If you had some credit card debt canceled in 2009 the IRS might want a piece of it. [More]
credit cards
Pizza Hut Won't Let Customer Use Credit Card Without Photo ID
By 3.31.10
Chuck tells Consumerist that he witnessed a strange transaction at Pizza Hut recently. When another customer went to pay for her purchase with a credit card, the person behind the counter asked to see her ID before allowing her to pay for her pizzas with a credit card. She didn’t have any ID with her, and was forced to leave without her pizzas. [More]
Mastercard Spent $960,000 In Q4 To Lobby Congress
By 3.30.10
Kaching, kaching, that’s the sound of Mastercard’s lobbyist’s coffers engorging. The credit card company spent nearly a million dollars in the 4th quarter to lobby Congress critters. By comparison, they spent only $680,000 in the 3rd quarter, and $510,000 in Q4 2008. Among the issues of keen interest to the big orange and yellow interlocking circle: overdraft fees, banking reform, interchange fees, issuer practices, and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The good thing about being Mastercard is that you can just charge all your lobbying expenditures.
MasterCard spends $960,000 in 4Q to lobby Congress [AP via LowCards]
Subway Won't Take My Credit Card, But I Want My Sandwich
By 3.26.10
What do you do when Subway has prepared your delicious sandwich, and then the only credit card you’re carrying with you doesn’t work in the machine? Do you leave the poor, innocent sandwich behind? Do you leave your poor, innocent credit card number behind? Or do you take this as a cautionary tale about always carrying emergency cash? [More]
Computer Hacking ID Thief Gets 20-Year Prison Term
By 3.26.10
A federal court in Boston has sentenced Albert Gonzalez, the Miami computer hacker behind millions of dollars in credit card theft from national retailers like TJ Maxx, BJs, Barnes & Noble and more, to 20 years in prison for his crimes. [More]
TJX Hacker May Have Also Been Working For The Secret Service For $75,000 A Year
By 3.23.10
Albert Gonzalez, the mastermind behind most of the multi-million dollar credit card breaches in the past few years, is being sentenced this week. (Feds are asking for 25 years.) Now his former accomplice, Stephen Watt, has told Wired that while Gonzalez was busy stealing and selling credit card data he was also being paid under the table by the U.S. Secret Service to inform on others, earning as much as $75,000 in cash annually. [More]
Don't Believe The Phone Call That Says Your Card Has Been Deactivated
By 3.22.10
Nick received an automated call from some scammy outfit this morning that told him his debit card had been deactivated. The scam looks simple enough, but it’s probably worth looking at as a reminder to others. [More]
Bank Of America Has The Crappiest Credit Card Customers
By 3.19.10
Bank of America is tops when it comes to having the most deadbeat customers. They are leading the pack in delinquent customers and charged off accounts. That ravenous acquisition strategy’s not looking so hot now, eh? You can gorge, but eventually you have to pay the check. Here’s how the major credit card companies stacked up Jan-Feb. [More]
Citibank Cannot Credit Your Credit Card Rewards To Your Account, No Matter What
By 3.19.10
Chris had a pretty simple request. He writes that he wanted his credit card issuer, Citibank, to save a few trees and save him some legwork, and credit his rewards to his account instead of cutting a check. No one in the Citibank call center hierarchy had the power to make this happen. [More]
Credit Card Company Takes Seven Months To Notice You Moved To Illinois
By 3.19.10
Mike tells Consumerist that one of his recent purchases triggered a fraud alert on his credit card account. It’s nice to know that your card issuer is looking out for you, right? This alert was location-based, since he was using his card in Illinois, and the main billing address for the card is in Iowa, where Mike used to live. What he finds confusing about this situation is that he moved to Illinois seven months ago. [More]
Reader Pays Off $14,330 In 20 Months
By 3.19.10
Stuck in a $14,300 debt hole, reader Trixare4kids was dug herself out using tips she learned about on Consumerist. Let’s learn how she went on a personal finance rampage, learned to live frugally, did it all in 20 months, and how you can do it too! [More]
Woman Gets Oil Stain On Ski Jacket, AmEx Reimburses Her
By 3.12.10
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]
Ask The Consumerists: Would You Use A Credit Card With Your Photo On It?
By 3.11.10
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
By 3.11.10
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
By 3.10.10
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
By 3.9.10
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]
