Tell the Fed "No" Regarding Proposed No-Interest Rule Change
Last week, when USA Today writer Jayne O’Donnell, called and asked me what I thought about the Fed wanting to possibly restrict retailer’s from offering ‘no-interest’ offers to consumers, I told her that if the government did so, it would be yet another nail in the retail coffin.
While some critics of the no-interest or deferred-interest loans claim they are shady, I don’t agree.
What we are seeing here in a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the legislators to the whole credit-crunch mess.
Instead of restricting commerce, the boys and girls on the Hill would be better off making sure that everyone involved in a transaction (be it for a home or home entertainment center) understands what he or she is committing to.
Wording or conditions that are unclear or unfair should be eliminated. Once that happens, consumers need to enter into any sort of loan obligation with their eyes wide open and their wallets firmly shut until they fully understand the arrangement.
What do you think?
ray allegrezza commented:
Thanks for the comment, Jeff. I think the industry needs (and i almost hate to say this) a strong lobby to have our voice heard. It seems like the rusty wheel gets the grease. We can certainly use a bit ourselves!
Jeff Giagnocavo commented:
I agree 100%. I cannot stand that in our country we have opted to protect people that make ill informed decesions at the suffering of our economy.
All this does is restrict business and further cripple the economy. Not everyone is in forclosure, not everyone is maxed out, yet the folks on the hill see fit to "protect" the idiots that are a big part of this mess at the expense of commerce and the greater part of the population that still have good credit and can afford to purchase things.
