Consumerist
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credit
Taking Credit Card Offers Hurts Your Credit
Last week, I wrote about how to turn your good credit into cash. I purposely excluded credit card offers from the list because I wanted things that, should you implement them, wouldn't hurt your credit. Today, I want to warn to the overzealous. More » -
Consumer Financial Protection Agency
Let's Perma-Ban Consumer Predators
Regulating consumer predators is a bit like Whac-a-Mole. No matter how many times you put the bad guys out of business, they keep popping up again and again. Maybe it is time to consider a lifetime ban from financial services for the worst offenders. The Consumer Financial Protection Agency proposed by the President may be just the right watchdog for the job of handing out such banishments. More »
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above and beyond
Paper Moments Understands Senior Moments, Reprints Cards For Free
In a post-birth haze, Suzanne accidentally ordered birth announcement cards from Paper Moments listing the wrong birthdate for her two-week old son. The site has a clear policy regarding customer errors: mistakes are worth a 50% discount on reprints, and nothing more. Accepting the policy as immutable, Suzanne called and left a polite message asking Paper Moments to reprint the cards with the right birthdate. The company responded with an unexpected bundle of joy. More » -
We're not sure if this will work for brand new customers, but KodakGallery is offering free Mother's Day photo cards through 5/16 with coupon code FREECARD. To ensure delivery by Mother's Day, you have to order the card by midnight tonight. Note that you'll still have to pay 99 cents shipping and handling. [KodakGallery]
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xbox live
Xbox Live Cancels Year-Long Prepaid Account, Demands Another Year's Subscription To Reactivate
Xbox Live has struck again, this time by screwing up the auto-renewal on a customer's account and ruining the prepaid annual membership he activated just three months ago. More » -
american express
American Express Cancels Your Card Right Before You Were Supposed To Get Your $500 Rebate
Andrea, an American Express member for over 20 years, is upset because AmEx canceled her cash-back card two weeks before her $500 rebate check was supposed to arrive, and declared the rebate forfeit. More » -
credit cards
AmEx Denies Existence Of A Store Blacklist, Will Slash Your Credit Whenever They Want
Despite sending customers letter saying otherwise, American Express now insists that it never blacklisted cardholders based on where they shopped. Those notes explaining that "other customers who have used their card at establishments where you recently shopped have a poor repayment history with American Express?" Whoops! Just a big misunderstanding! Not unlike the comment they gave to ABC explaining that "shopping patterns" were used as a "contributing factor" in slashing credit lines, a statement AmEx later retracted. So what's really going on? Let's explore... More » -
checkout
Iowa Best Buy Won't Sell To You Unless You Sign Up For Rewards Card?
Frank says he wasn't allowed to complete his purchase at a Best Buy in Des Moines, Iowa unless he signed up for their Rewards card: "He called over his supervisor. In a rather harsh manner, she told him that everyone purchasing items is now required to sign up for a rewards card." Sounds like somebody had a quota to meet! More » -
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Chase is no longer increasing the rates of cardmembers based on their credit-bureau information as of March 1, 2008.
http://www.cardratings.com/creditcardnews/2007/11/chase-will-no-longer-increase-rates.html
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discrimination
Store Owner Demands Spanish-Speaking Customers Show Social Security Cards
David C. Richardson, the owner of Rhode Island Refrigeration in Providence, Rhode Island, overheard two customers speaking Spanish to each other, so he asked them to produce proof of citizenship. According to them, he then threatened to call Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and make a citizen's arrest, although Richardson denies he picked up the phone, but not that he made the threats. In fact, he says he's done this "fifteen or twenty times" in the past and refuses to do business with those who won't show their Social Security cards. More » -
bad behavior
ProFlowers Freezes Over $100 By "Verifying" Customer's Card
Anne tried to send some flowers to her stepmom last week, but changed her mind after she saw the final price, which at $64 was too much for her budget (the tulips she picked out were listed at $29.99, but all the additional fees doubled the price). ProFlowers sent her an email offering her a discount if she'd complete her order, so she went back but discovered the tulips were sold out, and she abandoned the shopping cart a second time. Now her bank account has over $100 in "pending charges" because ProFlowers pre-authorized the full amount of each transaction and they can't seem to reverse the authorizations. It's been a week and she still doesn't have her money. More » -
csr idiocy
Capital One Pockets Traveler's $6000, Ruins Vacation
Mike and his wife are backpacking their way around the world, and like a smart consumer, before they left he looked around for a credit card without a currency conversion charge. Capital One is fee free, which in theory makes it ideal for travel. In reality, there are hidden costs, and they're called human stupidity and random interpretation of the rules. As a consequence, he's "pre-paid" $6,000 onto a Capital One card that has been red-flagged and frozen, and Capital One refuses to budge—even though they acknowledge there are notes on the account that indicated he would do this before he did it, and even though they're the ones who told him to pre-pay. More » -
personal finance
6 Basic Things Teens Should Know About Credit Cards
Organizations like the Jump$tart Coalition and NFCC have rolled out programs that help you teach your kids about the ins and outs of credit cards, credit ratings, interest rates, etc., but Janet Bodnar at Kiplinger says that there are some basic facts that you should focus on. She thinks too much detail bores a kid; we think it depends on the kid, but agree that at the very least, hitting each point on the following list would give your offspring a decent foundation for making good credit decisions. More » -
identity theft
5 Ways To Make Sure You're Actually Talking To Your Credit Card Company
When you consider the risk and high cost of identity theft, it pays to be skeptical whenever someone calls you and claims to be from your credit card company. How can you verify that they're legit? Reader Cathy points us to bloggingawaydebt.com, which offers five simple things to do if you want to make sure you're not being scammed. More » -
shopping
Victoria's Secret, Limited, Express Threaten To Fire Employees Who Don't Get Enough New Credit Card Accounts
We've always noticed the way the sales person looks so depressed and angry every time we say we don't need an Express or Victoria's Secret credit card. Reader Jesica says its because when she worked there, the managers would threaten to fire anyone who didn't meet their quota of new credit card accounts. Jesica writes: More » -
ftc
Get A Free Mother's Day Card From The Federal Trade Commission
The FTC is reprising their cute and cuddly Mother's Day e-card. The e-card isn't just pretty flowers and cute butterflies; the FTC also has four suggestions to stay fraud-free all year long:Safeguard your Social Security number
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apr
Chase's Opt-Out Notice Misleads Customers Into Canceling
Earlier this month, Chase sent out a change of terms notice which mislead some customers into canceling their accounts by accident. More » -
blogs
Blogobitchin!
• Bank's new zealous anti-fraud measures continue to confoud bloggers. Mainly because no one told them. [ More »
cards
New York, 1:43 AM
Fri Nov 13
26 posts in the last 24 hours
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