Dentistry and Loan Applications

[ChrisGreaves]

Most of you will recognize these situations:-

Dentistry is the only trade/profession where you pay to have a salesman offer a quote for expensive work. We go to the dentist and hand over $100 for a clean-and-checkup every six months, and the dentist uses this visit as an opportunity to tell you that the lower-right molar or the upper-left bicuspid needs some work; make an appointment in a week’s time and we’ll take care of it. And we will take care of the excess weight in your wallet too. A week later, you have paid the $100 for the sales pitch and then pay another $300 for the Real Work.

Banks are weird, too. When the BMO offered me a credit card with a $5,500 limit, for all of two seconds I thought “I’m rich”, but then realized that the BMO was offering me a chance to pay them 20% interest on $5,500 ($91/month) for as long as I cared to.

So this morning I walk to Scotiabank to ask for a $5,000 loan to pay off the electrical work, and why do I feel nervous? The bank isn’t giving me $5,000; it is inviting me to sign a document so that I can pay them interest at $35/month for as long as it takes.

Why do I feel apprehensive about MY success in offering to give THEM some money?

Cheers
Chris

[HansV]

You should have moved to Denmark. A Danish bank pays customers 0.5% interest (per year) on loans they take out.

[ChrisGreaves]

You should have moved to Denmark. A Danish bank pays customers 0.5% interest (per year) on loans they take out.

I thought about moving to Denmark some 37 years ago.
I realized that I had lived in Australia, Britain, and Canada and so had heard classical music from the ABC, the BBC, and the CBC, and wondered "Where next?".
FWIW (with apologies to Kevin Stroud) my ancestors were ankles, socks on and shoes.
Cheers
Chris