Truth in Advertising​—Do You Recognize It?

“Warning​—this card may damage your wealth.” That was part of the advertising slogan used for Barclaycard, Britain’s leading credit card. Why would a bank issue such a warning about one of its own money-making schemes? “The problem is,” said one bank manager, “it is credit extended without any control and a lot of them are getting into trouble.” This has resulted in mounting uneasiness in the banking world and stress and anxiety among cardholders.

“It was like having four weeks’ extra pay,” said an engineer in the West Midlands in England, because the bank allowed about a month before settlement had to be made. Many cardholders had a similar notion, that the card gave them an imaginary 13th month’s salary, and that got them into financial trouble. An Anglican vicar who used the card admitted: “It led me into awful temptation and they started sending me warning letters.”

Perhaps another group of British banks had it right all along when its advertisement said that their credit card was designed to “take the waiting out of wanting.” When a person confuses his wants and needs and can no longer wait, there is bound to be damage not only to his wealth but also to his health, physical and spiritual.