Too often, when we post about undeserved credit card rate hikes, a few readers will justify the credit card company’s actions by pointing out that the OP is, in pure business terms, a bad customer. If you’re a consumer, this is the worst way to visualize your business relationship with your credit card company. Here’s why.
credit cards
Your APR Is Now 91.29% – Yours Truly, Bank Of America
By 2.19.09
David’s effective APR on his Bank of America credit card is now 91.29%. It’s not a typo or a scam, it’s math.
Capital One Does Not Appreciate You Being Responsible, More Than Doubles Your APR
By 2.19.09
Beverly, who always pays on time and recently started paying off her balance in full every month, just saw the rate on her Capital One card more than double, from 13.9% to 29.4%. That’ll teach you to not help sink the economy, Beverly!
Addicted To Debt? Take Our 15 Question Quiz
By 2.19.09
Are you addicted to debt? And I don’t just mean addicted like oh I’m addicted to curly fries, they’re so delicious, I mean addicted like a psycho-chemical need to keep slamming that credit card through the swiper. Maybe you know someone like this. Take this 15 question quiz, and if you answer “yes” to 8 more, you could be an addict.
DSW's Dirty Trick Backfires; Now Customer Has Free Shoes
By 2.11.09
DSW is playing dirty with Brook, who tried to legitimately order two pairs of shoes on January 30th. Due to an error on DSW’s side, the order was never fulfilled. He called and resolved the problem and they re-processed the order, but a few days later DSW decided to send the order a second time, and this time they jacked up the price by $20. They won’t let him cancel the order and say they’ll only refund the smaller of the two amounts if he returns it. Surprise, DSW! According to the FTC, you just sent Brook some free shoes.
Best Buy Employee Arrested For Stealing Credit Cards
By 2.10.09
Uh oh, another Best Buy employee has been caught swiping data from customers. Unlike the woman last August who went on small time shopping sprees, this woman was caught using a card reader to swipe and store info on as many as 4,000 customers at the Best Buy store located at 1880 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd in Palm Beach, Florida.
Capital One: Sorry, Due To "Extraordinary Changes In The Economic Environment" You Need To Pay More
By 2.9.09
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.
Chase Replaces Automatic Payments With Monthly Minimum On All WaMu Credit Cards
By 2.8.09
Is your Washington Mutual credit card set to receive automatic payments? If it is, and you pay anything less than the full balance, then come March 6, you’ll be paying only the monthly minimum. Why? Because it’s an easy way for Chase, WaMu’s new corporate overlord, to make money off unsuspecting cardholders…
Dear HSBC, I Promise I'm In Norway
By 2.8.09
Listen, HSBC Fraud Department, we need to talk. We know it sounds like a joke, but Phil is actually in Norway. We’re sure people call all the time and navigate your byzantine series of computer menus just to tell you hilariously absurd lies like “I’m leaving the country, here’s my forwarding contact information.” We’re sure labeling every foreign transaction as potential fraud isn’t nearly as fun as caring about the part of Phil’s account notes where it says “Travel advisory: In Norway.” The one joy of this endless runaround, the one nugget worth sharing, is that every time you flag a transaction, Phil gets to call you collect, and calling international collect makes a huge difference…
Before Traveling, Make Sure AmEx Hasn't Canceled Your Card
By 2.7.09
Ronnie Sue’s recent trip to Germany was a financial nightmare. Though she warned her bank she would be traveling to Germany, when she arrived, she couldn’t withdraw needed cash. The bank gently suggested that Ronnie Sue draw cash from her credit card, and even offered to refund any cash advance fees. It wasn’t until Ronnie Sue whipped out her AmEx that she learned it had been silently canceled two days before she left…
Bank Of America Blames You And Your Dead Mother For Financial Crisis
By 2.6.09
CSR: Oh, that’s really not the way to look at it. I know that if it were my mother, I’d pay it. That’s why we’re in the banking crisis we’re in: banks having to write off defaulted loans.
Capital One Card Lab Intolerant Towards Snuggie Cult
By 2.6.09
Reader Ed reports that the Capital One Card Lab custom credit-card maker keeps rejecting his request to put a picture of himself wearing a Snuggie on his credit card. After the jump, the rules for which photos are not allowed. I’ve bolded the ones that might apply. Ed thinks he might have gotten tripped up on the “Controversial subject matter such as political or religous statements and/or images” clause, i.e. Capital One thinks Snuggie is a cult.
Student Loan Refund Debit Cards Laden With Hidden Fees
By 2.6.09
A City College of Chicago program that gives student-loan refunds the form of pre-paid debt cards is drawing heat due to its bevy of hidden fees.
WaMu: No Refund, You "Authorized" Those Muggers
By 2.6.09
This tourist in Rome got robbed and WaMu won’t reimburse him for the money they stole from his debit account.
Chase Wants You To Pay Your Taxes By Credit Card. Don't.
By 2.5.09
Chase has emailed its customers a friendly reminder that if you can’t pay your taxes this year, you can charge them on your Chase credit card! Even the IRS site suggests you consider using a credit card if you can’t pay your debt. However, before you do something as debt crazy as charge up a high credit card balance, consider the following points and make sure you’re doing the most financially responsible thing.
Save On Credit Card Bills By Paying Earlier
By 2.4.09
By making one simple change, you can use the same amount of money to pay off your credit card faster.
Don't Draw Genitalia As Your Signature When Paying Via Credit Card
By 2.3.09
After accidentally scribbling nonsense on a verification screen and seeing that it didn’t trigger any alerts, Kingpin at DrunkRepublic decided to start goofing around with his signature when using his credit card. It led to some fun times for a while. Then it backfired. (Warning: the image after the jump is cartoonishly NSWF in a Comcast-at-the-Superbowl sort of way.)
Debunking The Debt Collectors' Spin Doctors
By 2.2.09
The nation’s economic woes make debt collection a topic du jour, but while there are some good bits mixed into the Washington Post’s article, “When Debt Collectors Disrupt Dinner,” it probably should have been titled “What Debt Collectors Would Like You To Say And Do When They Call About The Credit Card.” Read it with a shaker of salt. Read on for the good, the bad, and the lazy reporting, plus what you should actually to protect and exercise your rights as a debtor…
