At Ford Credit, according to a spokesman, people can call and pause this month’s car payment, but interest will continue to accrue.
Barclays has the same policy for its U.S. cardholders (and will not charge late or nonpayment fees even as interest does pile up). Bank of America will also allow skipped payments while still keeping the interest clock running for auto loan, credit card and mortgage customers.
I’m still trying to find out more from other lenders.
PNC Bank did not reply at all to my inquiries about a one-month waive. I’m awaiting more detailed information from Citibank, Santander and Wells Fargo. Discover said that it would match the Goldman Apple move for most cardholders in terms of the ability to skip a payment, but customers who already have too many late payments may not be eligible. It would not commit to waiving the accrual of interest though.
The New York Times Company is handling hardship requests from subscribers in distress on a case-by-case basis, according to a spokeswoman. Much of the coronavirus coverage is not behind its subscription paywall.
A one-month pause — for bills of all kinds — might not be enough for people whose incomes fall to zero. The longer the virus shuts down large swaths of economic activity, the more the government will need to consider moonshot ideas.
What could those be?
The federal government could declare it will stop collecting money on any bills from consumers, and possibly some businesses, too. That could include student loan payments and Medicare premiums.
The Internal Revenue Services could allow people not to pay their taxes for now, including freelancers and any entity with quarterly payments due April 15. This might already be in the works. And there is the possibility the government will have to hand out stimulus checks — large ones — to individuals. On Monday, Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, suggested sending $1,000 to every American adult as soon as possible. But it would probably take many weeks for something like that to become a policy reality and to figure out a way to distribute money to so many people.
Until then, many vulnerable people are at the mercy of banks, some of whom were saved from oblivion just a dozen years ago. They need to do more and do better. Now.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/your-money/loan-waivers-coronavirus.html
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