So I listen to Dave Ramsey mostly to feel better about myself when I hear how stupid other people are with money. Well, am not perfect at it, but I'm not doing to bad.
So Dave goes off on another 'you don't need a credit card rant' and says this WHOPPER of a lie: DEBIT cards had the SAME fraud protection as a CREDIT card.
This is a lie and while Dave says he is 'good at money' he fails at the topic he rails against the most: DEBIT vs CREDIT.
On a CREDIT card your money is never at risk. A DEBIT card your money is gone as soon as the transfer goes through.
If someone uses your CREDIT card and runs up a bill, YOUR MONEY IS NEVER AT RISK. So if you have $1000 in the bank, if someone makes a $500 fraudulent charge you STILL HAVE $1000 in the bank.
If someone uses your DEBIT card and runs up a bill, YOUR MONEY IS AT RISK. So if you have $1000 in the bank, if someone makes a $500 fraudulent charge you ONLY HAVE $500 in the bank.
Now with a DEBIT card you have to go through YOUR BANK. Now Dave constantly rants on how INEPT banks ban be (well, CC's also) yet now these banks are supposed to properly handle a fraud report? How many does the branch handle in a month that they know WHAT to do? Oh, and while your local retards at the bank figure out what to do, YOUR MONEY IS STILL GONE. So your bills go unpaid, and you may have to pay overdraft/return fees because you're out $500.
A CREDIT card has 24/7 staff that do nothing BUT fraud charges, and the BEST PART is YOUR MONEY IS NEVER TOUCHED. So you ALWAYS have $1000 in the bank, and incur no fees because nothing has bounced.
So tell me, how is waiting up to 15-30 days to get your OWN MONEY BACK the same protection as credit card? LIES LIES LIES.
Of course Mr. Ramsey has all sorts of 'you should's': You should check you account daily, you should have an emergency fund, you should have X,Y,Z. And I agree, you should have all those things. And when you're out of debt it's a reasonable plan to have. So if you put the cart before the horse you're all set.
I had someone wipe out my checking account via fraud. $700 a week before Christmas. I got my money back two weeks later. Dealing with the idiots at the bank was painful.
Another instance I had a laptop show up at my house via Overnight. Called Dell and asked them why they sent me a laptop. Of course they said I bought it. My next sentence was "This charge is fraudulent and I am disputing this order. Please send an RMA ticket to get your laptop back". After telling the agent NO, I don't care what your computer says, NO, I'm not paying to send it back I finally got the right answer: RMA box sent to me and the charge revered. Now if this would have been on a DEBIT card, the agent already HAD MY MONEY. How do I fight that???? With a CC if the agent gives me any crap I can say the magic words: "Chargeback!" But the MAJOR difference is that with a CC my money never left my account. No dicking with the bank, the Dell Agent KNEW that one call to me CC would get them the exact same result: the order cancelled and a free RMA.
Tell me, Mr. Dave.. how are these to instances 'the same'????? No go to 100 Hail Mary's till you learn your lesson.