Interest

optimism

10 Things That Are Going Right For Consumers

Kiplinger's is more optimistic than we are, so they had the cheerful idea to put together a list of 10 things that are going right for consumers — despite the financial apocalypse. Hooray! More »

11:32 AM on Fri Oct 17 2008
By Meg Marco
25,440 views, 69 comments

confessions

Ex-Credit Card Bankers: "Every Customer Who Calls In Is A Mark. It's A Great Big Con."

CNN has an interview with two former credit card bankers who are admitting that their job was to get consumers to max out their credit cards and take on as much debt as possible, regardless of the customer's ability to afford it. They both worked for MBNA at their "sprawling consumer call center in Belfast, Maine." The bankers say that they were told to aggressively push cash advances, and were trained to convince consumers that they needed the maximum amount of debt at the highest interest rate. More »

12:39 PM on Thu Sep 25 2008
By Meg Marco
14,119 views, 60 comments

Most discussed Mfalconieri: Why lend someone money if you KNOW they CANNOT pay it back? That does not make any sense. more »

credit card reform

House Passes Credit Card Bill Of Rights... But Senate Is Too Busy With The Bailout

The House of Representatives passed legislation that's commonly known as the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights today, but the bill is expected to be ignored by the Senate while they work on that whole $700 billion bailout thing. More »

4:30 PM on Tue Sep 23 2008
By Meg Marco
5,434 views, 24 comments

citibank

What To Do When Citibank Charges You Interest On A Zero Balance

A Consumerist reader was surprised to find that Citibank had applied a finance charge on a zero balance account. She did what every good Consumerist should do: prepared her evidence, jumped quickly ahead to a live person on the Customer Service side, and resolved the issue. Here's what happened: More »

10:07 AM on Fri Aug 15 2008
By Chris Walters
20,325 views, 40 comments

Latest by eliblack: I disagree. Kids should get a credit card as early as possible to start building credit. And more »

success stories

The $10,000 EECB! Emailing Bank of America Saves You $120 A Month For 7 Years

Reader Chad writes:

Yep, you read that right. Thanks to Consumerist, I was able to launch a successful EECB that will end up saving me over $10,000!

More »

4:30 PM on Mon Mar 24 2008
By Meg Marco
11,086 views, 29 comments

recession watch

Another Deep Rate Cut From The Fed

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee today announced a rate cut of 75 basis points to 2-1/4 percent. More »

3:35 PM on Tue Mar 18 2008
By Meg Marco
4,531 views, 84 comments

poverty

Kelly's Will Rent-To-Own You This Wii For $948

Here's a perfect example of what a ripoff rent-to-own or "lease-purchase" (to use the Kelly's phrase) arrangements are to the consumer. This $250 Wii console can be yours for only $79 a month, and after 12 months, it's yours to keep. By that time, you will have paid $948 for it. By comparison, if you charged it to a credit card with 18% interest, you could pay $23 a month and have it paid off after 12 months. Kelly's offer will cost you $673 more than paying with the credit card. More »

11:28 AM on Fri Feb 29 2008
By Chris Walters
12,361 views, 69 comments

Latest by Arrngrim: I didn't bother reading all the comments, but I'm sure this has been beaten to death like a dead horse: GOOD more »

credit cards

Do Presidential Candidates Care About Credit Card Reform?

All Presidential candidates should have a plan to wean America off its credit card dependence. We collectively owe almost $1 trillion to credit card companies, but only the Democratic candidates have written plans to reform the credit card industry. Alpha Consumer wrote an excellent summary of their competing plans to strike at some of the industry's most harmful practices. More »

4:15 PM on Sat Feb 16 2008
By Carey
5,703 views, 87 comments

Latest by spamtasticus: You heard the democrat's plans and should check out Ron Paul's plans, but for now study Spamtasticus's credit fix plan: Short more »

deals

Have A Best Buy Card? Check Your Local Store Before Using It Online

Matt writes in with a tip if you're unlucky enough to have a Best Buy credit card and plan on using it any time soon: check whether the brick and mortar store near you has any special promotions running first. If so, buy the item from their store instead of online or you'll be bound by Best Buy's 90 days same-as-cash terms regardless of whether or not the store is offering a better deal. More »

8:30 PM on Wed Jan 30 2008
By Chris Walters
3,614 views, 28 comments

Latest by Counterpoint: *dang missing edit button - Phi S *of* CC more »

recession watch

Fed Cuts Rate 1/2 Point To 3%

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee voted to cut interest rates by 1/2 point today, stating that the financial markets remain "in considerable stress."

Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households. Moreover, recent information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labor markets.

More »

2:30 PM on Wed Jan 30 2008
By Meg Marco
2,690 views, 40 comments

Latest by Mr. Gunn: forgottenpassword: Well, there's no point punishing the people that are already in debt, because that will just make things worse more »

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