Comments on: The Dangers of Holding Philippine Credit Cards, Updated…

By: Problematic mama

Problematic mama — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:03:59 +0000

Im facing a huge problem with my credit cards. My wallet was stolen and my cards was used up to its credit limit. My problem is the bank wants me to pay the unauthorized transaction. Although they admitted that this is a fraudulent case. Since they waive the transaction from my one credit card. And they want me to pay the charges from my other credit cards.
They don’t want to compromise.

If only there’a way all victims of this credit card would all join in together, maybe our government could do something about this to protect all the cardholders. Or maybe the media can help us disseminate these problems w ith credit card company.

Do you know of someone who has experience the same as mine? Did they pay it?

Thanks. I really don’t know what to do right now.

By: grace b

grace b — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 07:59:11 +0000

i have this issue with the pay easy program of hsbc. i was charged for the late fee just because theres a 15 pesos that was left unpaid in my account.i am not rcving any SOA frm them so i just assummed that i just need to settle the agreed monthly amt.i was advised that they cannot waive the charges unless i settle the amt first which i refused to do coz i knw that its not my fault. i am very upset at the moment and i am already thinking of not paying the bills unless they have it fixed.pls help :(

By: Sophia

Sophia — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:31:52 +0000

Need help and advise. I applied for a loan facility recently and got advise that my application was declined since I was coming up with negative credit findings with a local bank. I phoned the bank and got confirmation that per their record, they issued a credit card to me in 2000. I never applied for or received any card from this bank. I am afraid that they issued the card to my name, and was received and activated by a fraudster. There were spending recorded on the account, and payments obviously not made. As such I am the one ending up with adverse credit finding. What can I do to get them to delete my name from their list, in the 1st place, the bank was the one who issued and activated card for fraudster.Pls help

By: Anthony

Anthony — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 02:48:11 +0000

My first bad experience was when I used my Citibank to pay for my insurance billing (actually I have cash but I only swiped to get points) But I had previous purchases so I asked the Cashier at the insurance company to first inquire if I had enough credit limits (otherwise, I can still use other cards to gain reward points). The cashier told me that should I exceed my limit, it will be declined. So, the transaction was approved right away using my Citibank. When my bill came, it has an OVER THE LIMIT charge of P300. I called up the Citibank’s customer service operator and I was told that I did not have enough credit limits at the time I paid the insurance company, but they approved it so that I won’t be ’embarrassed’. I told the operator that I would rather be embarrassed than having to pay P300, besides, I have other credit cards should I be declined. I asked for a reversal of the charges, the operator refused and then I said I want to end my membership. The operator said “You still owe us, pay up first then have it cut.” It was quite insulting, so I did pay up then when I called the customer service again to have the card stopped, they offered to return my P300. I got really mad and said “that was what I wanted that in the first place, but because they gave me a hard time and I was insulted by the rude operator. My decision is final” The card was cut…After 3 months of calls from the Citibank asking me to return, they finally offered an additional 3,000 reward points plus the return of the P300 OVER THE LIMIT CHARGE.

Bad Experience Part 2 :They won’t approve my boss’ Citibank Credit Card application (5 times) though they (Citibank telemarketers) have requested me to refer a friend. The reason? They were looking for an ACR (Alien Certificate of Registration) in which, is already ‘merged’ into my boss “Board of Investors Card”. Only foreigners who live or study in the Philippines have ACR. My boss is a foreigner/investor, doing business here… the Citibank employees should be updated on this… to think that my salaries came from my boss!

Bad Experience Part 3 : I work as an office staff and our sales representatives usually request plane tickets for their provincial trips. I buy plane tickets online most of the time using my CITIBANK card..then for every plane ticket (on differnt days), I was issued a cheque payment from our company.. in Septmeber I had 4 online plane ticket transactions, by october, the bill arrived…I paid my bills right away using those checks (4 pcs). In October, I bought 3 more plane tickets, on different days.. the bill came also in October so I paid with the 3 cheques issued by our company. This December, I was surprised to see “Processing fee for October” of P120 in my bill. I called up the Citibank operator, then they said it was a valid charge and I can not reverse it… so they’re telling me not to be a prompt and responsible consumer??? For that small amount, I have finally decided to stop dealing with Citibank (after I pay up my 0% interest transactions… because pre-terminating the 0% transactions would mean another fee of P300…it’s totally a rip-off!!) I’m so disappointed!!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:53:43 +0000

slimjoe-bit.

And I beg to disagree with several of your points of view.

