is a big no no. I'm not sure what the specific law is, and it may vary by state law but having dealt with major lenders like Capital One and Chase, they ALL backed off and in fact sent notices saying that WE were not responsible for the debt. This is 100% an obligation of the estate and its LOW on the list of obligations after funreal expenses, taxes (there won't be any on most extates), etc. The exception would be if you are a joint owners-signer of the credit card accounts - AU's are exempt (assuming there are no AU charges after the death of the principle debtor. I have no doubt that if a JDB or collection agency continues to harrass you after being notifed of the death of the debt owner, that any suit you file would result in a judgement in your favor - including costs and damages. 

Message 11 of 17
sarge12
Senior Contributor

Re: Amex claims they are going to crack down on gaming credit cards


@pipeguy wrote:

@sarge12 wrote:

I hope that if credit card issuers read this they get a good understanding of how I, and many others feel. My brother was a struggeling photographer who unfortunately had a negative net worth and owed about 15k on credit cards...which he made the monthly payments on like clockwork. About 12 years ago, at 49yo he had a heart attack and died. There was not enough assets to bury him, and my then 77 year old mother had to withdraw from her savings to do that. Me and my sister were appointed executors of his estate by the probate court. He was barely buried before the credit card issuers were calling multiple times a day, wanting their money. They even went so far as to say that us and our mother would dishoner his memory if we did not pay...and we were crooked. Nobody in the family signed these credit apps except him. How dare they try to browbeat my mother who was having a hard time with the loss. I gave them his current address of the cemetary and told them they could feel free to go discuss the debt with him, but they had better leave my mother alone. So excuse me if I feel no loyalty to any credit card issuers....you are not my friends, you will not be there if I get hospitalized. You are a business relationship...and that is all. Just giving me rewards will not make me feel I should be loyal when another issuer offers a better deal...sorry!!!!


Having gone through several probate/estate (as the executor) settlements ANY harrassment by creditors after they have been notified as to the death of a creditor is a big no no. I'm not sure what the specific law is, and it may vary by state law but having dealt with major lenders like Capital One and Chase, they ALL backed off and in fact sent notices saying that WE were not responsible for the debt. This is 100% an obligation of the estate and its LOW on the list of obligations after funreal expenses, taxes (there won't be any on most extates), etc. The exception would be if you are a joint owners-signer of the credit card accounts - AU's are exempt (assuming there are no AU charges after the death of the principle debtor. I have no doubt that if a JDB or collection agency continues to harrass you after being notifed of the death of the debt owner, that any suit you file would result in a judgement in your favor - including costs and damages. 


The creditors did back off when I told them that after the funeral expenses there would be 0 assets and we would not pay his unsecured debts. I let them know they had no legal recourse, and they agreed, but then stated that it would dishonor my brothers memory if we or our mother did not pay. That just made my blood boil, so I told them any further calls would result in legal action...they did not call again. Actually the creditor he owed the most was actually the only one who acted decent...she said and I quote "Your family is not responsible for this debt and do not let anyone tell you different"

TU fico08=812 07/16/23
EX fico08=809 07/16/23
EQ fico09=812 07/16/23
EX fico09=821 07/16/23
EQ fico bankcard08=832 07/16/23
TU Fico Bankcard 08=840 07/16/23
EQ NG1 fico=802 04/17/21
EQ Resilience index score=58 03/09/21
Unknown score from EX=784 used by Cap1 07/10/20
Message 12 of 17
pipeguy
Senior Contributor

Re: Amex claims they are going to crack down on gaming credit cards


@sarge12 wrote:

snip...

The creditors did back off when I told them that after the funeral expenses there would be 0 assets and we would not pay his unsecured debts. I let them know they had no legal recourse, and they agreed, but then stated that it would dishonor my brothers memory if we or our mother did not pay. That just made my blood boil, so I told them any further calls would result in legal action...they did not call again. Actually the creditor he owed the most was actually the only one who acted decent...she said and I quote "Your family is not responsible for this debt and do not let anyone tell you different"


Sorry you had to go through this....some creditors and JDB's are just scum.... 

 

I didn't have to deal with any entity that did not understand and honor the part you posted in bold above. When you have to settle an estate, its not the easiest thing, not just because of you state of mind, but because what is legal and what is right are not always what you are told so you need to get educated quickly - I've settled 3 estates, you learn as you get more experienced, not that anyone wants to outside of professionals (attorneys). 

 

Anyway, didn't mean to high jack this tread.... please all go back to trashing AmEx - thats one of my favorite subjects !!

Message 13 of 17
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Amex claims they are going to crack down on gaming credit cards

LOL, Amex is nowhere near what they once were and they no longer convey prestige as they did just several decades ago. I am out to get good sign up bonuses but I will not waste my time apping for an Amex card.

Message 14 of 17
red259
Super Contributor

Re: Amex claims they are going to crack down on gaming credit cards


@sarge12 wrote:

@pipeguy wrote:

@sarge12 wrote:

I hope that if credit card issuers read this they get a good understanding of how I, and many others feel. My brother was a struggeling photographer who unfortunately had a negative net worth and owed about 15k on credit cards...which he made the monthly payments on like clockwork. About 12 years ago, at 49yo he had a heart attack and died. There was not enough assets to bury him, and my then 77 year old mother had to withdraw from her savings to do that. Me and my sister were appointed executors of his estate by the probate court. He was barely buried before the credit card issuers were calling multiple times a day, wanting their money. They even went so far as to say that us and our mother would dishoner his memory if we did not pay...and we were crooked. Nobody in the family signed these credit apps except him. How dare they try to browbeat my mother who was having a hard time with the loss. I gave them his current address of the cemetary and told them they could feel free to go discuss the debt with him, but they had better leave my mother alone. So excuse me if I feel no loyalty to any credit card issuers....you are not my friends, you will not be there if I get hospitalized. You are a business relationship...and that is all. Just giving me rewards will not make me feel I should be loyal when another issuer offers a better deal...sorry!!!!


