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credit-cards
credit-cards
Why People Stop Using Credit Cards
In yesterday's Money section, USA Today talked to some consumers who refuse to carry credit cards, and looked at the hidden costs. One 24-year-old says they make her uncomfortable; a guy working at a gas station to pay for college says he doesn't want to get accosted by endless junk mailings once his name enters the pool of potential customers. Then there's the bankruptcy lawyer who canceled his cards on principle 8 years ago, after seeing how lenders behaved when their customers suffered financial setbacks: More »
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Consumerists, How Do I Deal With Credit Card Companies Now That I've Lost My Job?
Newly unemployed, credit card debt-carrying Lilgaladriel wants some advice on how to deal with the credit card companies. He writes: More »
Disney Store Refuses Small Credit Card Purchase Because You Left Your ID In The Car
Reader Terry is annoyed because the Disney Store refused to sell his family $8.50 worth of stuff unless he went out and got his wife's ID from the car. More »
Judge Censured, Barred For Ordering Lawyer To Be Paid In Gift Certificates
A judicial commission for California judges censured and barred the recently retired judge Brett C. Klein for showing bias, abusing authority, and grandstanding to the press. At issue was his January 2009 alteration of a class action settlement, where he ordered everyone, including the attorneys, to be paid the same way: via $10 gift vouchers from a woman's clothing store. More »
Update On Woman Sent To Jail For Using Gift Cards At Best Buy
(NY1)
Last month, New York City's NY1 news channel produced a news segment on the woman who was arrested for paying with AMEX gift cards at a Best Buy. If you read our earlier post with Ilona's email, you already know most of the basics, but you can see the problematic gift cards and hear Ilona describe the experience in her own words. It turns out that after she was released, she went back to Best Buy for either a refund or the DVD player, but had to leave without either one--she was told she'd have to contact American Express to resolve the problem. More »
Best Buy Sends Customer To Jail For Paying With AMEX Gift Card
Update: The news channel New York 1 has prepared a video segment about Ilona's experience with Best Buy and the NYC police.
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A shopper just told us thatlast night last month at a Best Buy in NYC, she was taken to a back room, then cuffed by police officers and taken to a precinct for "further investigation," because she tried to pay with an American Express gift card her father had bought for her. More »
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Watch Out For These Tricks After The CARD Act Kicks In Next Month
(Photo: frankieleon)
The credit card reform bill will go into effect at the end of February, but that doesn't mean you should stop paying attention to what your credit card company does with your account. There are lots and lots of loopholes, notes WalletPop. For example, your card issuer can still raise rates on future purchases any time and for any reason. In addition, there's no limit to the number of fees that can be invented and applied to your account. The only way to make sure you don't get screwed by a profit-hungry card issuer is to read every single thing that's mailed to you, and closely review your statement for evidence of any changes that you may have missed. More »
Experts Answer Credit Questions From Average Americans
(Photo: Photos8.com)
Henry Unger at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has put together a multi-part series of questions and answers from readers. The detailed answers are provided by Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta, and the questions--which I've listed below--cover a broad spectrum of personal finance issues, including credit cards, mortgages, and credit reports. More »
Paypal Rewards Dollars: Use 'Em In One Go Or Lose 'Em
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The PayPal plus rewards card earns points which can be traded for vouchers which can be used like cash to buy stuff. You have to be careful, though, and make sure that the price is the same or greater than the voucher amount. Any unused dollars on the voucher get forfeited after the purchase. Tricky! Reads those terms and conditions close, folks. More »
Whole Bunch Of Store Credit Cards Add $1 Paper Statement Fee
(Photo: mlinksva)
Last week, I mentioned in passing that World Financial Network National Bank, home of more retail-branded credit cards than you can fit in the average wallet, is adding a "paper statement fee" to all of their credit cards. And if you use store credit cards at all, the odds are pretty good that you have a WFNNB card in your wallet. More »
Get Ready To Disclose A Lot More Information When Applying For Credit
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The downside to responsible lending is that the lenders will need more information about you, says the WSJ. More »
4 Reasons You're Dumb With Money
(Photo: frankieleon)
Science has proven that you are stupid with money. Four recent experiments give insight into the irrational ways you use your money that could be chopping down your bank account. My favorite one involves how credit cards make you end up spending more than they normally would: More »
Buying Things In Puerto Rico Is Apparently "International" Commerce
(Photo:Alex Barth)
So, Puerto Rico is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States. Its head of state is Barack Obama. Its currency is the US Dollar. So why is one of Chris Elliott's readers being charged an international transaction fee on her Visa? More »
Best Buy Bans Visa Contactless Payment Over High Fees
(Photo: DeclanTM)
If you buy something with your Visa card at Best Buy, you'll have to go the old fashioned route, comparatively speaking, and swipe it. Visa demands that contactless payments have to be signed, which is more profitable for Visa but not for Best Buy. Visa refused to change their policy, so Best Buy says it will no longer allow customers to pay that way, reports StorefrontBacktalk. Mastercard doesn't ban PINs on contactless payments and will continue to be an option. More »
Americans Falling Behind On Credit Card Payments Again
(Photo: frankieleon)
As a country, we were doing pretty well paying down our credit card debt for most of 2009, but according to Moody's Investor Services, the number of people who are behind on their payments rose slightly in November. More »
If Your Adult Child Dies, Do You Have To Pay His Credit Card Debt?
(Photo:frankieleon)
Reader Mat has a question. His uncle passed away a few days ago and his credit card company is telling his grandparents that if his bank account can't pay the balance -- they'll have to. He's wondering if this is true. More »
28-Year-Old Pleads Guilty To Stealing Over 130 Million Credit And Debit Card Numbers
Albert Gonzelez pleaded guilty today to "conspiracy to engage in wire fraud for his role in stealing more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers from Heartland Payment Systems," reports Boston.com. More »
How To Save Money Using A "Clean" Credit Card
(Photo: Ben Popken)
If you're the type of person who carries debt on your credit card from month to month, you should always have one "clean" credit card in your wallet, says Bob Sullivan of Red Tape Chronicles in his new book, Stop Getting Ripped Off: Why Consumers Get Screwed, and How You Can Always Get a Fair Deal. A "clean" credit card is one that you know can always get paid off in full if you use it, and you only whip it out for emergencies. For some consumers, this results in paying less interest and fewer penalties. In an excerpt he's sharing with Consumerist readers, Bob explains how it works:
Chase Mistakenly Says My Rewards Balance Is In The Negatives
(Photo: epicharmus)
Daniel says Chase promised him to retroactively give him rewards on past purchases after he switched account types, but somehow he ended up with a negative rewards balance. He says he's got more than $600 in rewards coming to him, but Chase won't budge and give Dave what he believes he's entitled to. He writes: More »
BofA Undoubles Doubled Interest Rate
(Photo: The Cornballer)
Responding quickly to Wednesday's post of Julia's complaint that Bank of America doubled her credit card interest rate, then refused to reset it despite promising it would, the bank has promised that it will indeed undouble the rate for good. Got all that? More »
