Consumerist

Posts Tagged “

Mastercard

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credit card reform

Consumers: We're Mad As Hell And We're Not Going To Charge It Anymore!

Once upon a time, Peter Finch won an Oscar for telling us to go to our window, open it, and yell, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore!" Now thousands and thousands of consumers are doing just that, but instead of yelling out their windows, they're yelling at the Federal Reserve in the form of a record breaking number of public comments about some proposed credit card reforms. Not as sexy as yelling like a madman, but far, far more effective. More »

9:35 AM on Thu Aug 28 2008
By Meg Marco
11,666 views, 73 comments

Latest by bwcbwc: @RamV10: That's the way my cards were until this past summer. All of the cards have moved up the payment more »

travel tips

Which Credit Cards Have The Best Rental Car Insurance?

One of the tricks that seasoned travelers know is to always deny the insurance when renting a car. Why? Because the credit card that they are using already comes with insurance that they are familiar with, and because you are required to deny coverage from the rental car company in order to take advantage of your credit card's insurance. But how do you pick a credit card that has good rental insurance? More »

1:24 PM on Thu Aug 7 2008
By Meg Marco
13,987 views, 65 comments

Latest by GiGiG: On a business trip, I used my Amex to rent at Hertz. I received a complimentary upgrade because I was more »

your rights

More On Minimum Purchases, Surcharges, And Other Credit Card Merchant Agreement Violations, From The Companies Themselves

We've posted a lot of stories of businesses requiring customers who pay with a credit card to make minimum purchases, or pay a surcharge, or show ID. And as we've repeatedly said, the businesses' merchant agreements with the credit card companies forbids these practices. A reader wrote in to argue that this might not be true, as many businesses contract with third-party credit card processors, and are not bound by the merchant agreement. So we did some investigating. More »

Feature

2:42 PM on Wed Jul 30 2008
By Alex Chasick
24,577 views, 120 comments

Latest by rdwng11: Can a merchant charge a fee when your card has been declined? In my case I was attempting to pay more »

credit cards

10 Credit Card Company Tricks To Beware

Are you smarter than a credit card company? They've got billions riding on their belief that you're not. Check out these 10 methods, via the Americans for Fairness in Lending, credit card companies use to make extra money off you that you may not even be aware of, knowledge that could save you hundreds in extra fees. More »

1:25 PM on Mon Jul 14 2008
By Ben Popken
50,412 views, 85 comments

Latest by grand1: Just got off the phone with CitiBank after discovering that they've been stealing from us for months. For the past more »

credit cards

10 Things You Might Not Know About Your Credit Card

As you might imagine, we get a lot of questions about using credit cards. Based on those piles of emails we've put together a list of 10 things a lot of people don't know about credit cards. Enjoy!

1) Unsigned Cards Are Not Valid And Merchants Can And Will Refuse Them
You might think that everyone knows that you have to sign your credit card in order for it to be valid — after all — there's a panel on the back that says "Not Valid Unless Signed," but you'd be shocked at the number of angry emails we get from people who have tried to use an unsigned credit card with "SEE ID" or "CHECK ID" written on it and were turned away when they refused to sign their card. More »

Feature

8:45 AM on Thu Jul 10 2008
By Meg Marco
143,564 views, 225 comments

Latest by themadhatta: It should be noted that all of these agreements with credit card companies are subject to law's that differ state more »

your rights

This McDonald's Charges 25¢ To Use A Credit Or Debit Card, Violates Merchant Agreement

Reader Brandon sent us this picture of a McDonald's violating its merchant agreement by charging a fee for using a credit or debit card. The text reads, "FEE ASSOCIATED WITH CREDIT/DEBIT CARD OF 25¢ WILL BE APPLIED TO CARD TOTAL." More »

4:16 PM on Wed Jun 25 2008
By Alex Chasick
20,710 views, 119 comments

Latest by mebaman: @Concerned_Citizen: Simple: The credit card lobby is stronger than the small business lobby. more »

privacy

Mastercard Says Merchants Can't Require Additional ID, Except In Specific Circumstances

A MasterCard spokesperson has confirmed, just like we've been telling you all along, that a store cannot refuse to sell you something solely because you refuse to provide additional identification along with your MasterCard. The only time it's ok is if it's required for shipping, or when you're at a gas pump or making orders via internet, phone, or mail, in which case they can use the MasterCard Address Verification System (AVS). But if you're in a store, right in front of them, in the flesh, it violates their MasterCard merchant agreement. Consumers experiencing this can fill out a Merchant Violation form found in the FAQ/Contact US part of Mastercard.com. Full statement, inside... More »

4:23 PM on Fri Jun 13 2008
By Ben Popken
6,451 views, 67 comments

Latest by AlexPDL: I also wish they WOULD ask for ID. Why would anyone be against this? It can't really be because its more »

good customer service

Customer's EECB To Best Buy Scores Direct Hit—Rewards Glitch Is Fixed, Plus Here's $75

A few weeks ago, Zach emailed us to say that his Rewards Zone Mastercard hasn't worked properly in the five months he's had it, and no one at Best Buy had been able to help. We pointed him to our Guide To Fighting Back, and he responded tonight with an update. More »

11:01 PM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Chris Walters
4,043 views, 9 comments

Latest by rouftop: I wouldn't tag this "Good Customer Service." If you have to use an EECB, that means that the company more »

rude

IHOP Threatens To Call The Police Because You Refuse To Show ID With Credit Card

Reader Jered says that IHOP refused to accept his credit card without seeing ID and threatened to call the police and report him for dine-and-dashing if he didn't show it to them. Here's his story:
I went to IHOP(INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES) on March 30th with my wife to eat. After our meal I went to the counter to pay and presented my Visa as payment. I was asked for photo ID, and kindly declined. I was then told that they were not going to be able to accept my card without photo ID.
More »

10:59 AM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Meg Marco
20,240 views, 232 comments

Latest by MNRider: Had to chime in. There is no way I'm giving someone my credit card and my ID. That's way too much more »

complaints

Chase Reactivates Dead Card Without Your Permission

Erica writes:
Recently, my husband and I got two new Chase credit cards in the mail. I didn't look closely, assuming that this was a new card for our never-used Chase Mastercard account. This account has been around for seven years, but we prefer another card with a rewards system; the Mastercard account is open only to benefit our credit rating. Therefore, no urgency in activating it — I dropped it in the bill pile to deal with later.
More »

3:30 PM on Mon Mar 10 2008
By Ben Popken
9,031 views, 35 comments

Latest by justdan: I canceled my Chase credit card due to the attempt to trick me into signing up for some service using more »