How to Get Revenge on Credit Companies

Credit companies are notorious for being dignified loan sharks and for flooding unsuspecting postal customers with volumes of junk mail, including offers for new credit cards and loans. If you've had it up to your ears with the unscrupulous behavior of credit companies, there are several things you can do to exact some revenge.

Instructions

1. Pay off the balances on your credit cards every month. This hits the credit companies where it hurts the most-in the pocketbook. If you don't owe them money, they can't collect interest at sky-high rates.

2. Get a credit card with a rewards program. If you're going to use a credit card, at least use one that gives you some incentive such as frequent flyer miles (if you're a traveler) or cash back (if nothing else). Combined with Step 1, you can save some money at the expense of the credit companies.

3. Buy with cash. Although sometimes you may have no choice but to use a credit card, pay with cash whenever possible. Credit card companies charge stores and vendors a percentage of every purchase, leading to higher prices in stores. If you pay cash, the credit companies don't get a cut.

4. Send the junk mail back. Most offers for new credit cards include envelopes with postage paid by the credit company. If you want to be mean, stuff the (unmarked) offer back in the envelope and put it in the mail; it costs you nothing, but it costs the credit companies the postage fee. If you want to be really mean, stuff other junk mail in there as well. If you want to be even meaner, also stuff random trash in the envelope.

5. Harass the telemarketers who call you up with credit card offers. Speak in a foreign language (if you know one) or put on a strange accent; make your voice difficult to understand; pretend you can't hear what the telemarketer is saying. Do anything you can to be annoying.

Tips & Warnings

• You may or may not want to include identifying information in Step 4. If you want to get your revenge anonymously, make sure that what you send back to the credit company doesn't include your name, address or any other identifying information. If you want to snub them and let them know who did it, make sure your name is in there somewhere. Of course, if they don't know who you are, they'll probably keep sending more junk; this could be good or bad, depending on how much revenge you want.

• Needless to say, don't do anything illegal. Telling a telemarketer that you planted a bomb in his building may be sweet revenge, but it will also bring you an unwanted home visit from the police.

• If you're concerned about avoiding identity theft, don't include anything that has any of your personal information in the envelope for Step 4. This avoids the possibility of someone intercepting your personal information.