'Sneaky'?? Err… Not Really

Came across this headline:

The sneaky way credit card companies trick you into paying up to 36% interest

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According to a study released Wednesday by CreditCards.com, 98 of the 100 cards examined charged a cash advance fee — typically 5% of the total amount or $10, whichever was greater — plus hefty interest rates that started immediately (no 30-day grace period, like you get with traditional purchases) after the purchase.

… The fine print of your credit card agreement often states that certain kinds of purchases like those related to legal gambling and bail bonds, as well as wire transfers and money orders, are often treated as cash advances when paid for by the credit card, explains Schulz. What’s more, those “convenience checks” that you may have received in the mail from your credit card company are also often treated as cash advances.

If you have a credit card and you don't know about Cash-Advance fee, then you SHOULDN'T have a credit card. Simple.

YOU being ignorant about the way a credit card works doesn't imply that the credit card company or the bank is being 'sneaky'. Seriously… WHY would you be such an idiot to assume that a bank or a credit card company would be offering you a cash-advance (loan… short-term or long-term) for free?! Baraat mein aaye ho kya?

That's just YOU being an idiot and not taking responsibility for your own actions. So much easier to just pass on the blame to someone else, isn't it? Here is another example:

Just recently I read a review of someone testing out the 2015 Cadillac. He puts up that the Volume Controls on the panel were a pain to use because he had to tap multiple times to adjust the volume of the car stereo.

I agree. That would be annoying. But as far as the 2015 Cadillac's CUE system goes - that observation is just incorrect. The reviewer found it to be a pain because HE did NOT know how it works. The way the Volume Control on the 2015 Cadillac's console works is - Slide/Swipe. Swipe right to increase the volume and swipe left to decrease. The tap on the two indicators is for increasing / decreasing in increments of one unit. Because this particular reviewer didn't bother to understand how it worked, he ends up concluding that Cadillac didn't get it right.

Blame someone. Blame anyone. Just about everyone else can be at fault but you. Pretty much the same 'logic' is applied by most people. Surely, there are a lot of things that are wrong. There are a lot of things that should be improved / changed / discontinued / amended. I agree. It would be foolish not to. It would be just like the time Steve Jobs opted to deny the reception issue on the iPhone by stating - You don't know how to hold it. Which was also idiotic.

But here is the thing - not EVERYTHING is someone else's fault. AND THAT applies to this credit card thing (and also to the individual who reviewed the 2015 Cadillac).