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One Response to “Exclusive Pre Approved Hong Leong Gold Credit Card Offer”

1. alan on July 26th, 2010 at 8:54 am

   Do you know you are not a good customer if you pay debts on time? So …

   Do you know you arenot a good customer if you pay debts regularly? I AM quite sure the bank that issues me my credit cards (just two) does not consider me a good customer.

   I spend way below my credit limit and, save for a few occasions, pay my bill in full and on time.

   A friend who works in the industry once told me: “To be honest, you are not the kind of customer we want. A good customer is one who spends more, defaults now and then, and allows us to charge interest on his outstanding balance.”

   I came across a report in The Washington Post last Friday which stated that credit card issuers in the US are facing a similar problem with customers like me.

   Ylan Q. Mui wrote: “After the recession forced credit card companies to purge their rosters of the riskiest loans, the industry is facing a new problem: customers who are too good.

   “Card issuers have long found their bread and butter in penalty fees and high interest rates paid by consumers who carry a balance.

   “But that business model has been upended by the legions of consumers who were overwhelmed by debt when the recession hit, forcing the industry to write off billions of dollars in loans. In addition, new federal laws limit how much card companies can charge risky customers.

   “Now, frugal-minded consumers are charging less on their credit cards, paying down their balances and steering clear of penalty fees – steps that are financially responsible but have the industry scrambling to find new ways to make money.”

   What’s wrong with customers who are too good, one might ask?

   I find that in the real world, customers who are not-so-good appear to be reaping better rewards.

   Every now and then, the recalcitrant ones get discounts for being late, and one can’t help but feel a sense of injustice for being prompt and responsible.

   For example, I pay all my bills on time but I never even get a thank you note from any of the utilities companies.

   They are also not very consistent. Sometimes, they can be very quick to withdraw the service when you don’t pay up so that they can happily charge you a reconnect fee. At times, they also let the bill build up until it becomes virtually impossible to collect the arrears.

   We should consider a carrot-and-stick approach whereby good customers should also be rewarded.

   For example, if my record shows that I pay all my utilities bills from January to December on time, how about giving me a 10% discount on the first bill of the new year?

   If you subscribe to satellite TV, your connection is cut off if you delay paying, but would the company consider giving an extra channel or two to those subscribers who never default for, say, two years in a row?

   I am one of the pioneer subscribers to the Internet since the dial-up days but I find that those who sign up later get better packages because of increasing competition. Now, wouldn’t it be nice if they quietly upgrade my connection speed as a way to reward my loyalty?

   But we have to get back down to earth. After all, our accounts are computerised and the IT people will tell you they cannot write exceptions into the programme or it will crash. To the system, we are just statistics, not people.

   Still, a thank you email generated by the computer could make my day.

   ● Deputy executive editor Soo Ewe Jin is happy to win a free meal at a sandwich restaurant near The Star thanks to a lucky draw. All he did was drop his name card into the bowl the week before.

   fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/26/business/6728341&sec=business