Monday 4 April 2011

Credit card riddle

1) The outside.
2) Phonebook.
3) 1999 dimes is worth $199.10, almost $200!
4) Ten.
5) He shot a photo of her, and developed it.
6) Just one - the last one.


I know I know, tricky! Though Andrew got all of them, so congratuations! The next one has ties to my other blog, Alpha Beta Life because I just wrote a post about which credit card I use so the topic is still on my mind. Make sure you guys check out my other blog too, if you haven't already!

Roy had a credit card. he gets a bill on 4th of every month. statement is made on 31st of every month.
He has to pay bill by 20th either minimum amount or full outstanding balance.
His interest rate is 10% fixed APR round up to nearest dollar with minimum 1 dollar every month on average daily balance on all active accounts and late fee , other fees are ...........(not important).
His balance was 50 dollars.  on feb 4. he issued check of 50 dollars and mailed the check by 20th feb.
Mar 4, he got another bill that on his outstanding balance, his interest accrued and is 1 dollar. (interest)
he issued check of 1 dollar and mailed the check by 20th mar.
Apr 4, he got another bill that on his outstanding balance, his interest accrued and is 1 dollar. (interest)
he issued check of 1 dollar and mailed the check by 20th Apr.
This kept going for a few months and then he realised something was wrong. He spoke to customer rep and they convinced him that all amounts were correct.
Where is flaw? Is credit card company doing fraud? What could Roy do to avoid this without going to lawyer or better business bureau or fraud prevention services?

41 comments:

  1. I've never understood how people can get in such crazy credit card debt. I mean, when I go to the mall I'm sort of tempted to buy things, but if I don't have the money for it, then there's no way I'm buying it.

    People make so much money off of debt refinancing too.

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  2. this is def a tricky one not sure what he could do

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  3. this sounds like homework. :(

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  4. I don't understand credit cards and I'm not getting one, thankfully.

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  5. Too many numbers! >.<

    I think I need to sleep more before I can tackle this one....

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  6. The company is playing it the fraud way. You have to pay them a minimum of 1 dollar, wether you've rented money from them or not. John is best off renting, say, 0.91 dollars, so that with the 10% interest, it becomes a full dollar. This way he loses the least amount of money to the company.
    Correct, right?

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  7. Just a guess: He paid back the full debt amount, but not the interest of the first month? So the remaining interest is accruing interest on itself, always rounded up to 1$. He should pay the remaining debt (5$?).

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  8. too hard for me, i always have this maths problem

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  9. I'll have to get back to you! It's a nice riddle, albeit a little too hard :P

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  10. I believe more people had this same problem, its the company.

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  11. are there any math formulas involve in this one? idk this one really got me! i give up lol cant wait to see the answer im going to be like "ooohhh duh!" when i see it lol

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  12. if he has to pay it by the 20th why is he mailing a check by the 20th - that'll take time to arrive and clear. he should join the 21st century and set up a standing order from his current account immediately, thereby not accruing any interest that is rounded up to $1. Or he could always overpay his balance by a small amount - any remainder is kept in credit.

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  13. he could also change his name like that guy in the UK who changed his to "LloydsBankPLCareAssholes" or something like that. he kept his account with them so he could write out checks in that name.

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  14. Alright ill admit it, I'm now puzzled.

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  15. i like your blog. keep up the good work

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  16. I... um...

    ... my brain.. :(

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  17. I have no idea, I'll have to check out the answer

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  18. as a fan of credit cards this was awesome.
    creditcardgraphics.blogspot.com
    for more credit card related things

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  19. I liked the one liners, theyre always the most fun, the long ones arent for me...

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  20. You said his first balance was $50... If that does not include interest, then he would still have $5 remaining on his balance. Therefore, his balance next month would be $6 ($5 + 10% = $5 + 50 cents (round up = $1). So he paid $1 each month, which always brought his balance down to $5, but we was again charged 50 cents (rounded up to $1) every month. He balance would forever be $6.

    -OR-

    He kept making purchases between the 30th and the 4th. Since the statement is set in stone on the 30th, he would never see the charges until the NEXT bill period.

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  21. I'll go with what Toast said

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  22. Your work on this blog is great! keep it up!

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  23. Alright I'm confused now -.- ...problem solved! Don't get a credit card :D

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  24. this is pretty confusing

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  25. How can so many people have such an amount of debt. Never understood why actually.

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  26. I want to know but am too lazy to bother working it out lol

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  27. I think the flaw is in the $1 minimum interest. Even though he has $0 owing, the interest rate will round zero up to $1. The bank is not committing fraud so long as when Roy signed up, all the fees etc. were in writing and Roy signed the contract. Roy cant sue or whatever, the best thing to do would be close the account and stop getting ripped off every month.

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  28. I'm going with anybody before me that had smart sounding answers

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  29. somehow i could not understand

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