From paying bills online to reading an e-book, advancements in technology have changed just about every aspect of consumers’ lives that used to be printed on paper. But what if you prefer getting your credit card statement in the mail and then find out that you’ve been changed over paperless statements without being asked? [More]
statements
Visa Unveils Plan To Breakdown Airline Fees Separately On Statements
With all the extra fees tacked on by airlines – bag fees, WiFi fees, seat upgrade fees – it can be hard to remember exactly what you paid for each of these add-on charges. Visa customers won’t have to worry about keeping things straight anymore, as the credit card company now plans to breakdown airline charges on monthly statement. [More]
Two Weeks After Visit, Restaurant Still Hasn't Charged My Card
Joe paid for his restaurant meal, except he apparently didn’t. Two weeks after he paid his check by debit card, the charge has yet to show up on his account. The thing is, he wasn’t happy with the meal or the service, so he’s not all that motivated to call management and tell them they probably forgot to charge him. [More]
Consumer And Banking Scholars Speak Out In Favor Of Consumer Financial Protection Agency
Earlier this week, a group of 70 law professors from universities across the country released a 16-page Statement of Support (pdf) detailing why they’re in favor of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Act. You can read the statement yourself via the link above, but we’ve summarized them below.
Grab Your Old Statements, We're Going To The Shred-A-Thon!
Tucson, Arizona is hosting a community shred-a-thon in October, where private citizens can show up with boxes of sensitive data and have it shredded for free. Back in July, the Wall Street Journal looked at the growing trend of community shredding events as an example of how regular people are taking action to prevent identity theft.
Capital One Charges Woman $29 Late Fee For Paying Too Early
Jason writes, “My wife just sent me an email saying that she paid ‘too early’ (before the new statement was generated) and got charged a ‘Late Fee’ of $29!” He says she called Capital One and got the fee waived, but it’s a good reminder that if you make a payment before the new statement period begins, your card provider will likely apply the payment to the previous statement period, and will still expect a fresh payment from you by the new due date. Just make sure your payments aren’t scheduled so early that they’re applied to the past and you’ll be fine.
Radio Shack Takes Selling Used Digital Recorder Containing Personal Information As New Seriously
THE QUOTE: “RadioShack takes seriously its obligation to safeguard the privacy of our customers. In this isolated instance, our records indicate a customer returned a digital recording device and said it did not work. Unknown to us, it actually did work and apparently contained recordings of personal conversations the customer failed to erase from the memory before returning the product.”
Hewlett-Packard Takes Shipping Malware-Infested USB Sticks Very Seriously
WHO: Hewlett-PackardWHAT: A batch of USB keys for HP’s line of ProLiant servers have been shipped infected with the worms W32.Fakerecy and W32.SillyFDC. Both can allow attackers to take over a system.WHERE: HP ships USB sticks with malware [CNET] (Thanks to Jimbo!)
Quickly Spot Restaurant Tip Fraud On Your Credit Card Statement
Punny Money has a neat, simple trick for protecting yourself from restaurant tip fraud, which is when a waiter will change the numbers on your credit card receipt in order to increase his tip. The best way to prevent it is to match all your monthly receipts to your statement, but you can use this simple checksum technique to scan a statement and quickly spot any suspicious transactions without referring to your receipts.
Citibank's "All-Electronic Program" Sends Paper Notice Stating Account Is Available To View Online
After enrolling in Citibank’s “All-Electronic Program,” FiveCentNickel was surprised to find the following notice in his mailbox:
Your Citibank statement is now available at http://www.citicards.com/. This notification is part of the All-Electronic Program you enrolled in to receive your statements online only instead of in the mail.
How counterintuitive. If Citi needs to send mail, why not send the account statement, rather than a notice that the statement is available online? Better yet, send neither. Or at least change the name to something more accurate, like the “Mostly, But Not Quite All-Electronic Program.” — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER