November 26, 2004

You gotta love this! While catching up with some tech news at The Register, I spotted the following headline: Woman blows $950k on Amex card:

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A New York woman who ran up debts of $951,000 on her Amex account is sueing the company for $2m for allowing her to hammer the plastic
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She's clearly should not been given the card.

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November 26, 2004

I just love the bit in her suit that said she was:

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suffering from anorexia, depression, panic attacks, head tumors and by reason of such illnesses was mentally incompetent and unable of executing or making any agreement as alleged
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And later claiming that Amex 

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knew or should have known that (Millard) was acting impulsively and and irrationally at the time she entered into contract
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I know that American Express, like any other financial services companies out there are trying to cater for every need of their (potential) customers, but, surely, that doesn't include a psychiatric examination... right?

"American Express - Personal Finance, Credit Cards, Business Solutions, Travel Services, Psychiatric Consultation and Mind Reading"

And if she really was suffering from anorexia (whatever form it may have been), has she been treated? Can someone testify for her?

The best part was the 'head tumors'... I guess they just 'disappear' after the shopping binge, right? In fact, she should be hailed as the latest medical miracle and start her own self-help hotline: "How to cure your head tumor?!" (Or do they start appearing after the shopping trip, when she suddenly realized the amount of money she's blown?)

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November 27, 2004

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Haha! Nice one Spike, but I do feel glad that this didn't happen in Britain. We would've had to pay wouldn't we, good old legal aid...
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No... I notice in the UK, people with excessive debts tend to 'top' themselves...

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November 29, 2004

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Oh man... I gotta get me one of those cards!
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Surely you remember that Friends episode (in one of the earlier series, when Joey was still living out after the Dr. Drake Ramoray in "Days of Our Lives" was 'terminated') where Ross was going through Joey's VISA bill with him and it was three pages long!!! Not much fun there.

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November 29, 2004

Yeah, but if I've remembered the Joey/Ross 'thing' in Friends correctly, they were both taken aback by the amount on the bill - 'and that's just the minimum payment'...

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November 30, 2004

I suppose if people can claim 'temporary insanity' (or something like that) and get off murder charges, she can at least give it a shot. What's a few thousands dollars of legal charge when she already owes nearly a million?

Btw, how is the personal bankruptcy law like in the States? (Meaning: How painful would it for her and how long would she be grounded for?)

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