‘Learn from my mistakes’: Woman warns against opening store credit card after using one to pay for couch
Moving and purchasing new furniture all in one go can be a daunting task for customers to take on at once.
To make this task a bit easier on the wallet, many furniture retailers offer payment plans to break up the cost of large pieces of furniture and furniture sets. Frequently, these payment plans take the form of zero-interest installments on a credit card.
One former customer of one of these stores is advising against taking out a store credit card, lest they forget to make their payments because it is yet another card thrown in the mix.
In a video posted to TikTok by bridal content creator @savannahhhleahhh, she says she started off strong, making payments on the card she had used to fund her new sofa several years ago. Somewhere along the way, however, she lost track of the account.
Opening a store credit card to buy a couch
"Never open a store credit card, this is why," she says in the video. "I opened a store credit card with a furniture company back maybe 5 years ago to buy a couch, and I totally forgot that I had this credit card. I must have deleted the app, and not paid attention to payments and I don't even know where the credit card is, to be honest."
She says she doesn't know if she even has possession of the card anymore. "I bought the couch with it, I was making my payments and I must have just totally forgot to keep paying them because I just got a call from a credit collector," @savannahhhleahhh says.
According to @savannahhhleahhh, the debt totaled just about $1,061, and she received multiple calls from credit collectors using numbers she did not recognize. Collectors even started calling her mother in an attempt to reach her. Once they did, she paid the amount in full.
"It sounds so embarrassing but learn from my mistakes, I'm hoping is what you can get," she says. "My financial advisor's going to hate this, I'm supposed to have a meeting with him next week, might have to cancel. Not for that reason, just because I'm busy wedding planning."
Viewers offer collections advice
Viewers offered advice regarding the collections agency that had purchased her debt. A few suggested that there might be a way to have it totally scrubbed from her credit history for a fee. In some cases, creditors will agree to remove negative information related to an account from a customer's credit report, for a fee, as part of an agreement called a deletion. This can help improve a customer's credit history and potentially increase their credit scores.
"Make sure you do your research because you might be able to do a pay for deletion so it doesn’t hurt your credit!! & you can negotiate down the price," one commenter wrote.
"Girl, you can negotiate paying way less once it's in collections," another commenter wrote. "They buy the debt for pennies on the dollar so they will often settle for way less than the original amount."
Others advised only getting a store credit card at places frequently shopped at, and in amounts that can be reasonably paid off in a few months to avoid high interest payments.
"Store cards make sense if you were going to make purchases there anyways," one commenter wrote.
"Only take a CC out of you shop there often and you can pay it off within a few months," another commenter wrote.
@savannahhhleahhh this week on my finanical mistakes in my 20s pls dont let my finanical advisor see this ???? #creditcard #finance #financetiktok #financetok #finacialmistake #financialfreedom #credit #finacialeducation #financialadvice #bride #bridetobe #bridetok #weddingtok #2024bride #weddingtiktok #weddingplanning #bridal ♬ original sound - SAV || 2024 BRIDE
The Daily Dot reached out to Savannah via email regarding the video.
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