Much of this is an issue of risk. And while I agree cardholders need to carry cards with care, they should NOT be liable if the card has been stolen and used by thieves. In most other developed and western countries, a maximum of $50 in liability is charged to the client; in the Philippines it is the full amount. Even if fraudulently spent. So the complete risk of checking the signature, identity of the buyers, etc. DOES NOT fall on the merchant and the the total loss is the clients loss.

Card numbers are irrelevant, it is the total credit limits that matter.

Credit limits are based on ability to pay, but if you are worth PHP5 million in assets, frankly, the credit card companies provide huge limits based on your deposits/assets known to them, so it is NOT driven by salaries alone.

Banks make billions on their credit card businesses because they charge near usurious rates. And they have the highest loss or fraud rates here compared to many other nations.

So I stick by the post. Philippine credit cards are FAR RISKIER to carry than foreign cards. And worst of all, one of the most expensive cards to carry from a perspective of fees, monthly interest charges and penalties.

But you SHOULD know that, since you claim to work for a bank.

By: slimjoe_bit

slimjoe_bit — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:11:03 +0000

I beg to disagree..a good cardholder knows how to use his/her card properly, i.e. paying on time, keeping it securely…one should know that if he/she used it, therefore he/she should expect he has debt to pay..others say “i haven’t receive my bill so how can i pay?” – this shouldn’t be the mentality of a cardholder..there’s a lot of options to know your outstanding balance..credit card issuers are now giving online statement for their card holders..or you can call their hotlines, mostly tollfree and just be patient…

Notes:
1. you can waive your annual fee if you properly use your card (paying the full amount on or before due date or overpayment)
2. getting a lot of cards is not good…1 to 2 cards is enough..
3. the credit limit set by the issuer depends on your ability to pay (if your just a plain office clerk whose salary ranges from 10k to 30k, a CL of 40k will do and its for your safety..
4. keep your transaction receipts, this will help you in reconciliation with your SOA
5. always put in mind your cutoff date and the payment due date
6. pay the full amount always..interest charges are computed based on previous balance not on outstanding balance
7. if you can’t receive your SOA, try enrolling your card with the issuer’s online statement or change your billing address into your office or to the card issuer’s address (you can ask if you can pick it up there)
8. read the terms and conditions of the card issuer before applying for 1..

That’s all i can share coz i work in a bank..:)

By: maya

maya — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 06:07:03 +0000

I need my high credit limit but I am also aware of the risks of carrying one with more than PhP300,000 credit limit. I solved this problem by issuing myself a supplementary card (the name on the card is a shortened version of my first name) and assigned a PhP10,000 credit limit on it. Then the issue of Annual Fee comes in, well, I never paid the Annual Fee in my entire life. I just tell them to cancel the credit card every year and it works like a charm, most of the time they credit card company reverses the Annual Fee right away. My Citibank Platinum charges PhP5000 for the Annual Fee, the minute I call, they reverse it–same with all my other credit cards and the supplementary cards. Note that I really do cancel my cards when they don’t reverse the annual fee, the funny thing is, after they cancel it, they send a new one a few weeks later with the waived first year annual fee.

By: Oliver Sy

Oliver Sy — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:08:31 +0000

This is what happened to me:

https://thebattlefieldknownaslife.blogspot.com/2010/05/sobering-and-expensive-experience.html

By: John Combalicer

John Combalicer — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:11:32 +0000

I agree, dapat talaga may gumawa ng batas laban sa sobrang singil ng bank sa credit card.

kaya ako napadpad dito, kasi hinahanap ko yung computation ng hsbc.

how come ang previous balance eh 9000 na lang kasi nagbayad ako ng 8000, sinisingil ako ng hsbc ng 1+++.++ pesos, tumawag ako para magtanong na paano nangyari na 1k plus yun samantalang 9k lang ang natira kung utang meron daw akong current balance pa na unbilled.

Di na ako nakipagtalo kasi, wala rin point na magalit ako kasi yun ang patakaran nila.

The Filipino people need a strong law to protect us.

Sana makarating ito sa ating bagong senador.

to admin, sana may link itong post to share in facebook

By: malcolm

malcolm — Mon, 03 May 2010 08:11:22 +0000

Totally agree with your post, MM. I’ve found that using a secured credit card in the Philippines works well for me. It suffices for making Internet purchases and for racking up points and freebies. By putting a low amount in the time deposit account which secures the card, I’m assured that there will never be an automatic increase in my credit limit, nor will the bank even attempt to offer me one. No telemarketers too!