Consumerist
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credit cards
Chase Raises Interest Rate On Closed Account
David closed his Chase credit card account instead of accepting a rate increase earlier this year. That should have been the end of it, but it turned out Chase later went ahead and increased the interest rate anyway. More » -
banking
All About Reward Checking Accounts
Reward checking accounts offer above market interest rates, higher than almost any other bank deposit account, if you can satisfy their requirements. More » -
student loans
Credit Unions Dive Into The Student Loan Market
Private loans are the worst type of student debt, but the best place to get them may be your local credit union. Like most credit union products, their loans are usually a better deal with more favorable terms than similar loans from bigger banks. More » -
credit cards
Home Depot Credit Card Charges Perpetual Interest
Bryan was proud to pay off his $8500 Home Depot store credit card balance. Then received a bill the next month with $130 in finance charges. Finance charges on a $0 balance? Wait, what? How does that happen? More » -
credit cards
House To Pass Credit Card Reform, Tell The Senate To, Too
The House is expected to pass the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act today, and the Senate is considering similar legislation. The Senate battle will be harder, but you can help! More » -
american express
Amex Hikes Rate, Drops Balance, Then Tries To Bribe Customer To Pay Off Debt Early
Courey Gouker's recent experience with American Express encapsulates every trick the company has pulled in the past few months to drive away their customers, including dropping the credit limit, hiking the rate, and even offering him a cash bonus to pay off his balance in full. In addition, the company's CSRs made promises to him that they didn't keep, and notes on his account have gone missing. About the only thing they haven't done is email a photo of the CEO flipping him the bird. More » -
fico
HSBC Canceled My Card Due To Inactivity And Ruined My FICO Score!
Reader Travis recently found out that one of his oldest cards had been canceled due to inactivity. This caused quite a dent in his FICO score and he's about to go shopping for student loans— so he's understandably freaking out. More » -
video
Stephen Colbert Supports Payday Lending, So You Probably Should Too
Chicago Democrat Luis Gutierrez introduced a bill last month that supposedly reforms out of control payday lending, where interest rates can exceed 300%, but actually gives payday lenders the freedom to charge annual interest rates that can exceed, um, 300%. It doesn't sound like much of a reform, and in fact Gutierrez has been heavily funded by the payday lending lobby. But luckily for you and me, Stephen Colbert explains why this is all a good thing. More » -
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home depot
My Home Depot Credit Card Now Has A 25.99% APR
Reader Warren says that Home Depot raised his APR to 25.99% — causing him to cancel his account. Yikes. More » -
chase
Watch Out For Payment Date Errors—And Related Finance Charges—From Chase
Mike used an Office Depot Visa card issued through Chase to take advantage of a pay-no-interest deal through 2008. He paid off the remaining balance a couple of days before the offer period ended, but Chase still slapped him with a nearly $40 interest charge. Why? Because they've been "having problems like that" with Office Depot cards. More » -
interest rates
Capital One: Sorry, Due To "Extraordinary Changes In The Economic Environment" You Need To Pay More
Capital One apparently believes in "honest and open communications" (even though they've been accused of purposefully dicking their customers around in the hopes of generating more fees). How do we know this? Because they've written their "valuable customers like you" letters letting you know that due to "extraordinary changes in the economic environment," everyone needs to pay a little more interest. Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong. That's just the Capital One honesty you're feeling. Read the letter inside. More » -
refinancing
Fannie Mae Relaxes Standards For Refinancing
Bloomberg says that Fannie Mae will loosen standards for refinancing in the hopes that more homeowners will be able to take advantage of historically low interest rates. More » -
auto title loans
Auto Title Loans, Illegal In Most States, Even Riskier In Georgia
Meet Scott. When builders in financial trouble stopped paying him the money he was owed as a brick and stone contractor, he became desperate. He needed a loan to buy him time while he tried to collect the money he was owed. Thinking he understood the risks, he used his wife's 2004 Ford Expedition to get an auto title loan of $2,000 at an interest rate of 25% per month — or 300% APR. More » -
credit cards
Consumers Are Learning The Hard Way: There's No Such Thing As A Fixed Rate Credit Card
For years personal finance experts have been telling consumers to watch out — that there was "no such thing" as a "fixed rate" credit card — the bank can raise your interest rate whenever it wants as long as it gives you a little notice. You don't have to miss a payment. You don't have to do anything "wrong." Now some consumers are learning the hard way. More » -
personal finance
How Universities And Credit Card Companies Make Money Off Of Students
How can an educational institute act in its students' best interest if it stands to make money off of increasing their debt load? The symbiotic relationship between universities and credit card companies is being questioned more than ever by student groups and politicians, writes the New York Times. More » -
money meltdown
Fed Cuts Rates To ZERO. Yes, Zero. 0%.
The Federal Open Market Committee today established a target range of zero to 0.25% for its fed funds rate. This, as you might imagine, is unprecedented. More » -
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 » -
bank of america
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 »
interest
New York, 2:31 PM
Sun Nov 15
7 posts in the last 24 hours
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