Would you apply for a card you despise? Poll Discussion

TheFlyingGerbil

You've got to remember how you would feel every time you handed the card over with the thing you detest emblazoned across it - I wouldn't be able to live with that.

Having said that, maybe it would make you want to use your card less and is in fact something we should all do to encourage us into spending less!

Joe

Mrs_Wossinge

I do my personal banking with Smile to avoid giving any of my money to companies with fewer scruples than I have about arms trading/animal testing/human rights abuses/ etc.

Smile don't do business accounts, however. I'm self-employed and only found one bank with an ethical business account for small businesses. It's a tiny bank called Reliance, run by The Salvation Army.

Perhaps it's slightly off-topic, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone knows of other ethical banks with business accounts that might suit sole traders.

gizfizz

Gordon_the_Moron wrote: »

If it was for my favourite football teams rival, yes I would apply I don't care that much.

If it was something I was morally against like the masters of foxhounds I certainly would not.

ditto to that and a :T for the second part!
I voted no

i dont really like credit cards anyway ive only just got my first one and that was only to do a 0% balance transfer, i wont spend on it.

k993257

Yeah I definately would, I would just make sure I was using them and got some free credit/cashback and that they werent making money from me.

I think we have to agree that we probably do lots of things to save money which is unethical: eg buy animal tested products, foreign meat that has no animal rights, clothes from high street retailers and supermarkets that use v cheap labour, or buy petrol? If you dont do any of these things then good for you, a better person then me, I try, but money does enter into my purchases on a daily basis.

frivolous_fay

Neither of the answers were appropriate for me.

My answer would be:

Absolutely, as long as I benefit and they gain nothing from my business.

frivolous_fay

Mrs_Wossinge wrote: »

Perhaps it's slightly off-topic, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone knows of other ethical banks with business accounts that might suit sole traders.

I also bank with smile.

Have you looked at http://www.triodos.co.uk/? From a casual scan of their site, they appear to do ethical business banking, but perhaps you've looked at it already and it's not suitable.

ban-all-sheds

I voted no too, but it's a daft question, as there is such a spectrum of things you might be opposed to. The example of foxhunting might get some people in a lather, but not others.

For example - I wonder if any Yes voters who are staunch and practising Catholics would vote Yes if the benefiting organisation was a charity that runs abortion clinics?

Would a Yes voter with strong liberal beliefs still vote Yes if the organisation was Combat18?

If it still existed, who would vote Yes if the organisation was the Paedophile Information Exchange?

The more I think about it, the more it seems clear that unless you have no moral framework, and have no principles you think are worth anything, then you cannot vote Yes.

Angel99

No way could I apply for/carry/use a card from an organisation I despise, it would feel like giving them my vote, they could use the fact a lot of people have their cards as proof of support for their cause and I certainly wouldn't be able to use the card as every time I handed the card over it would be like telling people that I support them.
Would you walk around wearing a slogan on a T.shirt for them if they paid you to do it?
Something's are more important than money.

Gordon_the_Moron

k993257 wrote: »

Yeah I definately would, I would just make sure I was using them and got some free credit/cashback and that they werent making money from me.

I think we have to agree that we probably do lots of things to save money which is unethical: eg buy animal tested products, foreign meat that has no animal rights, clothes from high street retailers and supermarkets that use v cheap labour, or buy petrol? If you dont do any of these things then good for you, a better person then me, I try, but money does enter into my purchases on a daily basis.

Charity cards or cards for the likes of football clubs are run by banks/card companies on behalf of the organisation who receive a benefit from it. Before you could work out whether you were making them money or not you would need to know how they earn their commission, from purchases (you could avoid earning them money then) from all transactions (you could avoid earning them money then but what would you have the card for?) or they may even earn a commission for you just signing up.

Da Moron

Sacre_Bleu

It saddens me to see that the mercenaries are ahead in this poll. By setting aside any moral dimension, are we not adopting precisely the same stance as the very organisations we claim to despise? As vegetarian Man City fan, I've probably have a masochistic streak a mile wide! However, I'm sure Martin understands the football team argument given his own allegiance in this regard.