Credit Card Debt Management

I really love this story! It seems Oklahoma State University law school students and faculty spent more than a year conducting a study of on-campus credit card solicitations aimed at students. The results landed several companies in court.

Attorney General Marc Dann’s office said Wednesday it is suing New York-based Citibank, Philadelphia-based Campus Dimensions Inc., Chicago-based Potbelly Sandwich Works LLC and local restaurant OSU La Bamba Inc. after two recent events near campus in which students allegedly were offered free food at La Bamba and Potbelly in exchange for signing up for a credit card. The lawsuits, which claim the companies violated Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act, stem from the fact that the sign-up stipulation allegedly wasn’t disclosed in advertisements.

According to the story in Columbus Business First, the state is trying to stop the companies from repeating their shameless ways by:

Free food for starving college students? Really? Have they stooped that low? We knew the credit card industry was hurting, but offering free food is a new low. It is now painfully obvious how desperate they are to get consumers right out of the gate, before their credit gets tarnished.

I have experienced the hunger pains of college, the fifth day in a row of Easy Mac microwaveable macaroni and cheese. I would’ve done about anything for a nice, healthy, wholesome meal. In fact, junior year I did choose which church I would visit based on who bought lunch for college kids.

These credit card companies sense that vulnerability in college kids and they prey on it! Free food … Ugh, and to think all they ever gave me was a free t-shirt! California legislators have taken their battle against student credit card solicitations a step further. They are currently awaiting Gov. Schwarzenegger’s signature on a bill that would bar all credit card companies from using “free gifts” to entice credit card applications from college students on campus. Maybe there really is more to California than fruits and nuts. It’s brilliant and all 49 other states should follow their lead ASAP.