From: Uganda's Pied Piper
Re: Uganda's Pied piper: I hate to bring this up, but the question over lack of awareness/involvement on the part of American public may require self-examination…
From: Red, White & Harry
Bring on your bad self! If some foraign automaker thinks they can make hay out of detroit, just let'em try We can hang with the best, our automakers…
From: The Poison Apple
Unfortunately, depends on your p.o.v. I don' t have the disposable income to indulge myself in every fad that comes along, ergo, I am a "late joiner"…
Every year millions of eager students converge on major colleges and universities throughout the United States. For many of them it is a first adventure away from home without the protection of their parents. College is a time of learning and growth, but also a time when decisions can affect the rest of their lives. It is also when the mass marketing of student credit cards begins to pour in.
For years credit card companies have eyed college students like a predator eyes its prey. College students are a ripe target for companies that issue credit cards such as MBNA (now part of Bank of America) and Capital One. A Google search for credit cards and college students leads to pages of advertisements attracting college student applications. The companies issuing college student credit cards had such a negative impact on many people’s financial and credit status that the CARD Act of 2009 was passed to combat it.
The practices of giving away trinkets such as t-shirts in dormitories and cafeterias in exchange for merely filling out a credit application and issuing credit cards to students who have zero income that was rampant when I was a freshman in 1993 are expressly prohibited under the CARD act.
Credit card companies have not backed off however. Although some of their means are now illegal, the card issuers are finding loopholes in the CARD act that still allow them to direct marketing activity at this most impressionable market segment. While they cannot offer tangible gifts in person or through the mail for filling out a credit application, they can still do it through targeted email campaigns which use student email addresses. It has been determined that the CARD Act only applies to physical addresses while email addresses have no physical property.
The CARD act also included new provisions to require students to prove the sources of their income as stated on a credit card application, which opened it up for them to claim their financial aid as income which “qualifies” them for a credit card.
The question begs to be asked, are credit card companies to blame for taking advantage of the irresponsibility of a market segment or does all the blame lie on the students who apply for and receive credit they cannot afford to repay?
Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal
