Dmitry Argerkov has done what most people can only dream of
doing. He took on the banks and won.
His story started off simply enough. Tinkoff credit services
sent this chap a letter offering him a credit card. The interest rates were
terrible and the terms and conditions were unreasonable. So Mr Argerkov decided
to change them to something a little more agreeable.
He offered them terms of no interest, he liked that rate a
lot more. He also set no credit limit and decided that since it was normal
banking practise to impose fees for not keeping the terms, he did that too. The
fee was 3 million rubles, 6 million if they tried to cancel the contract.
And would you believe it, someone at Tinkoff forgot to read
the small print and Argerkov was now the owner of the world's best credit card.
Unsurprisingly, Tinkoff didn't much like being screwed over in exactly the same
way banks have been screwing over the general public for generations and tried
to sue.
However, “we didn't read it” just doesn't cut it in court and
the contract was found legally binding. The bank clearly felt great injustice
and outrage at this ruling, since they are currently trying to sue him for
fraud. That must have been a strange sensation for them, like a blind man
seeing his own shit for the first time.
Hilariously, Tickoff's owner Olegg Tickoff has tweeted that
the case is a “matter of principle”. So, if nothing else Dmitry has at least
taught the banks a new word.
Words by Mairi Harris
