So glad I called

[rantnnravin]

You know those "payment protector" plans they have for credit cards? Well, I agreed to one under a promotion when I first got the card and just forgot to cancel it (not very budget friendly, i know). But recently, i've been more and more concerned about how much the fee was, so i called to cancel it --- Well, lo and behold -- My recent divorce qualifies me for 4 months of no fees AND no interest on the card PLUS, i don't have to make any payments if i don't want to -- i will and 100% goes to principal!!!! So I took them up on it rather than canceling. Now i'm kicking myself for not knowing what the benefits were --- going to read up now...

 

[jmartinez1895]

I hope that you do not get a surprise like we did. We had the payment protector on one of our cards and after months of paying for the service, we thought it would be best to cancel it and not pay out that money each month. I called and told them I wanted to cancel and they told me that would not be a problem, but because I had never had to use the plan they would make 2 moths of payments and hold interest for those moths. I thought that sounded great. The 2 moths passed and I did not have to make any credit card payments Then a moth after that I started receiving letters form all of my credit card companies telling me that had lowered my credit limits. One card I had a 12,000 limit with 3000 on the card. They lowered my limit to 3500. When I called and asked why they told me that it was because I had used the payment protection service and that sends a red flag to them that a person can not make there payments. Only one of my credit cards raised the limit back up when I called and explained, but the others said there is a waiting period. Because I used the plan my credit score was hit very hard because now it looks like I maxed out my cards when I was so careful not to.
I hope that this will not happen to you, but I just wanted you to know if you get letters in a few month you'll know why.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Those payments can be a life saver. I have them on almost all of my credit cards, and the nice thing is if you don't carry a balance, you don't pay for the plan. They are pretty inexpensive, if you really think about it.

DH lost his job in October of 2010, well he had to be out of work for 30 days to qualify and he was (he was out exactly 60 days), so I called about the one on his Best Buy card, because we had a washer and dryer on there (no interest for 24 months) they completely paid off both and I could focus our income on regular household bills. LIFESAVER

Alos, when my mom passed away, she had a several credit cards that she had the plan on, I call, filled out their form and sent it in with a copy of her death certificate, and they were all paid off.

Suzanne

 

[rantnnravin]

I hope that you do not get a surprise like we did. We had the payment protector on one of our cards and after months of paying for the service, we thought it would be best to cancel it and not pay out that money each month. I called and told them I wanted to cancel and they told me that would not be a problem, but because I had never had to use the plan they would make 2 moths of payments and hold interest for those moths. I thought that sounded great. The 2 moths passed and I did not have to make any credit card payments Then a moth after that I started receiving letters form all of my credit card companies telling me that had lowered my credit limits. One card I had a 12,000 limit with 3000 on the card. They lowered my limit to 3500. When I called and asked why they told me that it was because I had used the payment protection service and that sends a red flag to them that a person can not make there payments. Only one of my credit cards raised the limit back up when I called and explained, but the others said there is a waiting period. Because I used the plan my credit score was hit very hard because now it looks like I maxed out my cards when I was so careful not to.
I hope that this will not happen to you, but I just wanted you to know if you get letters in a few month you'll know why.

I plan on making the payments - so *hopefully* it won't be an issue - but even if it is, my credit took a major hit through the divorce process, so i figure it couldn't get any worse --- might as well take advantage of the benefits instead of all the negative this whole thing has brought me-- i DO thank you for the heads up though

 

[jmartinez1895]

I have been through a divorce too so I can understand. For me it took longer for the divorce stuff to clear my credit then it did for the payment protector , so it should be long gone by the time your divorce related items clear. As I siad, I just didn't want you to be shocked.
You paid for the serve so you might as well get your money out of it

 

[honeydiane1953]

So very nice to hear some GOOD NEWS. Constant whining and complaints give me a headache!!

 

[Celidh]

I cancelled my protector plan on my card. i had to almost argue with the person on the phone to get her to cancel it.

I generally don't carry much of a balance on my card. I did however put my daughter's bed on my card, only to pay it off 4 days later. The only reason I put it on my credit card was because the $ for it was in a bank account that I can't access from a store, only online so I had to move the $. I figured no problem, put it on my credit card, move the money later and no interest payments. Then I got the bill and there was an extra charge. I called to say why. There should be no interest since I paid it right away. They said it was the protection. Not worth it to me since I'm not carrying a balance, so there is nothing to protect but i will have to pay a charge every time I want to use my card for a purchase even if I pay it right off.

The woman on the phone annoyed me because she kept trying to tell me I needed it in case I lost my job. I kept saying that it wouldn't matter because there would be no balance.

Anyway, it's gone now. I worked too hard to get where I am, which is the only debt i have is my house. I have done without a lot of things. I am a single mom (separated for 6 years but not divorced) My rule of thumb is, if I don't have the money to pay something off within 6 months, I don't buy it. I don't want to have a lot of debt for the very reason they have this protection for your credit card. I don't want to be up the creek without a paddle if I loose my job. Of course, I have been lucky and have never had a major cost come up either.

 

[rantnnravin]

It's not so much about having a balance on the card or paying things off or not charging things -- it's just that I had been paying for the payment protection thing- because i forgot about it (just because i forget things) -- and when i called to cancel, she told me about this benefit and i was like, hey why not - if i've been paying for it all along anyway, not take advantage of the benefits before i cancel