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]
credit cards
Buying Things In Puerto Rico Is Apparently "International" Commerce
By 1.11.10
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
By 1.6.10
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
By 12.31.09
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?
By 12.31.09
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
By 12.29.09
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
By 12.29.09
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: [More]
Chase Mistakenly Says My Rewards Balance Is In The Negatives
By 12.25.09
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
By 12.24.09
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]
UPDATED: BofA Doubled My Interest Rate, Said They'd Undouble It, Kept It Doubled
By 12.23.09
Julia said Bank of America hiked her interest rate then placated her for months, promising it would eventually lower it to its previous level, only to turn around and say she was misinformed and would be stuck with the higher interest rate. [More]
GameStop Tells Me It Doesn't Care It's Violating Merchant Agreement
By 12.21.09
Adam tried to buy some games at GameStop by using his credit card, but balked when the clerk demanded he show his ID. He alerted the higher-ups that the denial was a violation of the MasterCard merchant agreement, but the complaint fell on deaf ears. He writes: [More]
Call Bank Of America About Account, Get Credit Limit Cut By 65%
By 12.20.09
Sean has a warning for Consumerist readers with Bank of America credit cards. At the beginning of December, he tells us that he called the bank about a billing issue, which earned him an account review and a drastic reduction in his credit limit. [More]
Visa Cuts Off Payments To Unrepentant Scammers
By 12.18.09
That “local mom” trying to sell you her secret formulas for weight loss and tooth whitening in Internet ads may need to find a new job. Visa cut off payments to 100 merchants. The culled companies were the fine folks behind the “free sample” negative-option scams that Consumerist has written about extensively in the past. [More]
This Citibank Balance Transfer Offer Sure Sounds Dangerous
By 12.16.09
RP was just offered a transfer on his Citi card by a Citibank CSR, but the CSR was kind of vague on the details of the offer and could only repeat the benefits. RP looked online while the CSR pitched the offer, and found that there’s quite a big catch in the fine print–after six months, the interest rate jumps from 3.99% to 29.99%. [More]
Why Can't Macy's Reverse This Charge On Their Customer's Debit Card?
By 12.16.09
Amanda has been having a hard time getting Macy’s to reverse an incorrect charge on her credit card–a charge that was canceled less than five minutes after it was made last week. Her story includes almost all of the things that can go wrong with customer support, including random transfers, rude employees, and broken promises. If she’d just been made to hold for 45 minutes before one of the disconnections, she’d have collected the set! [More]
Redbox Won't Take Reader's Money, Bans Credit Card Forever
By 12.16.09
What can you do when a company bans not you, but your only credit card? John explains that he returned some Redbox movies before his vacation. Then his vacation got really exciting, and his credit card was briefly and accidentally reported stolen. He straightened things out with the credit card company, but Redbox was not so forgiving. He owes the company $15, but they won’t accept his money. Now he’s unable to borrow from Redbox, and their customer service is no help. [More]
New Jersey Considers "Do Not Solicit" Registry To Block Credit Card Offers
By 12.15.09
New Jersey politicians appear to be engaged in some sort of contest to see who can get the most stringent anti-junk mail law passed. First an Assembleyman introduced a bill a few weeks back that would ban companies from mailing unsolocited checks to consumers. Now the Assembley’s Consumer Affairs committee has proposed starting a “Do Not Solicit” list, which would block credit card companies from offering new cards to consumers who aren’t interested. [More]
What You Should Know About Store Credit Cards
By 12.12.09
It might be tempting to open a store-only credit card, especially when you’re about to make a big purchase and retailers offer big discounts to open an account on the spot. The problem is, that card you may only use a few times per year might hurt your credit score enough to outweigh a 15% discount on a new suit. These problems will persist even if retailers are forced to verify customers’ income before issuing them cards. [More]
