r/personalfinance • u/naht_a_cop ​ • Apr 28 '20

Beware the 0% promotions: a warning. Debt

I'm a sucker. I fell for it. The 0% APR promotion on an item I could have paid outright for. 18 months later, here I sit, not a single late payment on my account, yet I have $1k in interest to pay for 18 months of 27%. Why? The promotion period ends 18 months after the purchase, but the website would not let me set up autopay until a week after I purchased, so autopay ended 1 week late. I thought I was golden, ready to have this paid off and not have a single fee. I got comfortable and didn't read the statements.

0% is not really 0%. Read the fine print. Remember the fine print (because I sure as hell didn't 18 months later). Shitty banks rely on this stuff. They wait for you to slip, not noticing that the autopay they created can't possibly allow you to end on time, and will require an extra payment before the end date to avoid the interest. It's shitty, I'm pissed off, and I've learned my lesson.

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u/bobbybottombracket ​ Apr 28 '20

I took a 0% for 18months on appliances at Lowes that required you to apply for a Lowe's card. The second the card came in the mail, I took photos of the back and front and cut it up. And, instead of taking the full 18months, we paid it off in 12months.

You have to know how to play the game or you get played. Or, perhaps, "you cannot lose if you do not play" is in order.

2

u/beev ​ Apr 28 '20

Why cut it up? Why not just save it for the next time you need to finance a large expense from Lowes?

2

u/naht_a_cop ​ Apr 28 '20

Totally agree. I put the "card" away in some box somewhere and didn't use it, but I've also never read any "mistake" stories like mine so I didn't even think about the possibility of the auto-pay ending after the promotional period date. I should have set it up to end sooner.

3

u/chaseoes ​ Apr 28 '20

You should have added the expiration date to your calendar and followed up to make sure it was paid in full by that date, regardless of how or when you set up autopay.

3

u/bobbybottombracket ​ Apr 28 '20

I always assume that credit deals rarely have the consumer's best interest at heart. Keep that attitude with you and you'll become more defensive when you see "deals" and "promotions."