Having gone through several probate/estate (as the executor) settlements ANY harrassment by creditors after they have been notified as to the death of a creditor is a big no no. I'm not sure what the specific law is, and it may vary by state law but having dealt with major lenders like Capital One and Chase, they ALL backed off and in fact sent notices saying that WE were not responsible for the debt. This is 100% an obligation of the estate and its LOW on the list of obligations after funreal expenses, taxes (there won't be any on most extates), etc. The exception would be if you are a joint owners-signer of the credit card accounts - AU's are exempt (assuming there are no AU charges after the death of the principle debtor. I have no doubt that if a JDB or collection agency continues to harrass you after being notifed of the death of the debt owner, that any suit you file would result in a judgement in your favor - including costs and damages. 


The creditors did back off when I told them that after the funeral expenses there would be 0 assets and we would not pay his unsecured debts. I let them know they had no legal recourse, and they agreed, but then stated that it would dishonor my brothers memory if we or our mother did not pay. That just made my blood boil, so I told them any further calls would result in legal action...they did not call again. Actually the creditor he owed the most was actually the only one who acted decent...she said and I quote "Your family is not responsible for this debt and do not let anyone tell you different"


Was this the credit card company or was it a debt collection company? Years ago I went through a hard time and my student loans got turned over to a collection agency. Those people are the scum of the earth. I won't even socialize with anyone who works in that field. They actually accused me of lying when I said I was having a hard time finding a job and they wanted me to go to my family to get them to pay my student loan bill. I mean really these were the biggest scumbags I ever dealt with in my life and anyone who does that for a living can go straight to hell as far as I am concerned. These are not isolated experiences you will find thousands of people with similiar stories and I wish there was more consumer protections against companies like these. They also tried to shake down my mother for my father's business debts after he died. She had nothing to do with the business and they were divorced. They tried to exploit an elderly woman and luckily she told me about it before she spent what little money she had paying them. 

;
Starting Score: EQ: 714, TU 684
Current Score: EQ: 725 7/30/13, TU 684 6/2013, Exp 828 5/2018, Last App 8/5/17
Goal Score: 800 (Achieved!) In garden until Sepetember 2019
Message 15 of 17
sarge12
Senior Contributor

Re: Amex claims they are going to crack down on gaming credit cards

Was this the credit card company or was it a debt collection company? Years ago I went through a hard time and my student loans got turned over to a collection agency. Those people are the scum of the earth. I won't even socialize with anyone who works in that field. They actually accused me of lying when I said I was having a hard time finding a job and they wanted me to go to my family to get them to pay my student loan bill. I mean really these were the biggest scumbags I ever dealt with in my life and anyone who does that for a living can go straight to hell as far as I am concerned. These are not isolated experiences you will find thousands of people with similiar stories and I wish there was more consumer protections against companies like these. They also tried to shake down my mother for my father's business debts after he died. She had nothing to do with the business and they were divorced. They tried to exploit an elderly woman and luckily she told me about it before she spent what little money she had paying them. 


He was not behind on any payments and required to get their fax info and faxed each creditor the probate case number and copy of death certificate...After that the calls began, now wheather the cc issuers had handed it off to collection agencies, I am not sure. These were mostly store cards, but as best as I can recall there were a couple standard visa and mastercard. At the time of the calls starting he had only been deceased about 3 weeks...and they were total a**es. That did show me that I owe no loyalty what so ever to any credit card issuers. It may be why I try to get every dollar I can from credit card issuers, and never pay a penny in interest. Almost every major card I get has a sign-up bonus, and after recieving bonus I SD the card if the rewards are higher on my other cards. I do not need credit, I only use them to make the free money. It is the credit card issuers game...but I play it to win!!!

TU fico08=812 07/16/23
EX fico08=809 07/16/23
EQ fico09=812 07/16/23
EX fico09=821 07/16/23
EQ fico bankcard08=832 07/16/23
TU Fico Bankcard 08=840 07/16/23
EQ NG1 fico=802 04/17/21
EQ Resilience index score=58 03/09/21
Unknown score from EX=784 used by Cap1 07/10/20
Message 16 of 17
sjt
Senior Contributor

Re: Amex claims they are going to crack down on gaming credit cards


@Anonymous wrote:

@red259 wrote:

The article says it all. I'm not sure what Amex needs to do with churning. As it is, in most cases at least, you can only get the signup bonus on an amex card once in a lifetime. I think the more interesting question is how they plan to retain the customers they want. This leads me to wonder if what they have in mind is doing away with large signup offers and try to structure the signup offers and benefits in a way to encourage spend over a longer period of time. The everyday preferred was an interesting approach with the needing of 30 transactions to trigger the bonus points.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-08/amex-seeks-to-weed-out-credit-card-churners-chasing-rewards


 

Lots of new things they can do:

 

Treat branded cards as same product? 

 

Sprinkle lots of FRs and point freezes to warn people that AMEX is not the one to mess with?

 

Better detection of MS and agreements with partners to clawback points from even your SPG or Delta account?

 

Continue to crank down on "air incidental credit", including gift cards?

 

Bar amazon reloads from count as 30 transactions/month?

 

And at the end of the day many wouldn't care or even notice these.


+1 

 

The only thing I would be concerned about is the innocent folks that could get caught in the cross fire.

 

 

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Message 17 of 17
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