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credit-cards
credit-cards
Woman Gets Oil Stain On Ski Jacket, AmEx Reimburses Her
Jim at Bargaineering tells a story about a woman he knows who took the American Express purchase protection feature to the extreme, getting reimbursed for a jacket she purchased that got an oil stain when she was on a ski trip. More »
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Ask The Consumerists: Would You Use A Credit Card With Your Photo On It?
(GitEmSteveDave)
Thinking about the controversy over asking for ID during credit card purchases, and the competing values of privacy and safety, Daniel had an interesting idea--though it isn't a new idea. What if credit cards were photo IDs, and had our pictures on them? Logistical nightmare, or handy fraud-prevention tool? More »
Chase Thinks Boston Non-Smoker Bought $100 Worth Of Smokes In Florida
Now that Chase has reversed their initial decision and issued a refund to the retiree they accused of credit card fraud, maybe they can take a look at a rather similar case, but on a smaller scale. Reader P tells Consumerist that Chase ruled that he is responsible for some uncharacteristic purchases he purportedly made thousands of miles away from where he was at the time. More »
Monoprice Not Taking New Orders During Fraud Investigation
Popular a/v cable site monoprice is back up but is not taking any new orders while it investigates the potential theft of banking information from its customers. Monoprice took its site offline this weekend after a few customers complained that credit cards they used at the site had fraudulent charges. More »
Macy's Adds Monthly $2 'Educational Interest' Charge To My Credit Card Bill
(XISMZERO)
An anonymous reader says Macy's is charging him a pretend $2 interest on his credit card bill and calling it "educational interest." He says the charge is optional, and you don't have to pay it if you subtract the amount from your total balance. If you do pay the "educational interest," Macy's credits your account. More »
What Do You Do When Your Credit Card Has Been Armed With An Interest Rate Trap?
(adulau)
Harry's got a problem: the Bank of America card he's had for years is paid off, but now it's been set to explode in Harry's wallet if he ever uses it again because the variable APR will jump to 29.99 percent. What's worse, his other card has been canceled. Now Harry doesn't know if he should start using the BofA card or back away quietly from it. More »
If I Read The Fine Print I Would Still Have A House
Credit card companies stuffed all the crazy they could into their contracts in advance of the CARD act taking effect. This time they might have taken it too far, even for banks. Shoulda read that boilerplate!
#599; The Boilerplate Clause [WonderMark] (Thanks to MercuryPDX!) More »
#599; The Boilerplate Clause [WonderMark] (Thanks to MercuryPDX!) More »
The Hidden Fee That Happens Every Time You Swipe Your Credit Card
It's invisible to you but each time you swipe your credit card, a fee fairy gets its wings. An interchange fee fairy, to be exact. How does it work? This chart from the Government Accountability Office attempts to shed some light on the murky world of merchant processing fees. Did you know that over the past 10 years, while the technological costs of processing transactions has gone down, interchange fees have more than doubled? A cost that then gets passed on to you in the form of higher prices.
Just Calling Bank Of America Invokes The Cancel Monster
Be careful if you call Bank of America. You might wake the beast. April called BofA about a credit card that she hand't used in a while to see about getting her interest rate reduced. At first they told her she qualified for a new card with an APR 10 points lower, but then the bloodshot eye of the guardian cast its fell gaze upon her for the first time in years and something nasty happened... More »
Credit Card Companies Target Goody Two-Shoes
(webchick)
Like the nerdy girl in the movies who loses her glasses and gets a new haircut and all of a sudden she's popular, consumers who pay off their credit card bills in full every month may soon find themselves the center of some unexpected courting. More »
Let's Ask BillShrink About Credit Cards Under The CARD Act
Greg wrote to us and said that he's in the market for a new credit card: "I canceled my Chase card because they raised my interest rate to 29.99% + prime. What credit card companies should I be looking at for a replacement card? What are their perks, their drawbacks?"
I spoke with Samir Kothari, the co-founder and vice president of products at BillShrink.com, to see what he thinks about the CARD Act and how it will change the credit card marketplace. More »
I spoke with Samir Kothari, the co-founder and vice president of products at BillShrink.com, to see what he thinks about the CARD Act and how it will change the credit card marketplace. More »
Bank Of America Only Lends You Money When You Have No Income
Reader James writes in with a story we hear a lot lately. During the run up to the credit meltdown --Bank of America kept raising James' limit. He ran up a balance while caring for someone who eventually died -- and now that he has paid off his debt, his limit has been cut. In the long run, however, he feels that he's better off without credit cards. More »
What Changes Should You Expect From The CARD Act?
After several months of waiting (during which, banks have had plenty of time to jack up your interest rates and cut your credit limits), the Credit CARD Act of 2009 has finally kicked in. If you haven't been following the news, here's a quick run-down of what's changed and what hasn't. More »
I Canceled My Chase Account Twice, But They Keep Contacting Me
Charles says he first canceled his Chase credit card in 2008, but was surprised to find it was still open a year later. He canceled it again, but Chase kept hassling him with mailings, and when he called to see what was up he was told the company was keeping in contact with old customers to comply with the CARD act. More »
Make Only Minimum Credit Card Payments, And Your Heirs Will Still Be Paying During The Robot Wars Of 3510
Cracked shares a cautionary tale of what will theoretically happen to a person who makes only the minimum payment on a credit card balance of about $10,000. Like all solid financial advice, it begins with an Amazon.com addiction and ends with the Earth being destroyed two thousand years in the future by a power-mad Bank of America. More »
Why Did The Strip Club Throw Me In Jail For Not Giving A Thumbprint?
Going from strip poles to iron bars in one night, a Consumerist reader says he got tossed in jail when he refused to give a strip club his thumbprint. Their ATM was broken so he had to pay his tab using a credit card cash advance. The club demanded a thumbprint and he refused, so cops that were already there threw him in jail. Was this legal? More »
Remember To Use Your Credit Cards Occasionally Or The Bank Will Close Them
We regularly get letters from people who are upset that their bank "unilaterally" closed a credit account they hadn't used in years. They're always quite surprised that the bank can do this, and usually want to get their accounts back. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. You really do have to use your account occasionally to keep the bank from closing it. More »
How I Learned To Start Worrying And Hate Showing My ID
In response to yesterday's post about a guy who likes showing his ID to checkout clerks when he makes credit card purchases, Adam rebuts with his explanation of how he used to be OK with the practice, but has now turned against it. More »
Disney Store Apologizes For Refusing To Sell Stuff Without ID, Says It's Not Their Policy
(ajruck)
Terry, who was annoyed that the Disney Store refused to sell his family less than $10 worth of stuff without ID, has sent an update. More »
If I Can't Check ID's, How Am I Supposed To Prevent Credit Card Fraud?
We've told you that it stipulates in the contract between merchants and credit card companies that stores aren't allowed to force you to show ID when you buy stuff, but what about the other side of the story? Alex is a 26-year old small business owner and Consumerist lover, but he doesn't know how he's supposed to prevent fraud if he can't check people's ID's. Contrary to what some commenters assume, when a stolen credit card is used, the money gets yanked out of Alex's bank account and he is unlikely to get it or the missing merchandise back. He gets jacked twice: once by the fraudster, and once by the credit card company. What should he do? Switch to cash only? His story, inside... More »
