4 Credit-Card Protections Shoppers Should Know About [Smart Money] “Thanks to some little-known credit-card protections, shoppers don’t have to get stuck with unwanted or broken merchandise.”
money
By 5.14.08
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Inflation rose far less than expected in April, mitigating fears that the Feds would have to grapple with both trying to loosen credit and fight off rising prices. [AP]
Sallie Mae's 100+ Point FICO Drop Error Getting Fixed
By 5.14.08
Sallie Mae has publicly apologized for a coding error, potentially affecting around 1 million customers, that caused some consumers credit scores to drop over 100 points, and some consumers report that their dinged scores are already back up. If your score is not back to normal and you are in the middle of a transaction where your good credit is at stake, Sallie Mae said it will provide a credit reference letter. You can also call Sallie Mae customer service at 1-888-2-sallie. Sallie has pledged that the fix is in, but consumers can still take matters into their own hands by pulling their free credit report from annualcreditreport.com and disputing the incorrect information with Experian. Note, it’s against Federal law for creditors to report false information to credit bureaus, and consumers can sue violators up to $1,000.
FICO Scores Drop Over 100 Points After Sallie Mae Recode, Potentially Millions Affected
By 5.13.08
Consumers are complaining that a change in how Sallie Mae decided to recode some loans caused their credit score to drop by over a hundred points. That’s enough to make a $93,240 difference in a home loan’s total cost. Here’s what happened.
Your Complete Portfolio in Only Seven Investments
By 5.13.08
It’s almost part of human nature to make investing more complicated than it needs to be. Seemingly endless investment options, elaborate tax shelters, real estate “no money down” programs and the like certainly muddy the investment landscape. But CNN Money has taken the opposite view and attempted to simplify a model portfolio into a list of only seven basic investments…
Costco Is A Great Place For Cheap Drugs
By 5.12.08
Consumer Reports bought bought Plavix, Levoxyl, Detrol, and Alendronate at a whole bunch of different pharmacies, and Costco came out the cheapest overall. Here’s how the 13 places they tested rang up:
By 5.12.08
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Mortgage meltdown isn’t just for people with bad credit, 2.3% of prime loans were 60 days past due in February, up from 1.4% a year ago and the highest in a decade. [USATODAY]
Store-Branded Credit Cards Triple How Often Cardholder Shops There
By 5.12.08
They tell us if we can get someone to sign up, and be approved, that we have guaranteed that that customer will shop at our store, on average, three times more often than they would have if they didn’t have a card with our store’s name on it.
Don't Get Cheated On Closing Costs
By 5.8.08
Some homebuyers are pissed because when the actual line item fees for various closing costs come in less than the estimation, their closing agents are simply pocketing the difference. How do you fight back? This article on LawyersandSettlements says,
Personal Finance Roundup
By 5.8.08
Eight Ways to Slash Travel Costs [Yahoo Finance] “Get creative with these eight tips, travel off the beaten path a little, and save some of your cash for when you get home.”
Latest And Best Online Savings Accounts Rates
By 5.7.08
Now that interest rates have fallen, online savings accounts aren’t offering the same kind of return as before, but you can still stay liquid and get more than what you get in a brick and mortar bank. Here’s some online saving accounts offered by FDIC-insured banks ranked by the interest they pay out:
Where's My Stimulus Payment?
By 5.7.08
The IRS has a tool that lets you find out when your Stimulus Payment will arrive. Just punch in your social, filing status, and number of exemptions on your 2007 taxes. Its usefulness is limited, though, as it can’t tell you when your payment arrive until about a week before they send out the check.
Reach Chase Bank Executive Customer Service
By 5.6.08
If you have a problem that regular customer service hasn’t been able to solve, give this gal working in the Chase Bank executive customer service office a shot: 713-262-3866, Michelle Crabtree. Although, she figures in an upcoming reader complaint, and not favorably. If you have a specific credit card complaint, that info is here, and the general Chase Bank executive customer service desk is 800-242-7399.
BoA Closes Your Credit Cards If You Ask Why They Increased Your APR
By 5.6.08
It’s evident the pendulum swung too far in terms of giving away too much credit, but now it seems to be swinging back in the opposite direction just as hard, with banks getting too tightfisted, even when it doesn’t make sense. For instance, the APR on James’s BoA credit card jumped from 9.32% to 13.99%, and shortly after he called to see about getting it back, they closed all three of his credit cards. One was a Gold account with a lifetime APR of 7.99%, the other had a 1.99% APR. Just last month, he received an offer to transfer $15,000 to the 1.99% card. Obviously at least one department in Bank of America thinks he’s a good credit risk. It appears some other expressionless faces of the massive dodecahedron that is the entity called Bank of America disagreed.
The Chargeback Blacklist
By 5.6.08
The ChargeBackBureau sells merchants a blacklist with names of customers who have done chargebacks. Merchants are supposed to be able to access its lists and deny transactions to customers if they see they’re chargeback-prone. When a consumer is put on the list, they get sent an email warning them they’re “going to have trouble purchasing goods or services on the Internet in the future.” ChargeBackBureua’s headquarters are conveniently located in Panama, which is convenient for its American clients, as such databases are illegal in the US. Chargebacks are an important tool for consumers to fight back against merchants who won’t give you what you paid for. Here’s how to do one. If a merchant won’t do business with you because you stood up for your rights before, then you shouldn’t do business with them either.
Mint.com's Plans For Portfolio Recommendations
By 5.5.08
I asked Mint.com whether they would be adding some features to their new investment tracking tool similar to what they do with credit cards and banks. When you add your credit cards and banks to Mint, it has a section where they recommend different credit cards to switch to and show you how much savings or lower APR you can get. In response, CEO Aaron Patzer said that in the future they will identify the lowest cost brokerage for you based on how often you trade and with how much money, as well as, and, this is very important, exposing management fees and expense ratios.Very cool. Investors could really benefit by such transparent access to investing-rleated feesFor a good perspective on how fees can really chew up your nest egg, read our post, “How Your 401(k) Is Ripping You Off“
