Group takes aim at card sign-ups

by Chip Krachmer

Friday, April 4, 2008

The Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group said Thursday it is launching a campaign aimed at curbing aggressive credit card marketing on the University of Wisconsin campus.

WISPIRG revealed the findings of a national survey of college students conducted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund about credit card marketing toward students.

Nicholas Lillios, UW freshman and campus coordinator of WISPIRG’s “Truth About Credit” campaign, said substantial number of students are using credit cards, and many of them are running into unexpected costs in the form of late fees and changing rates.

The survey, entitled “The Campus Credit Card Trap,” gathered information from 1,500 students from 40 different colleges in 14 different states, including UW. The survey then analyzed how students pay for their education, how they use their credit cards and their attitudes towards credit card marketing on campus.

Findings showed 76 percent of students have stopped at a table on or near campus advertising credit cards. The survey also reported 31 percent of these students were offered a free gift, most commonly some type of food or even an iPod.

According to UW Student Financial Services Director Susan Fischer, college students are ideal targets for credit card companies.

“Credit card companies not only target college students because of their inexperience and spending needs but also because of their futures as potential big money earners,” Fischer said.

According to Lillios, the survey also said students are aware they are being targeted, and many are in favor of further regulation of on-campus credit card marketing.

Of the students surveyed, 67 percent supported a ban on the sharing of student information with card companies.

Lillios added WISPIRG has initiated the “Truth About Credit” campaign in response to the growing discontent among students toward predatory credit card marketing.

“The campaign seeks to reform the predatory practices used to target students and work with UW campuses to adopt guidelines aimed at controlling on-campus credit card marketing,” Lillios said. “WISPIRG does not view credit cards nor credit card marketing as inherently evil, but it does want to reform the predatory marketing tactics that exploit students.”

Another aim of the “Truth About Credit” campaign is to educate students about the potential dangers of credit card agreements, Lillios said.

He added WISPIRG created FEESA, a play on the popular “Visa,” as a credit card counter-marketing campaign aimed at bringing to light the fees associated with credit cards, as well as hidden and variable conditions that can lead to the accumulation of unmanageable amounts of debt.

Lillios said FEESA plans to set up tabling events similar to the marketing tactics of credit card companies, but instead of having students sign up for credit cards, WISPIRG members will provide them with free T-shirts and informational pamphlets about the potential dangers of credit cards and the various marketing ploys that target them.

In the future, FEESA and the “Truth About Credit” campaign plan to compile a list of credit card companies that are most scrupulous and trustworthy in their marketing and methods, Lillios said.