Despite the horror stories and the trials and tribulations we endure every day with banks, consumers are still getting some satisfaction (as opposed to no, get it) from our credit cards. In fact, we’re more well pleased with our cards than we have been at any time in the last six years. This sense of contentment seems simply to stem from the fact that banks have settled on terms for the cards stopped hitching up fees. [More]
Survey Says: We Apparently Can Get Some Satisfaction From Credit Cards
By August 24, 2012
PayPal Users Will Now Be Able To Buy Stuff In 7 Million Stores After Deal With Discover
By August 22, 2012
Soon, anywhere you see a Discover logo, you’ll be able to use your PayPal account to buy everything from coffee to clothing in 7 million retail locations across the country. PayPal has been all about expanding its offline presence, and this next step is a pretty big push in that direction. [More]
Why Won't PayPal Accept My Secure Account Number?
By August 22, 2012
Discover has a neat account security feature: the ability to generate numbers that only work with one merchant. Imagine how handy this would be in the case of a credit card number breach! Only PayPal, arguably the biggest third-party payment processor in the solar system, won’t accept one of these numbers. It could have something to do with that third-party nature…or do they hate account security? That’s what Doug thinks. [More]
Which Credit Card Applications Are Trying To Hide The Least Info From You?
By August 14, 2012
Between interest rates, rewards, balance transfers and fees, there are lots of places for banks to hide information that might drive a potential credit card customer away. But a new study looked at the country’s top 10 credit card issuers to determine which companies are hiding the least from consumers. And you might be surprised at who came out on top. [More]
Credit Card Companies Increasingly Using Robo Testimony, Erroneous Documents To Go After Customers In Court
By August 13, 2012
We’ve all learned to fear the robo-signing reaper in home foreclosures, but now that same tactic of providing generic evidence of debt is sweeping the credit card collections world. Judges are calling out credit card issuers on this so-called “robo-testimony” tactic, but if a consumer doesn’t fight back, those robots might win by default. [More]
Visa, MasterCard Agree To Let Merchants Add Surcharges To Credit Card Purchases
By July 13, 2012
Earlier this week, we told you that a settlement in a huge lawsuit between merchants and Visa and MasterCard was in the offing and that it could open the door to retailers tacking on surcharges to credit card customers. Well, that proposed settlement has come to pass, meaning you may soon be paying more for the privilege of using your credit card. [More]
Get Ready To Pay Surcharge Every Time You Pay With Credit Card
By July 9, 2012
Visa and MasterCard know there is nothing that American consumers love more than fees and surcharges. That’s why the credit card companies are reportedly looking to do away with longstanding rules that prohibit merchants from adding on extra costs to customers who pay with credit. [More]
Bought A Groupon, An iPhone 4, Or Coconut Water? These Class Actions Are For You
By May 24, 2012
Have you bought coconut water, pinot noir, a Samsung TV, or an iPhone 4? If you purchased any of these products, plus a whole bunch more, you may be eligible to file a claim in one of these recently settled class action lawsuits. Proof of purchase isn’t always required, but lying is bad consumer karma. [More]
Woman Tries To Report Credit Card Fraud, Almost Gets Arrested
By May 9, 2012
Imagine how fun it must be to have your credit card stolen and then be accused of being a thief yourself. Oh, you’re right, that doesn’t sound very fun at all. A woman in Salt Lake City tells the story of a woman who had to go to great lengths, first to prove fraud, and then to defend herself against it. [More]
Discover Aware That Strangers' Bank Accounts Are Linked To My Card, Doesn't Know If I Should Worry
By April 24, 2012
It’s surprising and unsettling enough to find that strangers’ information is suddenly linked to your private credit card account –¬†but what was even weirder for our reader Jessica is that Discover wasn’t even sure if she should be worried about her own info going astray. Definitely a case where customer service was shrugging over the phone. [More]
Discover Accidentally Steals From Foundation To Pay My Credit Card
By April 6, 2012
Phil (no, not the one who works here) had to make a payment to an art foundation, and learned that he could use his Discover card to do so. Neat! So he put the payment through, and all was well…until he learned that somehow the transaction went through backwards, transferring the money from the foundation’s bank account to pay his Discover bill. Oops. This seems like it would be easy enough to reverse, but Discover won’t do anything unless the foundation calls them up and nicely asks for their money back. [More]
Discover's Purchase Protection Doesn't Extend To Purchases With Cash-Back Rewards
By February 1, 2012
One of the benefits of using a credit card for all of your purchases (and paying it off every moth, naturally) is the extension and sometimes expansion of a product’s original warranty. That’s what Cindy does, making purchases with her Discover card for protection and cash back. What she learned not long ago is that you can have the warranty extension, or use the balance in your cash back account, but you can’t do both. [More]
Credit Card Bumper Crop Boasts Low Teaser Rates, New Snags
By November 4, 2011
After being such prudes for so long, credit card companies are raising their hemlines and lowering their standards. They’re actively deluging customers with credit card offers and using low teaser rates as a crooked finger. However, they’re also coming with new hidden baggage you need to watch out for, like cash back rewards that are high, but have to be opted in again every few months. [More]
People Are Back To Making Late Payments On Their Credit Cards
By October 19, 2011
Two months ago, the number of people making late credit card payments was at its lowest since Justin Bieber was a twinkle in his parents’ eyes. Of course, when you reach a low like that, there is often nowhere to go but up. [More]
Discover Brings Back Disposable Account Numbers
By October 17, 2011
Without explanation as to why, Discover card is telling customers that they’re bringing back the disposable account numbers they got rid of at the end of August. [More]
Discover Ends Disposable Credit Card Number Program
By August 31, 2011
Discover sent around an email last night informing customers that it would be ending the “Secure Online Account Numbers” service. This feature helped you mitigate the potential for online fraud by letting you generate unique credit card numbers you could use per online retailer or even per transaction. A few Consumerist readers were bummed to see it go. [More]
FDIC Scrutinizes Discover's "Payment Protection" Plan
By July 8, 2011
The FDIC is looking into Discover over concerns that they deceptively marketed their “payment protection plan” for their credit card. Under the plan, if you were experiencing hardship you could put payments on hold for up to two years. Sounds great, but buried in the fine print was that you would end up paying a 10.5% monthly fee for the pleasure of doing so. [More]
Flying Wiimote Trashes TV, Discover Makes Loss Less Painful
By March 2, 2011
Stephen broke his new LCD TV the old-fashioned way: his 6-year-old son flung a Wiimote into it. Oh, well, sucks to be him, right? He called around looking for some way out of paying to replace the set, a 46″ Sony Bravia that cost more than $900 with tax. Homeowner’s insurance? Nope. He didn’t buy a warranty from Best Buy when purchasing the TV, and a Geek Squad warranty wouldn’t have covered this damage. Time to just go buy a new TV? Not so fast! One of his Facebook friends was savvy enough to tell Stephen to check with his credit card company. [More]
