Amy’s Thoughts

Over the past several weeks, I have been involved in a rather absurd email debate with some woman who lives her life in the darkened dungeons of credit card customer service hell.  I was quite annoyed to discover about a month ago that my 5% interest rate had unexpectedly been hiked to 12%.  No prior warning, no explanation given, and absolutely NO cause (other than of course, the changing industry laws that were intended to protect the consumer but that appear to have inspired interest hikes for them instead).

In any case, in our email debates, I have repeated several times that I was NOT notified of an interest rate change, to which she has consistently (and quite stubbornly) replied that her records indicate one was mailed.  WELL THEN.  I’m sorry, I must have accidentally shredded this very important piece of paper that told me you were going to more than DOUBLE my interest rates and that I had 30 days to protest said changes before they went into effect.  RIGHT.  (In case any credit card representatives from this unnamed company are reading… this was EXTREME sarcasm, not to be read as any form of agreement that said paper was EVER in my hands!)

Of course, as I was writing my latest argument with this woman, it occurred to me that really, I was engaging in a battle I could not possibly win because I was shouting in the wind at an entire system that was corrupt.  I found the woman’s arguments to be absurd.  When I stated that I never received the notice, she countered that it was mailed.  When I stated that the hike was unreasonable in any case, she said the company had the right to do anything they wanted, so long as they notified me in writing.  When I reiterated that I received nothing in writing, she again stated it was mailed, starting the ridiculous cycle all over again.  When I questioned the intelligence of anyone believing that I would be okay with a 7% interest hike, and brought into question the ethics of presuming my agreement based solely upon my LACK of a response, rather than, say, receiving a signed agreement from me, she claimed that her company’s “business practices are continuously reviewed to ensure we provide valued services and remain competitive in our business”.   Umm… anyone else notice a distinct lack of response to the question of their ethics?  Instead of insisting this company adheres to ethical business practices, she instead insists they are … competitive?  Oh, and that they provide valuable services?  You bet they do.  To those who are desperate, and to people like me, who are weak.

Am I the only one who is sick and tired of the business practices of corporate America?  I think in the end, I am mostly annoyed at myself, though.  After all, I hate credit card companies and everything they stand for, and yet… here I am, sitting on my new bedroom furniture bought with a Nebraska Furniture Mart credit card, typing on a laptop purchased with a Dell credit card, snug in my grumpy sweatshirt paid for by Chase VISA.

Yep.  There is absolutely no denying that I am most definitely part of the problem.

Well, this rant became exceptionally long on Facebook, taking several spiraling comments to complete my thoughts, so I decided this might be a better forum for it

Am I the only one who gets annoys at Borders yearly book drive that is supposedly charitable in content, but is deceptively self-serving? They encourage customers to buy kids books that they then donate to a literacy organization Borders has chosen.… As a teacher, I am ALL FOR THIS. However, as far as I can tell, Borders donates no proceeds to these organizations, nor offers a matching gift either.

In fact, one year I tried to bring in brand new books that I am able to purchase through my school for AWESOME prices and they refused to take them (not purchased at Border’s you know). I’m sorry, but Borders is making a significant profit on these sales and sure, it’s great that they’re willing to help these charities (and I applaud the … Read Moregenerosity of EVERYONE willing to purchase a book and donate it), but is it too much to ask for Borders to match the donations? Their employees have told me that “sometimes” they match donations, but EVERY time they have a drive, I call a local Borders and ask the same questions — do you do a matching donation, do you donate a percentage of proceeds… and every time, the answer is NO. The only thing Borders does is organize the drive and ship the books off to whatever charity they are currently sponsoring. Big of them. But I say, when you’re a corporation of the magnitidue of Borders, it’s NOT ENOUGH.

Don’t get me wrong. I think these book drives are a GREAT thing and they certainly help many wonderful charities and brighten children’s lives, BUT…why does Border’s expect its customers to donate more than it is willing to? Think about it! With this one purchase, you are giving your hard-earned money to Borders and a children’s book to a worthy… Read More organization. Wouldn’t it be better to just write a check directly to that organization? Why are we so gullible? Because, quite frankly, the American public has a capacity for generosity that is unparalleled the world over. Thank GOD our greedy corporations are not representative of our own individual natures. As for me, I think I’ll just continue to hand deliver my donations and to donate my time to worthy causes. And, of course, when I do choose to spend my $ within Border’s hallowed walls, rest assured that I will not be deluding myself. I will be quite content in the knowledge that I am participating in mainstream corporate America.