Consumerist: Success

How To Pay Off $35,000 In Consumer Debt In 3 Years

Meg Marco — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:53:33 EST

J.D. at Get Rich Slowly has made his final payment and is now free of consumer debt. He still has a mortgage, but has eliminated $35,000 of consumer debt that began with a $500-limit department store credit card.

Here's a taste of how he did it:

Using the ideas I learned from personal finance books, I set out to eliminate my debt. I stumbled at first — I made plenty of mistakes. But eventually I developed a system that worked:
1. I set goals. I can't stick to a budget to save my life, so I developed what I call a spending plan. Like a budget "lite", this tool simply gives me a rough idea of my income and expenses so that I can determine where best to put my money. It's like a roadmap to my money, and it has helped me reach my goals.
2. I read everything I could find. I continued to read personal finance books of all sorts. I learned that even the worst books generally contained a piece of advice I could use. I developed the ability to extract the stuff I could use from a book and to discard the rest. I subscribed to personal finance magazines. I read personal finance web sites.
3. I tracked every penny I spent. I never realized how easy it was for me to overspend simply because I didn't keep track of my money. I'd kept rough records in Quicken before, but now I became precise. By paying close attention, I was able to spot weaknesses and correct them.

There's lots more info at Get Rich Slowly. Congratulations, J.D.!

Have any Consumerists gotten themselves out of consumer debt? How did you do it? Share your strategy in the comments.

Free at Last! Saying Good-Bye to 20 Years of Debt [Get Rich Slowly]
(Photo:Maulleigh)

Success Story: Woman Captures Her Own Identity Thief

consumerintern — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 14:01:39 EDT

Readers alerted us to a great story in today's San Francisco Chronicle. A woman who lost $30,000 in business and six months of her life to a local identity thief captured her tormentor... on foot.

Karen Lodrick's mail had been stolen in November 2006 by a neighborhood con named Maria Nelson. Nelson subsequently withdrew thousands of dollars from Lodrick's bank accounts. Even after Lodrick created another bank account, the thief again stole her mail and raided the new account.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Having seen a Wells Fargo surveillance video of the thief carrying a "light-brown suede coat," Lodrick recognized the coat and the woman standing behind her in line at a Starbuck's. After dialing 911, Lodrick followed Nelson through the San Francisco streets, eventually having to run after her when Nelson realized something was up. The chase included Lodrick practically blocking Nelson's cab from driving off— the driver threw up his hands in surrender and Nelson fled again, knowing that whatever was happening, her probation was definitely in jeopardy.

The only letdown in this story is, of course, when the justice system gets involved. Despite chastising the convict, who was indeed on probation, for rudeness toward the victim in court, the judge sentenced Nelson only to time served and another three years of probation. Lodrick, needless to say, is pretty pissed. —BRIAN FAIRBANKS

How victim snared identity thief [SF Gate]

FCC Chairman Orders Telecoms To Restore Access To Free Iowa-Based Conference Call Providers

Carey — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:33:55 EDT

The Chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin, has issued a stern rebuke to the telecoms that blocked their subscribers from accessing free Iowa-based conference call providers. Quoth the Chairman:

We actually contacted the companies that were listed in the press [reports] and said our rules prohibit you from blocking consumers' access to any of the service providers... One had stopped blocking, but we heard complaints the next week that they were restricting access, sort of narrowing the pipe. We called them back and said, no, no, you can't artificially degrade [service] either.

We think you should celebrate this reversal with your friends on a free Iowa-based conference call. If the service is blocked, or in any way degraded, don't hesitate to fill out the FTC's consumer complaint form. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

FCC Chairman Martin to Telcos: No Blocking Iowa Calls [GigaOM via Boing Boing]
Consumer Complaint Form [FTC]
PREVIOUSLY: Cingular, Sprint, And Qwest Block Access To Free Conference Call Services
(Photo: Jiri Kopsa)

Attention: You Lowered Your APR Just By Asking, Again.

Meg Marco — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:45:21 EST

You guys are so awesome. You call your credit card company and you ask them to lower your APR...and they do! It just keeps happening! Reader Jacob writes:

I'd been thinking seriously about getting a new card and transferring the balance.... I was fairly certain that I could find a card that would allow me to transfer my balance and pay 0% for at least a year (Instead of paying 500+ bucks in interest over the next 6 months with my current card).

Before I switched, I figured I'd give my bank (a mid-size, midwestern outfit) a chance to make the first offer. I called, quickly got a real person, and explained casually that I'm currently paying 16.5% fixed APR, I'm a longtime customer, and I wondered if I qualified for a better rate. Without much hesitation, he offered me a 12.5 % variable rate. OK good start. Continuing the casual conversation I spoke about getting a new card (even asking what other cards they offered) and transferring the balance, because it made sense to me to not pay so much interest. Out of nowhere came an offer for a 3.9% APR on my current balance for 6 months.

Way to go, Jacob. Lowering your interest rate is a good step towards paying off your balance! You are going to pay off your balance, right Jacob? —MEGHANN MARCO

Read Jacob's email inside.

Jacob writes:

Reading Consumerist daily, I've become a more emboldened consumer, this is a recent success story.

