Michael O'Dea doesn't remember asking for a credit card when he
opened a checking account before starting his freshman year at the
University of Arizona.
Yet, two weeks after establishing the account, a Visa card arrived in his mailbox - accompanied by reams of fine print.
O'Dea didn't read the materials. Instead, he called his father, who explained the challenges of credit card use.
"I haven't used it, but I'm not afraid to," the UA freshman said. "I just need to know there is interest."
According to the Truth About Credit project of the U.S. Public
Interest Research Group Education Fund, college students graduate with
an average of $4,000 of credit card debt. Most of them do not
understand, as O'Dea said, "that it isn't free money."
The primary reasons for this, argues Ed Mierzwinski, consumer
program director for U.S. PIRG, are aggressive marketing to college
students and their lack of financial savvy.
"College students are vulnerable to credit marketers and what seems like a solution can turn into a trap," Mierzwinski said.
His organization launched a 40-campus "counter-marketing" blitz
Tuesday to inform students about credit card risks and push colleges to
adopt specific principles for "responsible credit card marketing."
UA was chosen to participate in part because of the university's
Credit-Wise Cats program, said Christiana Mercer,UA campus organizer
for Arizona PIRG.
Credit-Wise Cats is an organization offering financial education
to UA students, faculty and the Tucson community, according to Nicole
Chinadle, director of family economics and financial education for the
Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences at UA.
Volunteers with Arizona PIRG fanned out across the UA Mall from 11
a.m. until 2 p.m., distributing financial fitness information and
collecting petition signatures asking UA to establish specific
"principles" regarding credit card marketing on campus.
Samantha Valdovin, 18, was helping with the event for a personal
reason, she said. This summer she decided to get a credit card to buy
school supplies.
"I just got one right from my bank with a $500 credit limit," she said, adding that she didn't have to qualify for credit.
Her minimum monthly payment was $20, but she paid $35 right before
school started. She said she never exceeded the $500 limit and that she
took the card to the bank to be shredded so she wouldn't be tempted to
use it during the school year.
"Then I got a phone call saying that I was in collections because I was $367 over my limit," she explained.
Valdovin asked the bank to look into fraud, but was told she was
responsible for the debt. In addition, because she was late in the
payment - unaware of the $367 charge - she was shocked with multiple
late fees.
"As of now, they are taking $97 directly from my bank account to
get me out of collection," she said. "I'm not risking getting another
card and I'm here to tell students they need to be careful."
The principles promoted by PIRG include prohibiting the use of
gifts in marketing on campus and blocking the sale of student lists.
However, UA spokesman Johnny Cruz said the push for change may be
moot because there have been no credit card marketing events on campus
for two years.
