Dan has a story of how his credit cards were stolen from his wallet and the scammer was able to get the account information changed so when the Capital One fraud department called to verify the suspicious charges, it was the crook who got the call. That way the fraudster could say, yes, I’m Dan, and I made those purchases in New York, even though I don’t live there. [More]
Credit Card Thief Changes Your Phone Number To His So Fraudulent Charges Get Okayed
By September 7, 2011
Attempt Credit Card Balance Transfer, Wells Fargo Cancels Your Account
By August 26, 2011
Howie had a Wachovia credit card, which is now a Wells Fargo card. After a barrage of balance transfer solicitations, he called them up to move some debt from another card over to Wells Fargo. The bank’s response? They promptly canceled his credit card. [More]
Citigroup: 360K Customers' Credit Cards, Not 200K, Were Exposed To Hackers In Breach
By June 16, 2011
Citigroup, which suffered a massive data breach that exposed hundreds of thousands of credit cards, upped its initial estimate of the amount of customers’ credit cards exposed from 200,000 to 360,000. [More]
Debit Card Skimmer Found On Train Ticket Dispenser
By September 15, 2010
Be careful, travelers, skimmers aren’t just for ATMs. Here’s one a Dutch guy found on a local train ticket machine. This is even a little bit more insidious than an ATM skimmer because busy passengers are even less likely to hide their PIN or notice a skimming device before rushing to their next train. The site is in Dutch but just scroll through the labeled pictures. With phrases like “betterijen uit mobiele telefoon” it’s pretty easy to figure out what he’s talking about. [More]
Radio Shack Forced Me To Donate To Livestrong
By November 23, 2009
Ryan says a Kentucky Radio Shack employee tacked on a $1 donation to Livestrong without his permission. This is the letter he sent to the company’s corporate office:
Citibank: Transfer $5000 In Debt Onto This Card Or We'll Double Your APR
By November 12, 2009
“It’s the increased cost of doing business,” was Citicard’s constant refrain when Kent’s husband called to complain about their latest pre-CARD act adverse action insanity: transfer $5000 in balances from other credit cards to this credit card or we’ll double your interest rate. Listen to Kent’s message left on the new Consumerist hotline and/or read the transcript:
AT&T Charges Customer Twice, Refuses To Investigate It
By July 29, 2009
We think AT&T just stole about $157 from commenter Spoco. They applied the payment as always via his Amex card, but then said that it was declined and auto-debited it a second time a month later (+ late fees, of course). The only problem is, it wasn’t declined, and Spoco has proof. He just can’t get anyone at AT&T to care.
More Patients Are Letting Medical Industry Raid Their Credit Cards Rather Than Checking Accounts
By July 21, 2009
Americans are choosing plastic over paper when it comes to paying off the nearly $300 billion they rack up annually in medical charges — the leading cause of bankruptcy — every year, CNNMoney.com reported earlier this month.
Psht, Bank Of America Doesn't Need Your Consent To Give You A Credit Card
By June 29, 2009
Hector didn’t know whether or not he was going to accept Bank of America‘s offer of a new credit card with a $3,500 limit, so the bank made his decision easy by issuing the card without his permission. When Hector discovered the surprise credit line, he called Bank of America with two requests: explain how they could open a new account without his consent, and keep the account open until he could figure out the new line’s impact on his credit score. Of course, without a peep, Bank of America immediately canceled the new credit card, leaving Hector wondering what might happen to his credit score…
Best Buy Charges $15 To Pay Bill On Time
By June 29, 2009
Owners of Best Buy credit cards (via HSBC) are being charged $15 to pay their bill on time online. The only way to avoid the fee? Pay at least two business days early.
Liveblog Transcript From Obama's Credit Card Reform Town Hall
By May 14, 2009
Our fearless co-leader Ben just sent us this link from the Consumerist Washington delegation. The New Mexico Independent sent a reporter to liveblog today’s credit card reform town hall meeting at a high school in Rio Rancho, NM. The transcript includes comments and questions from readers, and also comments from national and regional consumer advocates.
Big Shocker: Students Are Abusing Credit Cards
By April 26, 2009
Sallie Mae‘s 2009 study of credit card use shows that students just love binging on plastic. Kids these days have more than four cards on average, and most of them carry a balance pushing $3,000. Many don’t tell their parents, and almost a fifth graduate with more than $7,000 of debt. This is how meltdowns start…
American Express Cancels Your Card Right Before You Were Supposed To Get Your $500 Rebate
By February 27, 2009
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.
Rogue Charges Resurrect Expired Amex Card
By May 4, 2008
Patricia closed her company’s American Express Delta Sky Miles card six months ago, but the expired card unexpectedly sprang to life thanks to a supplier’s accidental charge. American Express laughed off the matter, saying “this happens all of the time,” adding that it’s Patricia’s responsibility to ensure that all vendors destroy her outdated billing information.
Amazon Screws Up Refund, Charges $2,288.44 for $750 Of Gym Equipment
By April 18, 2008
Reader Craig ordered some gym equipment from Amazon, but he accidentally used his debit card instead of his credit card. Realizing his mistake, he immediately tried to correct the problem. He went through the change payment process right away and figured all was well. Of course it wasn’t, and he ended up getting charged $2,288.44 for $750 worth of equipment when Amazon got the refund process backwards. Twice. See how it happened after the jump.
How To Go 30 Years Without A Credit Card
By March 7, 2008
I recently reached what I bet is a rare milestone: I have now gone 30 years, basically my entire working life so far, without a credit card.
Barnes & Noble Error Leaves Gift Card Unused, Doubles Charges On Credit Card
By February 21, 2008
It’s bad enough when a glitch on a retailer’s side screws up your method of payment, but Barnes & Noble took so long to investigate and respond to one customer’s emails that by the time they acknowledged they’d made a mistake, they said it was too late to do anything about it.
Follow Up: Woman Tasered Last November At Best Buy Will Not Have Charges Filed Against Her
By February 12, 2008
On November 26th, a 35-year-old woman was shopping at Best Buy in Daytona Beach, Florida when there was some sort of communication breakdown, and a police officer who was at the store tasered her. We wrote about it here, and it turns out there’s a video of the event here. At the time there were few details, but the full story has since been pieced together and resolved, and last week the Florida state attorney said “charges won’t be pursued because there is no evidence that Beeland committed a crime.”
