Next time, make your own Credit Card contract (Page 2)

He didn't negotiate with the bank.  That would be sending them back a counter-offer stating his terms.  He took their document, scanned it, altered it without notifying them, and returned it signed.  What he did might not constitute fraud, but it certainly wasn't negotiating.

Here's another definition of fraud "A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury."

He did not disclose altering the terms of the contract.  Maybe it was completely the bank's responsibility to catch it, but in my profession once a document is sent out, every amendment to it needs to be highlighted, signed, and dated.  I'm interested to hear what msteiner's lawyer friends say, because to me it sounds like fraud.  

But the bottom line is, the guy's an idiot because he got greedy.  He had won his initial case but didn't know how to quit when he was ahead.  

Not really an idiot.  I'm sure his lawyers are the ones pushing for the lawsuit.  And this is a lawsuit, not a criminal trial.  The Credit card company will not put him in jail for suing them unless the are able to get criminal charges filed.  (Not sure if that is true in Russia).  So in this case, he won the suit by the credit card company, and now is seeking to enforce the terms of the contract they signed.  Not dumb, maybe greedy, but if the lawyers are working this and taking only a share if they win, then it is a win/win for the client.

Nowhere did I see that the credit card company is filing criminal charges except in a posting in social media. 

Agreed.  It appears that he altered it without the traditional "redline" changes.  Are you all telling me that every bank/cc company etc should always reread their standard terms and agreements to make certain that someone didn't fradulently change them without notification?  Really?

Do they take your terms and conditions and scan them, change them, sign them and send them back without letting you know of any changes to those terms and conditions?  I highly doubt that.   I did the same for many years and if there were any issues with terms and conditions, they sent letters and emailed and called.

Agreed, but if you received a document back that was your standard T&C, that they signed, but they had modified it without your knowing and didn't give any indication that they changed it, you would be ok with that?  You would have caught it?    Because that is what it sounds like happened here.  He took their existing T&C, modified it without their knowing, did NOT indicate that there were any changes, and submitted it.  And you are telling me that with the 100,000 documents that they get they are supposed to review every single one?

Every single one?  No matter that they potentially nubmer in the 100,000 or 1,000,000?

And you are then ok that they might then jack up their fees/interest rates to make up for it?

Oops.  Twitchy mouse finger. 

DOUBLE POST!

According to this article (http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20130808/268492632.html), the bank is looking into initiating criminal charges.  To be fair, that could be the media's interpretation of the bank's tweets, who knows.  But still, I think a good rule of thumb when you're living in a country as corrupt as Russia is to not pizz off anyone with money and/or political sway, which I'm assuming one of their biggest banks has both.  

He got one over on the bank, good for him.  Pay off your interest-free credit card bill and smugly drink a pint while you tell your comrades how you stuck it to the man.  But he got greedy and is pushing his luck.  I'd say he's an idiot.  Whether his lawyers are pushing it or not, it's definitely not win/win if the bank gets the charges filed and he's staring at a Russian prison sentence.

ETA:  According to this article, the guy is getting out of Russia out of fear of prosecution.  So yeah, don't eff with Russian money.  Also, the credit card offer they had sent him was 45%?  Wow.  http://en.rian.ru/business/20130810/182690781/Man-Who-Hijacked-Banks-Fine-Print-to-Flee-Russia.html

One of the lawyers I sent it to responded with "Matt I think you should try it."

I'll let Tony go instead, since he's stepped forward.

So what happens when all banks decide to jack up their rates?  Are people going to suddenly cut up all their credit cards and starty carrying cash and stuffing it under their sofa?  You act as if only one or a few banks would be subject to the additional costs involved in reviewing every application.

Not a legal genius, but I am guessing that most US credit card companies might already have ways to protect themselves from someone attempting to alter a credit card application. In the US, applying for a card doesn't guarantee anything... 

What?!  But the application says I'm pre-approved!!!

lol, I keep getting Amex applications that say I'm "approved to apply".  

The article said:

"The Bank confirmed its agreement to the client's terms and sent him a credit card and a copy of the approved application form,"

So, it wasn't a passive "oops, we didn't notice that."  They had to take action, they did, they agreed to the changes he made.

If he didn't do it in the most professional way I am not sure it matters.    He sent back an amended agreement, they signed it.

I did some quick googling for US contracts and noticed found a capital one contract.
http://www.capitalone.com/media/doc/credit-cards/consumer-cards.pdf 

I tried finding any stipulations about the consumer making changes and didn't notice anything.  I suspect their mail applications just reference the overall credit card agreement, so there isn't really any opportunity to change it.

However, I did notice this:  (talk about fraud)

Changes to Your Agreement.
At any time, we may add, delete, or change any term of this 
Agreement unless the law prohibits us from doing so. We will 
give you notice of any changes as required by law. If we do 
notify you of changes, we will send you a separate notice or 
inform you on your Statement. We may send this notice to 
you electronically as permitted by law. Our notice will tell you 
when and how the changes will take effect and describe any 
rights you have in connection with the changes. 

Changes to Your Agreement.
At any time, we may add, delete, or change any term of this 
Agreement unless the law prohibits us from doing so. We will 
give you notice of any changes as required by law. If we do 
notify you of changes, we will send you a separate notice or 
inform you on your Statement. We may send this notice to 
you electronically as permitted by law. Our notice will tell you 
when and how the changes will take effect and describe any 
rights you have in connection with the changes. 

I wonder if you can simply get around this by changing the agreement to read that the terms of the contract cannot be changed?