4TextThecreditcardtrap1Ihaveaconfession.Severalyearsago,Iwasstandinginaqueuetocollectsometheatreticketsformyfamily,andmyfriendwasdoingthesameforhers.Igotmine,andpaidforthembycreditcard,feelingcontentedbytheconvenienceofthiscash-freetransaction.Itwasthenherturntopay.Thewholeoperationpassedassmoothlyasmine,butmydelightsoonturnedtoabjectshame.Mycreditcardwasafairlypathetic,status-freedarkblue,whereasherswasaveryexclusivegoldone.Text23Howdidshedothis?Howcouldthisbe?IknewIearnedmorethanher,mycarwasnewer,andmyhousewassmarter.Howdidshegettoappearmoreflashthanme?Now,IhadajobwhichwasassteadyasanyjobwasinthosedaysCthat'stosay,notvery,butyouknow,nocomplaints.Ihadamortgageonmyhouse,butthenwhodidn't?Ipaidoffallmycreditdebtattheendofthemonth,soalthoughtechnically,Iwasindebttothecreditcardcompany,itwasonlyforamatterofafewweeks.SoIassumedIhadagoodcreditrating.TextCallmesuperficial,andI'mnotproudofmyself,butthereandthen,Iwassuddenlyjealousofmyfriend.IdecidedInolongerwantedabluecard.Iwantedagoldone.Agoldcardwassuddenlyindispensable,itwouldmakemefeelgoodwithmyself,anddesirabletoothers.5SoIappliedforthemostdistinctive,shinygoldencardthecompanyoffered.6Iwasturneddown.4Text7WhenIhadrecoveredfromtheshock,whichtookseveralseconds,Iaskedwhy.ItappearsthatbecauseIpaymycreditcardbillbothontimeandinfull,I'mnotthekindofpersonthattheywanttohavetheirgoldcreditcard.Theytargetpeoplewhoarepronetoimpulse-buying,andpotentiallybadcreditrisks,temptedtospendmorethantheyhave,andliabletofallbehindwithrepayments.Thentheycanchargethemmoreinterest,andearnmoremoney.That'sthewaytheydobusiness.Text89Sodoesthisexplainwhythecreditcardcompaniesareluringimpoverishedstudentswithunrealisticinterestrates,likemykids?Threeweeksago,No.2daughtercamehomefromuniversityfortheweekend.She'sinhersecondtermofherfirstyear.Shehasastudentloanof3,000,likemostofherfriends,andasmallallowancefromherpoormother(ha!)fortransport,books,livingexpenses.Shewearsclothesfromthelocalcharityshops,andrarelygoesout.Shehuggedme(neverusuallydoesthat)andthensaid,“Mum,Ineedtotalktoyou."Text"Whatisit,darling?Tellmeeverything."11"I'veappliedforacreditcard,andIneedsomeonetoactasaguaranteeforme.IsitOKifIputdownyourname?Thankssomuch,Mum,mustdash!Bye."10TextAfterI'dhauledherbackintothehouse,ittranspiredthatherbankhadwrittentoherofferingacreditcardatalowinterestforatrialthree-monthperiod,subjecttosuitability...andsoon.Herbank!Itrustedthem!TheyknowevenbetterthanIdohowbrokesheis.13Here'saseriousquestion.Whydotheycallthemcreditcardswhenitwouldbemoreaccuratetocallthemdebtcards?12Text14Here'sanevenmoreseriousstory.Anotherfriend'sdaughter,Kelly,wasstudyingmodernlanguagesatuniversity,andspentayearoverseas.Atsomepointintheyear,therewasachangeofprocedure,andKelly'sbankfailedtoallowhertoaccessherfundsinhercurrentaccount,becausetherequestwasfromoutsidetheUK.Naturally,therewasalengthycorrespondencewhileshetriedtosortthisout,sothedelayinbeingabletoaccessherfundsmeantthatshewentintothered,andherdebtsbegantorisemorethan200abovetheagreedlimitonheroverdraftof1,500.Text1516WhenKellygotbackhome,thebankchargedher100forgoingoverthelimit,andinsistedshepaid30amonthtobringthebalancebacktobelowherlimit.Theyomittedtotellherthatshewasn'tactuallypayingoffthedebt,butonlytheexorbitantinterestontheoverspendoftheoverdraft.SoKellyhadtoturntohercreditcardwhichshehadusedsensiblyandsparinglyuntilthatpoint.Becauseshewasastudent,andbecauseshedidn'tuseitmuch,naturallyhercreditlimitwaslow.Text17Andnotsurprisingly,shecouldn'tpayoffeventheminimumpaymentonhercreditcardbill.Sotherewerenotonlybankchargesowing,butalsocreditcarddebtsandinterest.Andofcourse,shewasrecordedasbeingabadcreditrisk.Text1819Thingsthenwentfrombadtoworse.Afewmonthsintoherfinalyear,thebanknotifiedherthatitwasgoingtoreduceheroverdraftfrom1,500to1,000.Theytoldhertoapplyforastudentloantocovertherest.Butwhentheloancompanydidacreditcheck,theydiscoveredthecarddebt.Guesswhat?Shedidn'tgettheloan.TextThiswasadelightfulkidwhohadgreatrestraintwithherspendingandwaseconomicalaboutherlifestyle.Shedidn'tgoonspendingspreesbuyingnewshoes,andshedidn'tusehercreditcardasif(unlikeme)itwasafashionitem.Sheusedittobuyfood,tosurvive.21Andwhathappened?Shehadtodropoutofuniversity.20Text2223IwishtherewasahappyendingtoKelly'sstory,althoughmaybetherewillbe.Forthemoment,she'sworkinginthelocalsupermarket,andit'sprobablethatshe'llhaveanothergoatuniversitywhenshehaspaidoffherdebts.Sothisiswhatthebanksdo.Theysettrapswhichappealtoourvanityandgreedandsometimestoourbasicneedforsurvival.Andthenwhenwefallintothetraptheyshout"Gotyou!Didn'tyourealizeitwasatrap?"Text24Andherewearetoday,caughtinthecreditcrunch,withworldeconomiesinfreefall,allbecausethewickedbankerssetustrapswhichwefellinto,attractinguswithendlesspublicityforloansofmoneywhicheventheydidn'thave!Itnowappearstheywereborrowingontheirownflashygoldcreditcardstoo.SoIhaveasolutiontothecreditcardtrap,andIwantallofyoutolistentomeverycarefully.25Text26Iwantyoutolayoutallofyourcreditcardsinaline,takealargepairofscissorsandcutthemintosmallpieces.Thenputtheminanenvelopeandsendthemtoyourbank,withalettersaying(moreorless)"Itrustedyouandyoudeceivedme.You'vegotthewholeworldintothisridiculouscreditcardtrap,andifInowcutyourcardsinhalf,andtakeawayyourpotentialtotemptmoneyawayfromhonestpeoplelikeme,maybeitwillbeyourturntolearnwhatit'sliketorunoutofcash."Text27Asforme,Idon'twantanymorecreditcards,nomorestatussymbols,nomorebadfeelingsaboutwishingIcouldshowhowsuperiorIamtoothers.I'mnotgoingtoyearnanymoreforwhatIcannotaffordorcannothave.Text信用卡陷阱1有一件事我得坦白。幾年前，我排隊為家人取戲票時，我的朋友也在為她的家人取票。我拿到了票，用信用卡付了賬，對這種非現金交易的便利感到很滿意。然后就輪到她付款了，整個交易也進行得同樣順利，但我的高興勁兒很快就變成了莫大的羞恥：我的信用卡太寒酸了，是不顯示身份地位的深藍色