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Home > Archive > Medicine transcription > February 2005 > Isn't this usury?
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| angs122 2005-02-12, 1:34 pm |
| What a shame! See how those companies take advantage of the poor! We
were just talking about companies like Rent-A-Center and how they
charge about ten times the amount for a simple item you might need but
can't afford at the time - like a refridgerator. When we moved someone
actually suggested this to us since were having to buy so many large
appliances at once. It's phenomenal how they rape the poor.
~Angie~
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| Eliyahu Rooff 2005-02-12, 1:34 pm |
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"angs122" <indigo_angell@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1108225415.227103.109680@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> What a shame! See how those companies take advantage of the poor! We
> were just talking about companies like Rent-A-Center and how they
> charge about ten times the amount for a simple item you might need but
> can't afford at the time - like a refridgerator. When we moved
someone
> actually suggested this to us since were having to buy so many large
> appliances at once. It's phenomenal how they rape the poor.
>
What makes the rental stores even more reprehensible is that they're not
only overcharging so badly, but that the products they rent/sell are
often of low quality and aren't worth anywhere near what a similar
product would cost at retail. We had a client who'd rented a
large-screen TV and home theater center from R-a-C and, when someone
broke into his home and stole it, was told to pay up the "cost" of
$3500. Neither one was a brand I'd heard of, and I couldn't even find
them online. Finally took the paperwork to a friend who owns a music
and electronics store here in town, and he found some prices for me.
Turned out that the wholesale value of the whole package was about $800
and the retail should have been about $1200. He also commented that the
home theater center had a lot of fancy plastic on the exterior and that
the electronics were, in his words, "tinny crap."
While it's clearly unconscionable to exploit and cheat the poor like
this, there's also the problem that too many people feel like they have
some sort of entitlement to live in a manner they can't afford. No one
"needs" a huge TV or an expensive stereo system, and if I couldn't
afford one, I could get along just fine with a small TV and a tabletop
radio, both of which could be had for less than $100. It's called
"living within one's means" and is the secret to staying afloat
financially.
Eliyahu
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| Judity 2005-02-12, 1:34 pm |
| ((there's also the problem that too many people feel like they have
some sort of entitlement to live in a manner they can't afford.))
Exactly, Eliyahu. I remember in 1986 when I was looking to get a new car.
My boss who didn't know a thing about handling his money kept telling me to
get a BMW since I could probably afford it. Now, why would a single person
who only drive a couple thousand miles a year, if that, need such an
expensive car? My blue Dodge Colt DL that I finally bought might not be as
much a status symbol as a BMW, but it's a great sturdy little car, and I've
had its pink slip for 18 years now.
Judity
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| angs122 2005-02-15, 8:22 am |
| I said 'refridgerator' not big screen TV. I myself have a few old TV's
a friend of mine fixed up he got off the curb! Lol! That's how cheap
we are!
~Angie~
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| Eliyahu Rooff 2005-02-15, 8:23 am |
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"angs122" <indigo_angell@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1108242554.121177.168410@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>I said 'refridgerator' not big screen TV. I myself have a few old TV's
> a friend of mine fixed up he got off the curb! Lol! That's how cheap
> we are!
>
I didn't intend it as any sort of criticism of you. The real problem is
those rental companies that not only overcharge and cheat customers, but
also lure them in by convincing them that there's something wrong with
them if they're satisfied with living within their means and that it's
really a great deal. It would help, too, if, by the time kids graduate
from high school, they'd been taught to read a contract and to
understand what 25% APR means.
Eliyahu
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| Judity 2005-02-15, 8:23 am |
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There is a TV ad locally that is aimed directly towards people with poor
credit. It goes something like "If you can afford to spend $35 a week for
one year, you can get a computer from us". Now, that comes out to $1820,
and there are many, many places where you can get a MUCH cheaper computer if
you just save up the money for it instead of going this way.
However, some people just see the $35 part of it.
Judity
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