Like everyone else I know, I hardly have time to read my important mail, much less junk mail. Usually, I ignore awards certificates from credit card companies offering me free gadgets I don't need or magazines I'll never read. My sister showed me something yesterday that looked to me like a typical magazine subscription award certificate. This is what it says:
As a valued Cardmember, you are entitled to claim Awards worth up to
$101.00 from the choices on the back. Simply select your favorite
magazines and redeem your Awards Certificates right away for fifteen
months, which includes three extra months at no cost, for the annual
price.
Sounded like a good deal to me -- a year plus three months for free. But then I thought, wait a minute, what's this about the "annual price?" So, I looked all over the form, and in microscopic print is the statement that by redeeming the award, you authorize the credit card company to charge your account for the annual price. So, what they're offering for free is just the three extra months. Someone is paid to come up with ambiguous language to fool people into believing, at first glance (which is about where it ends with alot of people, myself included), that the subscriptions are free.
Which leads me to wonder (1) how small can print be before it's legally too small? (there must be some regulation that governs this), and (2) what kind of dehumanizing training do you have to undergo to become a writer of awards certificates like this?
In an article in The Boston Globe, America's hidden issue of poverty, Robert Kuttner states" "The great hidden issue in America is the scandal that tens of millions of Americans who work full time -- often more than full time -- barely get by and can't get ahead, while CEOs get zillions. The blue-collar middle class jobs are vanishing; what's taking their place are retail and service jobs that top out at $10 an hour or less. You can't live decently on that."
As I read this, I wondered about the definition of poverty. The U.S. Census Bureau assigns poverty thresholds to families based on the size of the family and the ages of the family members. The poverty thresholds are "statistical yardsticks" reflecting what families need to live on. If your family income falls below the threshold for your family, then you are living in poverty. In 2003, a family of four with two children under the age of eighteen had to make less than $18,660 in order to be considered poverty-stricken according to the Census Bureau.
There are also poverty guidelines put out by the Department of Health and Human Services, which are the numbers used to determine eligibility for certain federal assistance programs. In 2004, a family of four making less than $18,850 is considered to be living in poverty according to these guidelines (unless the family lives in Hawaii or Alaska where the numbers are higher).
I'm not sure I get how these numbers work, but I know that in the D.C. area, as well as many other metropolitan areas of the country, a family of four can't live on less than $20,000 a year, even if the family is living in a tent. No wonder people are living in their cars.
If you go into the Ameridebt website, you'll see the following message:
Unfortunately, AmeriDebt is no longer accepting new clients.
However, if you are looking to get help with your debt,
you may want to consider 800CreditCardDebt.com
Ameridebt has been under attack for deceptive practices by the Federal Trade Commission and several states. Regulators and customers allege that Ameridebt deceived its customers by charging high fees and operating as a non-profit concern while its real motivation was to make profit for its founders. The chapter 11 filing came after a settlement of $8 million in a class action suit was tentatively approved by an Illinois state court. Of course, that $8 million won't go very far considering there are 500,000 customers that have been ripped off by Ameridebt. The Washington Post reports that the FTC has objected to the settlement on the grounds that even if half of the 500,000 potential class members file a claim, that would result in a payment of a maximum of $32 per person.
Ameridebt and other credit counseling outfits are still under investigation by the IRS in connection with their non-profit status. With so many of these outifts under attack for deceiving customers, you really have to think twice and do your homework before turning over your last dollars to these "non-profits."