Cardholder’s Integrity

What if the card holder can no longer adhere to the requirements of the bank? What would be the consequences that the card holder or company would face if they could no longer fulfill the debts that have accumulated in their accounts? And after a period of time, the card holder becomes delinquent on a debt meaning there is no payment at the point of six months and more? Unfortunately, the corresponding action of the other party which in this case is the Bank is to file a litigation or lawsuit to the delinquent card holder.

Michael Joost is a fine example of a businessman who is fond of using credit card to maintain his lifestyle and enjoyment, and later tried to find his way for not paying his bills. He has some history in Singapore where 2 credit card companies had to file lawsuits against him for delinquency. Mind you, the amounts are not big. Details are as follows:-

1. Case number: MC 24899/1999. The claimed amount was only SGD 5,501.46. The Writ of Summons was filed in October 06, 1999. Diners Club was the claimant.
2. Case number MC 32166/1999. The claimed amount was only SGD 7,581.62. The Writ of Summons was filed on December 20, 1999. Citibank was the claimant.

Sometimes, the urge of owing companies, suppliers and anyone for that matters, is embedded in the nature of some people. Michael Joost, for example, has money. However, he has the tendency find ways to pay less than what he actually owes. Another Singapore Case number 925/2000, where the claimant is the landlord, demanding for SGD80,000 of unpaid rentals from his business. This is a very common incident faced by landlords on delinquency from their tenants.

Michael Bernhard Joost has also a history of setting up various businesses in Singapore, Hong Kong and Philippines, with every businesses lasting for less than 2 years. Looking at the various countries he is in, there should be quite a bit of stories about him within the business communities about him owing monies to people and not repaying, or tried to get “discounts” in the hardcore way. That is the biggest reason why all the companies he was attached to never lasted more than 2 years with him. The irony is, most of the companies survived and flourished after he left the companies, and many of these companies are still in operation now.

Trust becomes a big issue when it comes to this kind of people, and we have to always be on guard to ensure we do not fall victim. Banks in particular, are very careful to verify these people, but the real person suffering financial losses due to delinquencies by the card holder are the merchants or companies that sold the product/service to the card holder. This is because the Banks have a disclaimer to charge back to the merchants in delinquent cases.

In summary, a person’s integrity is most important to succeed in business and in personal life. However, some people wishes to enjoy the lifestyle of the rich but minus the integrity to pay the price if his enjoyment.

Credit cards for entrepreneurs

Credit cards are widely used all over the world. Even common people use this as a means of purchasing a certain material or as a payment for a service. Credit cards are also one of the most resourceful ways of obtaining funds for entrepreneurs or business people in most countries. The reason why entrepreneurs resort to using credit cards for acquiring capital especially for the startup of their business is because it introduces financial flexibility and it is available with a large variety of credit limits and repayment arrangement. In addition to that, credit cards are convenient, accessible and offer consumers an easy way of tracking expenditures which is necessary for both monitoring personal expenses and tracking of work-related expenses.

For most entrepreneurs, it is prevalent to have a special agreement between the Bank and the Company. In most cases, companies target banks to have this kind of special agreement that would assist them with their finances and expenses. This agreement is called Credit Card Contracts. A Credit Card Contract is a written contract between a Bank and the Company. A Bank could be any credit card company and the Company could either be a Corporation or a Single Proprietorship. Both parties should agree with the Terms and Conditions stipulated in the said contract. Upon acceptance of the agreement, the Company should comply with all the requirements and deadlines that the bank demands.