The Kansas City Star reports the amount of time people have to pay their credit card bills keeps getting smaller, increasing the likelihood of incurring late fees, late fees which have been rising in cost over the years. Consumers used to have 30 days. Then it was 25. Now companies are moving towards 20. Furthermore, the date starts when they issue the bill, and it can then take 2-4 days to reach you. Cattle prods towards customers using online bill pay, death by a thousand fees. Keep an eye on those due dates, you never know when they’ll magically shrink again.
credit cards
HSBC Says Subprime Meltdown Spreading Into Credit Cards, Other Loans
By 11.14.07
HSBC warned today that the subprime meltdown is spreading into credit cards and other types of consumer loans, says the NYT. The bank announced that it will be taking a larger write down than it forecast, due to the spreading delinquencies.
That $3000 Was Fraud? Chase Doesn't Care, It Only Wants Money
By 11.14.07
Brandon writes:“In January 2007, I was traveling in Mexico and was mugged, having my wallet and passport stolen. By the time I got back to the hotel and began calling my credit card companies to cancel, the criminal had charged close to $3,000 on my CHASE Circuit City Visa card. I explained to CHASE that the charges were fraud, and they sent me a fraudulent charge affidavit to complete and have notarized. As I couldn’t take care of this until I returned from my trip, and had more important things like a passport to worry about, I waited a few weeks before completing the paperwork and during those weeks received about 2 calls a day from CHASE urging me to send the documents.”
7 Reasons To Use Your Credit Card For Everything
By 11.14.07
Wise Bread has an interesting post detailing 7 reason why one of their writers uses her credit card for everything. She finds it a useful tool for maximizing efficiency. Everything is all in one place! If you don’t carry a balance and are good with a budget, why not use a credit card as an organizational tool?
Update: Chase Changes Due Date Without Warning, Charges Late Fees
By 11.12.07
“I talked to you briefly on 10-29-07 about my Chase credit card and having the late fee forced onto my account due to them changing the due date on my bill and an article was written about my success. I had spoken with a CSR and I had thought I got my late free removed, and my due date changed. Only to find out this months statement to have my due date again on the 26th but now my minimum payment was jacked up to over 3x the normal because THEY HAD NOT REMOVED THE LATE FEE.”
Discover Lowered APR When Asked, But High Rate Still Applies To Old Balance!
By 11.9.07
“I took your advice a while ago on asking your credit card company politely for a lower APR. I asked Discover Card to give me just that.
So What You're Saying Is Bank Of America Is Basically Powerless To Stop Credit Card Fraud?
By 11.9.07
“Got a charge on my credit card from “Member Services” for $19.23. This is a card I use for 3 specific bills, and I pay them off the day after the charge shows. I know it’s coming so this stood out.
Credit Card Rewards Games Grows Riskier
By 11.9.07
The Washington Post profiles a couple with over 20 different credit cards. The Chengs keep four in their wallet and a sticky note to tell them which card to use for which purchases. This year, they made $1,093 from spending $47,800. The Chengs are part of a growing breed of people who try to play the rewards programs offered by credit card companies for fun and profit. But the game has gotten harder. Credit card companies give more like 1% back instead of the 5% of yesteryear, points can be voided if payments are late, and there’s those will-o-the wisp airline miles…
It's Been Declined: Dedicated To Bank Of America
By 11.6.07
The perils of credit card abuse are given play in this amusing music video made by YouTube personality Remy. It’s set to the tune of “A boy named Sue” by Johnny Cash (we think, or at least it’s channeling it). A college student maxes out his credit cards and gets declined in a fancy restaurant.
By 11.5.07
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Could credit cards be the next subprime meltdown? [Fortune]
Safeway DVD Kiosk Comes With Credit Card Skimming Device
By 11.4.07
Crafty identity thieves attached a credit card skimming device to a DVD kiosk at a Colorado Safeway. The 2-inch skimming device was discovered only after a customer asked a Safeway employee for help after his card wouldn’t scan.
What The Fed's Rate Cut Means For You
By 11.4.07
The Fed’s recent quarter-point rate cut could either mean more or less cash in your pocket, depending on what you accounts you own. Here is the breakdown:
New Credit Cards Incorporate Security Key Fob Features
By 11.2.07
This new kind of credit card being shown off at trade shows is designed to prevent against loss due to identity theft by incorporating a security key fob with a credit card. The idea is that when you buy online, swipe at the store, or take money out of the ATM, you hit a button to randomly generate a unique, disposable key code. Enter that code to verify the transaction. This way, someone would actually have to steal your physical credit card to conduct fraud. Best of all, it’s the same size and thickness as a regular credit card.
UPDATE: Taping Pre-Paid Business Reply Envelopes To Packages Does Not Work
By 11.1.07 — Updated: 2.28.14
Yesterday we told you that one way to get back at junk mailers is to tape their business reply envelopes (BRE) to heavy boxes and send them back, but it turns out this doesn’t work. It used to, up until the mid-90’s you could apparently tape a BRE to a coffin and the Post Office would mail it. Now, BRE’s can only be used the way junk mailers want them to be used, for the conduct of junk-mail related transactions. [More]
Chase Changes Due Date Without Warning, Changes APR From 3.9% To 29.99%
By 11.1.07
Dan writes: “I was scammed big by JP Morgan Chase Credit Cards. They apparently have “floating due dates” that we had not encountered in our 10+ years as customers but somehow February of 2007 was the magic month. They moved our due date up by 3 days, our payment was two days late. They raised our interest rate from 3.99% to 29.99%…Amazingly enough, on our March bill the due date is exactly the same as January. They claim they sent us a notification letter, but I never received one. I spoke to the worst customer service person ever, Dennis Broyles, who claimed that no one in the company had the power to change my interest rate back and that he had no supervisor I could speak with. It was outrageous.”
Junk Mail Revenge: Taping Pre-Paid Business Reply Envelopes To Packages Works?
By 10.31.07
This Instructable covers the time-honored art of sending refuse back to junk mailers in their own pre-paid business reply envelopes. What’s interesting, though, is in the comments on the Instructable one guy says that you can take the business reply envelopes and tape them to boxes and the post office will accept it! This greatly increases the scope, range, and weight of the objects that you can send back to junk mailers. Broken lightbulbs, bricks, this week’s trash, your imagination is the limit. (Don’t forget to visit optoutprescreen.com first to get yourself permanently off 95% of junk mail lists). [More]
UPDATE: Amex Slaps Best Buy, Obtains Refund For Reader's Box Of Tile Hard Drive
By 10.30.07
We love a happy ending. Sam has written in with the good news that Amex was able to get a full refund from Best Buy after they sold him a box of bathroom tiles instead of a hard drive.
With Free Rickshaw Rides. Chase Lures College Students To 23% APR Credit Card
By 10.30.07
Chase is giving college students free rides in special marketing rickshaws. Reader Ben reports seeing some, which look like the one pictured, on the campus of his North Carolina State University. Apparently the whole ride around the driver tries to sell you on the “Plus 1” credit card with its super-dope 23% APR. There’s also pitches for Bee Movie. The card gives you “karma points” which you can cash in for crap, share with friends or donate to “causes.” College kids go love to feel socially aware and responsible, and if it can be accomplished without leaving the dorm, all the better. Chase is also marketing the card on Facebook, the social networking site for people who go to college. The Plus 1 card earned a lemon award from creditcards.org.
