Alarming abuses of medical credit cards in The New York Times

Introduction

The article “Alarming abuses of medical credit cards” was written by the Editorial Board in The New York Times on October 20, 2013. It is significant that the main author of this article is Ochs Sulzberger JR, a chairman of the New York Times Company. Sulzberger family controls the New York Times company, and the main decisions are made only with the personal agreement of the members of the Sulzberger’s family (Nocera, 2012). One of the main reasons why the author wrote this article is that the number of the complaints devoted to medical credit cards has increased. Moreover, many citizens have understood the fraud in the actions of the medical credit cards suppliers; therefore, the problem requires a detailed consideration. The article is written in The New York Times for many reasons. This is one of the central newspapers in the country, and the fact that the problem has been discussed in The New York Times shows that the issue has become a national problem, not just an individual case. Moreover, the author of the article is the publisher and the chairman of The New York Times, so Ochs Sulzberger JR could not write anywhere else.

Body

The situation with credit cards and loans has become very urgent nowadays. The recent crises and the predicted approaching difficulties with the banking system made many people reconsider their attitude to the credit cards in general. GE Money, the company which delivers these medical credit cards, has been involved in fraud actions and unfair work. The importance of writing this article now is in warning people about the danger these cards carry. Nowadays, numerous civil lawsuits are brought to the courts. However, one of the main reasons of the appeared misunderstanding is ignorance of the patients and the laziness to read the notifications and the principles of calculating the interest.

The main claim in the article is the hazards that medical credit cards create and the fraud and abuse caused to those who used the services of the credit company. Nevertheless, detailed consideration of this particular problem in the article reveals that the main problem is that people do not read the whole information and do not consider the details. The first important aspect that requires attention is the interest rate of 29.99% if particular conditions are not followed. The author of the article tried to remain objective and examine the problem from the point of view of two sides, the customers and the company. It is obvious that the positions of these two parties are opposing. Eventually, the article claims that the owners of medical credit cards company do not commit any abuse as all the information concerning the interest rate and other additional services is presented on the company’s site.

The article presents evidence which proves the company’s legal actions and ethical attitude in relation to the medical credit cards owners. Reading the information on the site, most patients agree on 0% interest rate ignoring the fact that this interest rate remains only if the debt is paid in full by the end of the declared period of time (6, 12 or 18 months). This evidence is convincing. Moreover, having checked the care credit brochure, the following information is stated there:

On promo purchase balance, monthly payments required, but no Finance Charges will be assessed if (1) promo purchase balance paid in full in 6, 12, 18 or 24 months, and (2) all minimum monthly payments on account paid when due. Otherwise, promo may be terminated and treated as a non-promo balance. Finance Charges will be accrued at the Purchase APR and assessed from purchase date. (Care Credit, n.d.)

Most of the information in the article was convincing as it is difficult to imagine the company in the modern world which is going to defraud the patients on such a huge scale without being afraid of being captured. Care Credit is the company which faithfully presented all the necessary information on its site. Following the rules in this competitive world, the company applied several marketing promotion strategies. As for my personal experience, I have learnt a lesson that modern world is based on capitalist relationships and no one will ever offer something for free. Due to this particular consideration I take all free and 0% offers with suspicion. We live in the world of advertising and promotion. Everything offered for customers should bring income for the company owners as nothing is done for free. Therefore, all the offers with 0% and free marks contain obligatory conditions, the violation of which leads to huge fines.

Conclusion

Actually, I was surprised that many people believed in free credit and allowed the company to get 30% interest from them. I know that there are people who do not read any additional information and constantly get in similar traps. However, reading the article I was really surprised with the number of patients who were defrauded. Actually, the company did nothing wrong. All the necessary information about the conditions of 0% is available on the site, and it is possible to have this 0% credit. However, the conditions for such option are too complicated to meet. The company can afford to offer people 0% interest rate as it knows for sure that the number of people who can meet those conditions is too low.

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