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How a $35 Missed Payment Can Threaten Your Credit · Ryan's Journal

• 0:07
  So I am looking at this email from Chime the other day.
• 0:11
  Thirty five dollars and forty cents, due on September twenty fifth.
• 0:16
  Standard stuff on the surface, right?
• 0:18
  But then you get to this line, and it says, quote, if you are late for more than
• 0:23
  thirty days, it could really hurt your credit, end quote.
• 0:27
  That line is pure psychological leverage, Jesse!
• 0:31
  Thirty five bucks, and they immediately hit you with a threat.
• 0:34
  No details, no specifics, just a vague hammer hanging over your head.
• 0:40
  Exactly.
• 0:40
  They do not say, hey, you will lose ten points or twenty points from your FICO
• 0:45
  score.
• 0:46
  They just say it will hurt.
• 0:48
  And that is what pisses me off, the fucking vagueness of it.
• 0:52
  They do not tell you the actual damage before they screw you over.
• 0:57
  Because ambiguity keeps you jumpy, Jesse!
• 1:00
  That is how corporate power plays the game.
• 1:03
  But look at the actual stats.
• 1:06
  Payment history is thirty five percent of your FICO score.
• 1:10
  That is the biggest piece of the pie.
• 1:13
  Thirty five percent!
• 1:15
  So you could pay off five or six instant loans with Chime, do all the hard work
• 1:20
  setting up the account, type out all your info, do everything right...
• 1:26
  and then your direct deposit lags by two days, and they fucking nail you for it.
• 1:31
  They cherry pick your single worst moment and erase years of solid execution!
• 1:37
  It is financial gaslighting at its finest.
• 1:40
  And where is the reminder about an appeals process?
• 1:44
  In that email, nowhere!
• 1:46
  They never say, hey, if you had a medical crisis, or a job problem,
• 1:52
  or you just plain ass forgot, here is how you file a grievance or get a waiver.
• 1:58
  They just leave you feeling helpless.
• 2:01
  They do not want you thinking about waivers!
• 2:04
  They want total compliance right now.
• 2:07
  Look at how other systems handle mistakes.
• 2:10
  If a police officer pulls you over for a broken taillight, you often get a fix it
• 2:15
  ticket or a warning.
• 2:17
  Or you go to court and appeal it.
• 2:19
  You get a fair shot to explain yourself.
• 2:22
  There is a human mechanism!
• 2:25
  A visible procedure where conduct and history actually matter.
• 2:30
  Right!
• 2:30
  But financial institutions ignore your conduct.
• 2:35
  They do not care if you were polite to customer service, waited on hold,
• 2:41
  or paid off four loans prior.
• 2:43
  They run it through an algorithm, and bam, negative mark on your report for seven
• 2:49
  years.
• 2:50
  And do not get me started on bankruptcy.
• 2:53
  Ten years!
• 2:54
  Think about that for a second.
• 2:56
  That is ten fucking years of labor.
• 2:59
  A whole decade of working your ass off every single day, and you are still being
• 3:04
  punished for one life collapse.
• 3:07
  Ten years is an eternity in business and life!
• 3:10
  It is completely disproportionate to the offense.
• 3:13
  It takes twelve years to get a high school diploma, for god sakes!
• 3:17
  Holding a bankruptcy over someone for ten years is just brutal.
• 3:22
  There ought to be a good faithful clause where you can write a letter,
• 3:26
  be honest that you were overwhelmed or stressed, and get that mark removed.
• 3:31
  Or financial institutions should carry an appeal friendly logo,
• 3:35
  certified like USDA organic food, so people know who actually treats human beings
• 3:40
  with respect!
• 3:41
  Exactly.
• 3:42
  And when you file a complaint, do not just send it to HUD or the bureau.
• 3:47
  Send a copy to your congressman!
• 3:50
  Make sure elected officials actually see where working people are getting squeezed.
• 3:57
  Because if nobody else sees the complaint, the system keeps rolling right over you.
• 4:02
  You have to build pressure on the political side too.
• 4:05
  And you know what the corporate bullies always say in response?
• 4:08
  They say, oh, you took out the loan, you should just be financially responsible,
• 4:14
  you are just looking for a pass.
• 4:16
  That is pure corporate arrogance!
• 4:19
  They kick you while you are down and pretend it is high minded morality.
• 4:24
  Yeah.
• 4:25
  People are stressed out, tired, and dealing with real life crises.
• 4:29
  The system needs to stop sticking it to folks over minor slip ups.
• 4:34
  Well said, Jesse.
• 4:35
  Know your rights, copy your representatives, and do not let automated threats bully
• 4:41
  you into submission.
• 4:42
  Amen to that.
• 4:44
  That is where we leave it today.