So about fifteen minutes ago, I receive this e-mail from a merchant with whom I have a credit card. It says URGENT in the subject line and it tells me that IMMEDIATE ACTION is necessary to prevent me from missing a payment on my card and being charged an interest payment. You may have heard me blink. "I haven't used that card in more than a month," I think to myself. "And I thought I always paid it off in full when I did use it." Quickly, I mouse my way over to their site, log in and this is what I see…
First point: The payment in question is due October 20. This is October 14. What they're panicked about is that their "Recommended mail-in date" has passed. Even though I don't mail-in payments (I always pay them online, for which there is still plenty of time) and even though I made my previous payment well before it was due, they're fretting that this time I (a) decided to make my payment via U.S. mail instead and (b) have not yet done so. A fat lot of confidence they have in me.
Second point: This payment they are worried I haven't made yet is zero. I owe them no money. They're concerned that maybe I haven't yet gotten around to sending them nothing. They're warning me that I am about to be charged interest on nothing.
There are some indicators out there that our economy is starting to crawl out of the hole it's in. This is not one of them.