Good news, Xbox 360 players! If you’ve got a shopaholic dog who buys Microsoft points as you sleep by chewing on your controller, Microsoft will give you a refund and even get your dog his own profile — at least if the story makes headlines.
credit cards
Capital One: Waive Your Rights, Get $10 Off Your Next Overlimit Fee!
By 11.2.09
Everett says Capital One called him up and made him an offer. If he opted out of at least one of the consumer credit protections enacted by the CARD act, Capital One would drop the overlimit fees from $39 to $29! Woo!
Revealing The Hidden Cost Of PrePaid Debit Cards
By 10.30.09
With credit cards harder to come by and more annoying to use, the prepaid debit card market is projected to explode from $8.7 billion loaded on the cards to $119 billion in 2012, but a good chunk of that is going to be eaten up by hidden fees and gotchas. This sexy graphic visualization shows how.
BillShrink Says Credit Card Companies Are Far From Reformed
By 10.28.09
Credit Card companies, which must shape up Dec. 1 in order to comply with government-mandated reforms, aren’t exactly rushing to shape up, reports BillShrink, a site that lets you compare credit cards, cell phone plans and other services.
40 States Ask FTC To Crack Down On Debt Relief Companies
By 10.28.09
Attorneys general in 40 states just asked the FTC to step up the fight against debt relief companies that mislead and overcharge consumers, like Credit Solutions of America (CSA), reports Consumer Affairs.
Kindle Fees Trigger Fraud Alert On Visa Card
By 10.28.09
Considering the growing amount of credit card fraud, it’s not surprising that banks are becoming more and more vigilant about identifying suspicious transactions. It’s too bad they haven’t been as successful at filtering out false positives or promptly notifying customers, as James Fallows at The Atlantic recently discovered when he got his account frozen for sending files to his Kindle.
Wachovia's "Way2Save" Account Triggers Over $5,000 In Penalty Fees
By 10.27.09
Wachovia has a new financial product called Way2Save that automatically moves $1 from your checking account into a high interest personal savings account every time you make an electronic bill payment. Susan tried to maximize her contributions by making a lot of little bill payments, but Wachovia cut off access to her funds without notice and triggered an avalanche of penalty fees. Now she owes over $5,000 to her credit card companies, far more than she would likely have ever earned through Wachovia’s complicated savings program, and of course Wachovia is denying any responsibility.
No Visa Or MasterCard Gift Cards This Year, Please
By 10.26.09
If you want to spread some fiscally sound good cheer this year, consider asking your friends, relatives, and coworkers not to give gift cards backed by the major credit card companies. Why am I making such a sour suggestion? Because a new study from two consumer advocacy groups indicates that most of the population still doesn’t recognize what a money trap those little plastic cards can be.
PayPal Links Account To Mysterious Email Address, Won't Unlink Or Explain Why
By 10.26.09
PayPal has locked Jessica’s account and won’t release her funds until she pays off the negative balance in her other account. That’s fine, except that she doesn’t have another account. Whatever they linked her to, it’s not hers. Of course, this being PayPal, they won’t give her any information about the other account. She can’t even access it to see what the balance is or who it belongs to.
Man Wakes Up To Find Dog Went On XBOX Spending Spree
By 10.26.09
A man claims his dog bought spent $62.50 on video games by chewing on his Xbox 360 controller at night, Kotaku writes:
Chase Sets Early Payment Trap, Customer Falls Into It
By 10.23.09
Daniel’s Providian/WaMu credit card was recently absorbed into Chase’s swollen belly, and they welcomed him to their family by catching him in a technicality that cost him $39. Here’s a good example of why you need to pay attention to statement cycles, even if your bank won’t tell you to.
Citibank Invents "Pretend Rate" For Credit Card
By 10.21.09
Citibank has changed the terms of Victor’s credit card agreement, and in the process they’ve created a bizarre rolling refund arrangement that will make his interest rate jump to 29.99 percent, except that actually it won’t, eventually. Maybe. Update: Another reader sent us a copy of the letter, and the arrangement is even less favorable than we first thought (see below).
Citi Mysteriously Closes Scads Of Mastercard Accounts Nationwide
By 10.20.09
Without warning, Citi decided to close a swath of gas-station co-branded Mastercard accounts nationwide. The trouble seems to have started October 15. Quan was one of the affected customers and the credit card company was pretty disingenuous about it when called.
Bank Of America Will Introduce Annual Fees Next Year On Some Cards
By 10.20.09
Bank of America has announced that it plans on “testing” annual fees on some of its reward cards starting next year. The odds are good you won’t see this—a BoA spokeswoman says it will only be tested on 1 percent of accounts globally—but who knows? Maybe the BoA Fairy will smack you down.
Capital One Invents Its Own Christmas Creep, Raises Interest Rate On December 26th
By 10.20.09
When Wally first got his Capital One credit card, the interest rate was 12 percent. Then they raised it to 22.9 percent. Now they’re going to raise it again—the day after Christmas—to 25.9 percent.
HSBC Really, Really Doesn't Want Reader To Cancel Best Buy Credit Card
By 10.18.09
James applied for a Best Buy Mastercard from HSBC. The initial application was easy enough, but the three separate confusing calls from outsourced customer service reps, and the low limit and annual fee on the card he eventually received led him to cancel his account. This should have been a straightforward transaction, but company representatives tried to bully James into keeping the credit card.
Capital One To Credit Card Applicant: It's Not So Much You, It's Your Area
By 10.16.09
Capital One denied Ryan a credit card limit increase, explaining the turn-down was due partially to the area in which he lives.
Here's A Credit Card With A 79% Interest Rate
By 10.15.09
NBC San Diego found a local wine distributor who was issued a credit card with a 79.9 percent APR.