I have been carrying a balance of about 5-6k on a credit card for over a year. I'll pay chunks of 1 to 2k off at a time but some of my business expenses bring the balance back up quickly. I've started to make a bit more money and I'm committed to paying down my balance in the next few months. But in the meantime, I'm paying fixed 16.5% APR on my balance, almost $95 a month. I have good credit and this my only card (my first) which I've had for several years.

I'd been thinking seriously about getting a new card and transferring the balance. I found a good website, www.creditcards.com, that compares transfer rates, APR's, other benefits and fees. I was fairly certain that I could find a card that would allow me to transfer my balance and pay 0% for at least a year (Instead of paying 500+ bucks in interest over the next 6 months with my current card).

With all the hassle of applying for a new card, the usual balance transfer fees (usually around 3-5%) and the strain of a new line of credit on my credit history, this seemed like a good deal and I was happy to remain loyal.

Moral of the story: if you have options, you have some control. Be nice, be causal and let the subtext, ("I'm getting screwed here and I am more than happy to go to another issuer and save some significant money") speak for itself.

Jacob

Attention: You Lowered Your Cable Bill

Meg Marco — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 13:39:36 EST

Ah, the power of asking for discounts. Here are a few stories from Consumerist readers who "threatened" their cable operators and got discounts because of it. Paul writes:

Thanks a lot for the article about threatening to cancel cable service. I did that today and saved a bundle. Here's the basic rundown: I called my ISP, Charter, and said I wanted to cancel my account. When asked why, I said that it was too expensive (I've been paying about $62/month for a 3Mbps connection) and that I wanted their $19.99/month promotion rate (listed on their webpage for new customers). After some poking around on the computer, the CSR was able to get me the lower rate for a full twelve months! I'm pretty happy; a 67% reduction is pretty good, so I need to figure out what to do with the extra $40/month that I'll have now.

No, Paul, thank you for sharing your story.

Zac writes:

I just read your story on getting discounts on cable by threatening to cancel. I just did this, and it worked out quite well. I had been getting cable for an absurdly low rate - one of those rates that expire after a set amount of time. I was getting Comcast's "Digital Silver" package for $30 a month (lots of channels, Encore, Bravo, SciFi, plus HBO, about 200 total). I got February's bill and it had jumped to $70, which I knew was coming and had planned to cancel my service once it did.

When I called to cancel I talked to a (amazingly) nice CSR at Comcast who asked me why I was cancelling. I explained my situation... told her I simply couldn't afford it. She asked me what I needed cable for and I said really I like the OnDemand feature and HBO shows. She said "Honey you hold on for a moment and Miss Jones will see what she can do for you." I kid you not.

Five minutes later she came back and offered to continue my service for $38 dollars a month for the next six months instead of the regular $70. While it's still more a month, I consider it pretty big since the original deal had gotten me that rate for 16 months. Just thought I'd let you know. I also got her direct line in case other issues come up - no 800 number, just a regular phone number and extension.

That's a lot of words for a simple story... just thought I'd let you know.

Zac

Good job, Zac! Thanks for sharing your story. The rest of you, get on the phone! —MEGHANN MARCO

Threatening To Cancel Cable Can Get You Discounts

Ben Popken — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:13:54 EST

As we mentioned yesterday, threatening to cancel your cable for another provider can sometimes unleash a shower of freebies and rebates as the company tries to get you to stay.

Reader David took our advice and chopped $55 off his monthly cable bill.

Check out his success story inside...

David writes:

"Thank you very much for the recent article on Comcast,with information about getting discounts. I live in Newton, Mass where we now have three cable/multi-service providers including Comcast, Verizon and RCN. In addition, our mayor has agreed to install city-wide wireless internet. All of this should mean rate competition and lower prices — but instead Comcast is increasing prices effective this month.

So I called Comcast according to your suggestions, let them know that I know very little about the various services, said I was shopping around, etc. I talked to a customer rep. that would not budge on cost other than to offer more services for the same cost. But this rep. was extremely helpful even if he didn't know it. He suggested that when I'm done shopping around, to call for service cancellation at Comcast and the representative there would likely offer a discount.

You guessed it — I called right back without spending any time with another greedy cable conglomerates and received $55 off my bill each month. No changes in service. I would not have invested my time without your encouragement through The Consumerist.

Keep up the good battle.

Regards,
David"

— BEN POPKEN

Previously: Comcast Sets 60-Day Waiting Period For Customers Snagging Discounts By Threatening to Leave

Sending Broken Stuff Back Really Works

Ben Popken — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:30:53 EDT

A few weeks ago we posted about how instead of throwing out broken gear, try mailing it back to the manufacturer with a nice note, and they may just very well send you a new one.

A reader is happy to report he did just that, and it worked!

Erik has had a Polaroid DVD player for three years. One day, he noticed its battery was boasting strange little bulges.

Dangling the device over the garbage disposal, about to flick the switch to ON, he recalled our post and decided to send the device back to Polaroid.

"Three weeks later, they delivered! Brand new battery, no weird bulges. Customer Service++! Thanks Consumerist!" writes Steve.

Thumbs up, Polaroid! And thumbs up, Steve, partially for getting proactive, but mainly for obeying our edicts.