It is not a crime to owe money. And yet, so often for those of us in debt, it feels like a prison sentence. Aside from the shame and the worry of being judged by our peers, a bad credit history can have a far more serious and long-lasting impact on your life than a minor criminal record.
Throughout history, living within one's means and paying back what one owed was a testament to one’s morality and good character. Moneylenders (and those who visited them) were perceived as shady and sly. Increasingly, they still are.
This century's moneylenders have a respectable surface sheen created by millions of pounds worth of clever marketing. Unfortunately, it doesn't take much to rub away the polish and get a glimpse of what really lies beneath. I now think of credit card companies akin to the terrifying Child Catcher in the film ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. Using the lure of “lollipops, cherry pie, cream puffs, ice cream and treacle tarts - all free today!” to tempt the children out from their hiding place and into his mobile sweetie shop/prison van. Nowadays, we’re far more susceptible to teasing whispers of “balance transfers, 0% interest for x months, buy now pay later”, as we’re tempted to take a nibble from the poisoned lollipop the credit card companies so blatantly hold out for us. The language and imagery they use always so carefully selected to make it appear that they’re not desperate for our money, they just want to help us. Help us achieve our potential and help us live out our dreams. Honest, guv.
Once we’ve licked that delicious lollipop and tasted its sweetness, they’ve got us. Like a evil drug dealer lurking by the school gates, offering free heroin wraps to kids and then gleefully cackling and rubbing his hands together when they become addicted. Ker-ching!
In a recent survey conducted by debt advice charity, StepChange, 43% of respondents had had their credit card limit raised without asking for it. And of those, 30% admitted this had led to a worsening of their own debt crisis. We are being set up to fail. They are desperate for us to fail. The only way they make money is when we fail. No wonder they make it so easy.
Credit card. The name itself is misleading. The word credit is imbued with positive meaning - it means approval, belief, honour. On a balance sheet, credit is in the plus column. The credits roll at the end of a film. People are credited with doing marvellous things. People’s children are a credit to them. Etcetera. More realistically, this rectangle of troublesome plastic should be called a loan card, or a debt card. Because, unfortunately, that is what it is.
It may open doors. It may allow you to buy things you cannot afford and do not need. It may solve problems and save embarrassments. It may foster and fulfil dreams. And, so importantly for so many of us, it may allow you to feel and live like someone you are not. But despite its tiny dimensions and innocuous appearance, you do not own it. It, most definitely, owns you.
And many people don't realise that until it's too late. Much too late.
