Paid for Not Showing Up

[Hardbopjazz]

I have to admit, I might have gotten tempted too.

Paid for Not Showing Up

Anthony Armatys is facing up to six years in prison for his dumb move. But he's not the only dummy in this story.

Armatys accepted a job in 2002 with telecom equipment maker Avaya but then changed his mind before he started. He was already in the payroll system however, and the company started depositing his six-figure salary into his checking account.

For five years, Armatys did not notify Avaya of its error, but his attempt to make an early withdrawal from his 401(k) prompted an investigation that led to his arrest.

In October Armatys pleaded guilty to theft and was ordered to repay the $470,995.53 in compensation he received. He faces full sentencing in January.

Story

[Brad]

I don't have much sympathy for him.

[Jim Alfredson]

I'm more concerned about this one (from the same page):

Credit Card Reform Falls Short

When President Obama signed sweeping credit card reform legislation into law in May, a resounding victory was declared for consumers: Finally, some of the most abusive industry practices like arbitrary interest-rate hikes would be outlawed.

Just one small problem: Lawmakers gave issuers till February 2010 to fully comply with the new law. Meanwhile, issuers have rushed to raise interest rates, impose new fees and cut credit limits.

The median rate on credit cards surged 13% to 23% from December 2008 to July 2009, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Meanwhile, a bill to expedite the credit card reforms, the Credit Card Rate Freeze Act, has gone nowhere. When the new law kicks in next year, consumers will have more protection. But for now, more consumers may be hurt than helped.

I saw a report about this on 60 Minutes where the industry's talking head actually had the gall to exclaim that the rates hikes were justified because of the new bill. The bill doesn't even go into effect until Feb 2010 but rates go up immediately. Makes perfect sense.

I am looking forward to the day when my wife and I have no credit cards. We're down to one.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I'm more concerned about this one (from the same page):

Credit Card Reform Falls Short

When President Obama signed sweeping credit card reform legislation into law in May, a resounding victory was declared for consumers: Finally, some of the most abusive industry practices like arbitrary interest-rate hikes would be outlawed.

Just one small problem: Lawmakers gave issuers till February 2010 to fully comply with the new law. Meanwhile, issuers have rushed to raise interest rates, impose new fees and cut credit limits.

The median rate on credit cards surged 13% to 23% from December 2008 to July 2009, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Meanwhile, a bill to expedite the credit card reforms, the Credit Card Rate Freeze Act, has gone nowhere. When the new law kicks in next year, consumers will have more protection. But for now, more consumers may be hurt than helped.

I saw a report about this on 60 Minutes where the industry's talking head actually had the gall to exclaim that the rates hikes were justified because of the new bill. The bill doesn't even go into effect until Feb 2010 but rates go up immediately. Makes perfect sense.

I am looking forward to the day when my wife and I have no credit cards. We're down to one.

Goodness! A credit card seems to be essential for almost all transactions now. We never use the credit card to get credit - pay the whole amount every month before interest gets charged. But how can you go on holiday without a credit card? How can you buy stuff on the web? And so on and so on.

MG

[Jazzmoose]

Link

[.:.impossible]

I'm more concerned about this one (from the same page):

Credit Card Reform Falls Short

When President Obama signed sweeping credit card reform legislation into law in May, a resounding victory was declared for consumers: Finally, some of the most abusive industry practices like arbitrary interest-rate hikes would be outlawed.

Just one small problem: Lawmakers gave issuers till February 2010 to fully comply with the new law. Meanwhile, issuers have rushed to raise interest rates, impose new fees and cut credit limits.

The median rate on credit cards surged 13% to 23% from December 2008 to July 2009, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Meanwhile, a bill to expedite the credit card reforms, the Credit Card Rate Freeze Act, has gone nowhere. When the new law kicks in next year, consumers will have more protection. But for now, more consumers may be hurt than helped.

I saw a report about this on 60 Minutes where the industry's talking head actually had the gall to exclaim that the rates hikes were justified because of the new bill. The bill doesn't even go into effect until Feb 2010 but rates go up immediately. Makes perfect sense.

I am looking forward to the day when my wife and I have no credit cards. We're down to one.

Goodness! A credit card seems to be essential for almost all transactions now. We never use the credit card to get credit - pay the whole amount every month before interest gets charged. But how can you go on holiday without a credit card? How can you buy stuff on the web? And so on and so on.

MG

Debit Card.

We have a credit card in case of emergencies.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Goodness! A credit card seems to be essential for almost all transactions now. We never use the credit card to get credit - pay the whole amount every month before interest gets charged. But how can you go on holiday without a credit card? How can you buy stuff on the web? And so on and so on.

MG

Debit Card.

We have a credit card in case of emergencies.

But you can't use a debit card when you're abroad. Nor if you buy from a foreign internet firm.

Maybe I'm wrong about that...

MG

[ejp626]

We have different blends of cards here. Most of the debit cards are still issued with Visa or Mastercard on them, so that they can indeed be used overseas. I actually managed to get by for 18 months in the UK with a Barclay's debit card, a US debit card (that said Visa on it) and a Discover card (that was truly useless overseas).

Since then I've managed to keep my debt levels very low, though a broke-down refrigerator and some computer repairs have kept me a little bit in the red.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

We have different blends of cards here. Most of the debit cards are still issued with Visa or Mastercard on them, so that they can indeed be used overseas. I actually managed to get by for 18 months in the UK with a Barclay's debit card, a US debit card (that said Visa on it) and a Discover card (that was truly useless overseas).

Oh, I see.

MG