Q: I feel I have been deceived by Best Buy’s 0% interest credit card which I was pressured into accepting at the register

A: "Best" Buy means best for them, not you. This is a high pressure sales store, even at 19 years old you should have realized that the sales people were pushing you and not for your best interest. You can do much better buys online. At the age of 19, you have reached the age of majority, CONGRATULATIONS, this means that you are free to enter into binding contracts for everything you want, whether it is a necessary of life or not, and you don't need a parent to sign for you or even provide you with advice, you can tell them to go fish. BUT, you are stuck with what deals you make. So you got a CC two years ago and did not ever go online to find out how long it was going to carry you at 0% interest? Time to grow up and actually read anything you sign, that is why they taught you to read in Elementary School. You should also know that there is probably an Arbitration clause over any disputes so you cannot go to small claims over your dispute, YOU have to pay 50% of the arbitrator's fee and you will quickly find out how expensive legal disputes are. If you have not paid, you will also find out that they are reporting your delinquencies to the credit bureaus and your credit rating will drop, meaning that credit will be more expensive in the future for you to obtain. Your "Best" solution, pay the card in full, including all accrued interest and close the account. BTW- this is not "Banking" it is "Consumer Law."

Justia Disclaimers below, incorporated herein.

A: My answer generated an email from a very angry Radina who thought I was not "decent" and an "A-hole." My defense Is that I am an attorney, and licensed to be an A-hole, if telling you the unpleasant and disconcerting truth qualifies as that. So I thought I would revisit my answer to see if I was unjustly harsh, and perhaps I was in some respect, so this is the apology. I should not have implied that Radina did not learn to read in elementary school, she writes well, so she must have learned a lot. However, I stand by the rest of what I said, which is when you become an adult, you are held to adult standards and the fact that people are waiting in line behind you does not relieve you of the duty of protecting yourself in a business transaction.

"Caveat Emptor" is Latin for "let the buyer beware" and means the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a purchase is made, including the terms of financing. Radina believes that she was deceived, but in doing this she places the burden of knowing the financing terms on the SALES STAFF at Best Buy. They don't work for her, they work for Best Buy to do the best fot BB, not Radina. Not knowing the terms is in the best interest of the staff. Radina knows this because she found out the staff gets a "bonus" for selling the card and the financing.

In life we often learn "life lessons" that are painful, but that is what makes us learn from them. This is such a lesson for Radina. The lesson is: 1. never be rushed into signing for financing, learn what all the terms are no matter how long it takes, the other customers can go to a different register or wait (Its YOUR money you are spending, not theirs), you ask for a manager to explain the terms if you have to and WALK AWAY from any deal you don't understand (there is never a transaction so good that you cannot walk away from it);

2. in the memorable words of Dirty Harry: "A man's got to know his limitations." and Radina has to understand and acknowledge her own limitations or she will be taken advantage of at every turn (especially in dealing with Cars and auto repair- some repair shops try to upsell you unnecessary repairs all the time.) Radina and any man or woman who is not auto tech savvy needs to become savvy or take someone with them who is. This applies to cars, computers, travel packages, "free" lodging or perks for listening to a sales presentation and many things in this life.

Be thankful that this was just on a computer and not a condo, where the error could be costing you tens of thousands of dollars. Be aware that there are scammers out there and they come in all guises- I had an attempted scam last week with a fake Cashier's check in a settlement that would have put me on the hook for $100,000 if I had not been suspicious and cautious. So Radina, I am sorry you found out that "free" interest is neither free nor cheap, and that CC interest is one of the highest kinds around, but at least it is less than the 300% being charged by some check cashing scammers or the 160% being charged to finance a jewelry purchase.

My advice remains the same, pay it off as quickly as you can, and the interest, to stop the meter from running, cancel and destroy the card, shop the internet for better deals, shop for credit cards offering better deals, become a wise consumer that investigates before leaping, and put this bad experience behind you.

Or, go to a consumer advocate that handles Class Action lawsuits against banks and companies over misrepresentations in financing and become lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit. Maybe you can do justice for yourself and 1000s of others who were defrauded by a deceptive consumer scam.