My son received his first credit card offer in the mail this week. Imagine that! His first credit card -- at only age 6! It's from Citicorp -- one of the biggies. Since I moved within the last 8 months & this had our current, correct address - their records must be somewhat accurate. You can't tell me that they do ANY amount of background checking before sending out credit card offers what-so-ever. As a lender, wouldn't you want to, oh I don't know, check out income, credit report, etc before sending out a credit card offer? How can they say (with a straight face) that they are even halfway-serious about credit card security when they mail an offer out to a 6-year old? BTW, I've already had this little speech on several phone calls - one to their customer service line & once to their security line. Both of them get you next-to-no-where. They can't tell you how they obtained the name (hello again -- security issues) & they cannot do anything but give you the credit reporting services phone numbers so you can verify that there isn't some sort of identify-theft issue occuring. So -- if you are following all of this: a large financial company can get names from anonymous sources, can willy-nilly send out financial offers, and YOU are responsible for calling & verifying your credit information -- because of their negligence & their fast-and-loose offer-anything-that-moves-a-credit-card policies. I can tell you this: I will never knowingly be a Citicorp customer in the remainder of my lifetime.

Sounds about right. When I was 7 or 8, I kept getting things in the mail about joining the armed forces and blah blah blah. Evidnetly on a bunch of publc records I was recorded as being 10 years older than I am. Kinda weird.

My son received his first credit card offer in the mail this week.  Imagine that!  His first credit card -- at only age 6!  It's from Citicorp -- one of the biggies.  Since I moved within the last 8 months & this had our current, correct address - their records must be somewhat accurate.  You can't tell me that they do ANY amount of background checking before sending out credit card offers what-so-ever.

As a lender, wouldn't you want to, oh I don't know, check out income, credit report, etc before sending out a credit card offer?  How can they say (with a straight face) that they are even halfway-serious about credit card security when they mail an offer out to a 6-year old?  BTW, I've already had this little speech on several phone calls - one to their customer service line & once to their security line.  Both of them get you next-to-no-where.  They can't tell you how they obtained the name (hello again -- security issues) & they cannot do anything but give you the credit reporting services phone numbers so you can verify that there isn't some sort of identify-theft issue occuring.

So -- if you are following all of this: a large financial company can get names from anonymous sources, can willy-nilly send out financial offers, and YOU are responsible for calling & verifying your credit information -- because of their negligence & their fast-and-loose offer-anything-that-moves-a-credit-card policies.

I can tell you this: I will never knowingly be a Citicorp customer in the remainder of my lifetime.

[post="58557"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

He doesn't have any red marks on his credit report :P

Yup... not news to me but it still is disturbing.

Not yet, but I am thinking that my kid should treat us all to a trip to Disney World next year -- hehe.

If you could do that cmattson - it would build up his credit a bit before he is actually old enough. He would be grateful (eventually).

Nobody said we'd be making any payments on those bills. :blink:

Edited December 14, 200520 yr by cmattson

proof that marketing and big corporations are overly invasive in our lives and some of them need to be brought down

Funny thing is I'm a month from being 18 and nobody will accept me. :P

Dat be cuz you don't pay yo beels, sucka. You gotsta pay yo beels! :P

Funny thing is I'm a month from being 18 and nobody will accept me. :P

[post="58749"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

You have a cell phone and pay the bill?

Dat be cuz you don't pay yo beels, sucka.  You gotsta pay yo beels! :P

[post="58848"][/post]

hey, hey HEY..... Hold up there Ocnblu! You know I own the rights to use Mr.YT speak on C&G! Don't make me fine you again. :P

You've been warned SUCKA!

I've had a Citi credit card for about 3 months now and I'm in the process of switching my checking accounts from Sovereign to Citi because Sovereign is involved with some scandal with being taken over by a Spanish bank. Citi also gives me free checks and ATM reimbursements for those damn fees. The only things that sucks are that there are no Citi branches around here (but brick and motar banks will be a thing of the past in a couple decades, I'm ahead of the curve) and I have to direct deposit my paycheck in order to not be charged a monthly maintenance fee. Still, I'd rather be with a non-scandal ridden, we're being taken over by foreigners bank.

Those looking @ savings accounts should checkout ingdirect. You can electronically transfer funds to any other account (i.e. checking account) at any time. The interest rates are better than you'd find at a bank.

You have a cell phone and pay the bill?

[post="58868"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Nope. Well, I have a phone, but it's under a Family Plan led by my parents..

I scored 98 on the ASVAB when I was in highschool and I'm in perfect condition. Recruiters bugged the hell out of me for weeks till finally one asked why I wasn't interested. I said "It's that whole 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' I'm not comfortable with. I feel I should be able to tell anyone." Haven't heard from them since. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Speaking of ASVAB... I just took it a few weeks ago. Hopefully I'll do poor enough on it that the military will stop trying to get me to join. I have no idea why they'd want me, but I've been recieving calls and letters about it for over a year now. I'm not joining unless I see my future start to go to hell... :P