- ILLUSTRATION BY EDEL TRIPP/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Welcome, Class of 2008: Take a card

Date published: 6/20/2008

BY SHAYNA JACOBS

Piles of "pre-approved" credit card notifications lie alongside college loan collection letters for the Class of 2008.

"I could see recent grads being very vulnerable. They're finally out there actually making weekly paychecks," Joe Cralle, 22, a Fredericksburg resident, said. Cralle is a 2008 University of Virginia graduate who said he was solicited by credit card companies on a nearly weekly basis for the past four years, at both his home and school addresses.

He recalled mail from them as early as his high school years.

"I don't even think about whether it's a good deal or not," Cralle said. "I just toss it. I really don't see a reason to change [card companies] or get another card."

Cralle has two credit cards, though one is a debit that has dual functions.

"I reached a point where I needed credit," Cralle said.

Though blogs and consumer sites are hubs for reports of aggressive and what some suspect is illegal marketing activity, Tom Gallagher, president of the Better Business Bureau's Richmond division, said that his office doesn't typically process complaints regarding improper or illegal credit card requests.

"[Illegal solicitations] would not be a good business decision, and these guys are smart business people," Gallagher said of the marketers of major card companies. He said his office would investigate that type of complaint.

The American Bankers Association represents more than a dozen segments of the financial market, including the credit card industry.

John Hall, a public relations officer at the ABA, said, "Credit can be a real tool for a recent graduate.

"To make purchases, rent cars and do a variety of things, online commerce wouldn't be possible without a credit card. So, they're a valuable resource."

Unless you apply for one, an actual card cannot be mailed, Hall said, refuting what he called a myth.

He said most people who raise the issue are mistaken by faux cards--sometimes cardboard or even plastic--that arrive with pre-approval notices.

"It's against the law unless there's a card relationship they already have and it's just changing. Then they might send one in the mail," Hall added.

The marketing that begins in college carries to post-graduation. Hall was quick to deny that card companies benefit from taking advantage of young adults.

Date published: 6/20/2008