Buying using a debit card....wtf?

lokiguesty · 19 Sep 2007 at 11:22

by your reckoning we should also ban University unless u can pay all your fees up front,

CC are only bad in the hands of ppl that miss use them, a lot like nuclear weapons

drunkenmaster · 19 Sep 2007 at 18:30

snowdog said:
^ And if he can't get a credit card, for example for me it's impossible to get a cc because I'm just 16, just a maestro for me no mastercard/visa.

go to the bank, get £15 out, or however much it is, give said money to friend/family member with credit card and use their credit card. it "is" possible to get cc's at 16, you could ask a parent to get a card for you on their account and have a very strict limit on it, any limit you want. could simply put a £10 limit on it for buying food , or a £30 limit for online games that you pay off as you use. its really very easy and much safer.

as i pointed out, charges for late payment are normally less than charges for going overdrawn on a debit card, charges for interest no where near the charges for late payments. its easier IMHO to accidentally not realise how much you have in your debit account and go overdrawn, than to make a CC payment, forget to pay it off instantly, forget to pay it off when you get the bill and forget to pay it off in the 2 weeks you get after you recieve the bill.

drunkenmaster · 19 Sep 2007 at 18:37

Aloreth said:
Zogger - im trying to use a Natwest maestro card - what would this come under? Everything on steam seems to imply credit card!

Actualy i have the same conversastion with flatmates who suggested credit cards much more secure for online purchases. Just applied for a barclay card as they seem to be decent! - anyone had and good/bad experiences with particular brands of credit card?

barclays are one of the cards i have. i have a few for various different reasons, i don't max them out or ever once not pay them off. generally you want one that gives you points for something you want, or a cashback. it might not be much but over a liftime of spending, because we aren't gonna see a moneyless startrek style life before we die, it will add up. then occasionally , seeing as i'm a fan of domino's i use my student barclaycard to get me dominos discount

have a look around for a deal, try to check late payment fee's, interest rates for a just in case situation, but theres not much between cards mostly if you pay them off as you use them. probo best not to get a northern rock card just now though

another thing would be, as a younger person/student/first card you will generally have a limited choice, not much in reward stuff/discounts and also no really low interest cards. barclays do offer the rebate type setup where if you buy something that significantly drops in price you can claim the difference back up to 6 months later. limited to how often/how much you can do it. but possibly worth , get a lcd tv for £1k now and have the possibility to claim £400 back when its down to £600 in 5 months.

also check for insurance, cover, often free travel insurance to a certain level on some cards or cheap offers for insurance travel/house. it can all add up.

Zogger · 19 Sep 2007 at 19:01

pff. Some joker* logged into my ocuk account and told everyone I used maestro to pay for games. I always used a mastercard

*it was me. oops

SkeeterUK · 19 Sep 2007 at 20:07

Ok maybe not ban cc but have less overdrafts or somit to lower the debt its causing.

Darkwave · 19 Sep 2007 at 20:13

I use my debit card (Visa Electron) on Steam with no issues.

peetee · 20 Sep 2007 at 02:28

SkeeterPSA said:
Ok maybe not ban cc but have less overdrafts or somit to lower the debt its causing.

overdrafts are a completely different ball game.
Credit Cards do have limits on them, and the user can specify one, its not the bank fault if said individuals are to stupid to have a lack of foresight or common-sense.
Credit Cards are good, when used properly.
You get money back on what you purchase and free gifts(airmiles anyone?) with some, so it winds up being better, although they're not free, just the idiot down the street whos house is being repo'd is paying

Debit Cards DO work on steam. I used mine numerous times, its a VISA DEBIT.
Visa do do credit cards yes. But like somebody already said above, they do DEBITs too. You can get debit cards at the age of 16 now, heck, I heard northern rock were giving them to 12 year olds!