Credit Card Contracts: Make Sure You Read The Small Print
Posted at by ifydcat on category CreditIt’s astounding how regularly people will take out a credit card, finance, etc. without reading the fine print of their contract. Generally I think people are just pleased to be given credit that they’re extremely keen to just sign and get things moving.
However, choosing not to read the fine print carefully could mean you end up in a far worse financial position. For example, let’s take a look at credit card contracts:
Credit cards often declare an interest rate in their advertising, sometime as a special offer, etc. Generally, it is interest rates like this that tempt a lot of people into making the decision in the first place. However there’s nothing forcing the provider to keep your interest rates so low, meaning they could in theory hike it up anytime they wanted to. This information would only be visible in the small print; so if you don’t read it, you could end up paying a lot more than you thought. This is especially the case if you’re trying to go for credit advice, as the rate of interest with this type of credit card is often higher than normal credit cards.
A lot of the less honorable credit card companies will also try to hide their fees from you, hoping you don’t notice them until you’ve already signed and it’s time to pay. For example, imagine you miss one or two of your monthly payments, most companies are likely to charge you a penalty fee, but the actual amount you’ll have to pay in fees is rarely made clear, except in your contracts’ small print. Again, you should be particularly aware of this If you’re already suffering from or worried about credit advice, because getting into debt with your credit provider will only prove detrimental in the long run.
Another thing often hidden away in the fine print is insurance details. Numerous providers will offer insurance to cover purchases made on a credit car, but what is hard to find out is under which circumstances the insurance will (or won’t) pay out. Once again this kind of pertinent information will most likely be found in the small print of your contract.
If you are worried or concerned about not knowing everything about your provider, get in touch with someone (via either phone or online) who is trained to give out credit advice, they will be able to give you excellent advice on how and why you should be reading your contracts small print.