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credit-cards
credit-cards
Woman Sues Wells Fargo For Telling Police She Was Contemplating Suicide
By Chris Morran on February 7, 2012 2:15 PM
113 Comments
An elderly Oregon woman has filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo, alleging that a bank employee harassed her by telling the police she was threatening suicide — and running up a $1,055 hospital bill in the process. More »
How To Build Your Credit Without A Credit Card
By Phil Villarreal on February 7, 2012 10:15 AM
27 Comments
While responsible credit card use builds up your credit history, reckless plastic spending can ruin your finances. If you don't trust yourself with credit cards, you can opt for other ways to prove to financial institutions that you're responsible with money and worthy of loans with reasonable rates. More »
Discover's Purchase Protection Doesn't Extend To Purchases With Cash-Back Rewards
By Laura Northrup on February 1, 2012 9:00 AM
35 Comments
One of the benefits of using a credit card for all of your purchases (and paying it off every moth, naturally) is the extension and sometimes expansion of a product's original warranty. That's what Cindy does, making purchases with her Discover card for protection and cash back. What she learned not long ago is that you can have the warranty extension, or use the balance in your cash back account, but you can't do both. More »
Consumers Getting Mixed Messages On Debit Cards In Wake Of Swipe Reform
By Chris Morran on January 24, 2012 11:30 AM
28 Comments
Last year, banks and financial regulators on Capitol Hill went head-to-head over swipes fees, the amount of money banks charge businesses each time they accept a debit card purchase. While swipe fees did end up being reduced by only a fraction of what had initially been proposed, banks are still whining about the pennies they are no longer bringing in. Thus, shoppers are receiving mixed messages from retailers and financial institutions about whether to use their debit card, credit card, or cash. More »
Don't Bother Getting A Kindle Fire Unless You Have A Credit Card
By Laura Northrup on January 13, 2012 9:00 AM
194 Comments
Heather really likes her new Kindle Fire, once she got it working, but she's sending it back. Why would she do that? Because the Fire isn't a very fun device without Amazon Prime, and you need to have a credit card to sign up for Prime. She doesn't have any credit cards, and she doesn't want any. So back the Kindle goes. More »
Here's A Credit Card That Looks To Trap ID Thieves By Making Them Think They're Clever
By Chris Morran on January 11, 2012 3:04 PM
100 Comments
We've already seen credit cards that generate unique, random security codes every time a card user makes a purchase, so that it would require the buyer to have the physical card on them in order to buy something. But here's a card that wants the ID thief to think he's more clever than he is. More »
(afagen)
U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Consumer Credit Card Claims Must Be Handled By Arbitration
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 11, 2012 12:00 PM
109 Comments
Credit card companies scored a win yesterday, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that credit card claims by consumers must go to arbitration, instead of being tried in a court room. The ruling overturned one made by a U.S. appeals court in San Francisco that had said the Credit Card Repair Organizations Act was meant to bar arbitration. More »
Bank Of America Thinks I'm My Own Dad, Turns Me Away During Emergency
By Laura Northrup on January 4, 2012 8:00 AM
46 Comments
When Bank of America issued Jorge's credit card in 1998, for some reason that remains unclear, the card was issued in the name of "Jorge [Lastname] Sr." Jorge doesn't have a son named Jorge Junior, and there's no reason why the account should be set up that way, but Bank of America assured him that this wouldn't be a problem. And it wasn't. Until he needed an emergency cash advance, and couldn't prove to the unfamiliar branch's satisfaction that he hadn't, say, stolen his dad's credit card. More »
The Average Credit Card Now Comes With An APR Of Over 15 Percent
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 3, 2012 5:00 PM
65 Comments
With credit card interest rates reaching new highs, you might want to try to pay off that card as fast as you can, so you don't end up paying through the nose if those rates continue to climb. More »
(ninja IX)
Debt Collectors Resurrect Old Debt By Issuing New Credit Cards
By Chris Morran on January 3, 2012 1:15 PM
68 Comments
People with credit scores that prevent anyone but their mom from lending them money are suddenly receiving offers that allow them to have a credit card — on the condition that they pay back part of an old debt that they are no longer legally obligated to pay. More »
Macy's Can't Keep Track Of Who Made Which Payments On Whose Credit Account
By Laura Northrup on January 3, 2012 8:00 AM
28 Comments
Call center representatives who handle Macy's credit card inquiries are starting to wonder what's wrong with reader Melannie. She keeps making $150 payments on her account, but she doesn't owe anything. She hasn't even used the card since 2009. They can refund her the overpayment, but that's not the problem. Because she never made the payment in the first place. More »
Resurrect That Worn-Out Credit Card Strip
By Phil Villarreal on December 22, 2011 4:00 PM
30 Comments
Use your credit card enough and you'll render the magnetic strip unreadable. You can call the company and have a replacement sent over, but in the meantime there's a quick fix to which you can resort. More »
Shield Yourself From Credit Card Skimmers
By Phil Villarreal on December 22, 2011 2:15 PM
16 Comments
Since you never know for sure whether or not there's a skimmer device on credit card readers you use, any swipe potentially puts you at risk of identity theft. The best you can do is to avoid explicitly dangerous situations. More »
(dooley)
Would Capping Credit Card Interest Rates Help Or Hurt Consumers?
By Chris Morran on December 12, 2011 3:30 PM
92 Comments
Many Americans are carrying more than $10,000 in revolving credit card debt, some with an APR of over 20%. But while the idea of putting a more reasonable ceiling on these rates might seem like a way to help get these folks out of debt and back in the black, some say it would likely have no positive effect on the economy at large. More »
American Shoppers Are Back To Using Their Credit Cards
By Chris Morran on December 5, 2011 12:30 PM
28 Comments
When the economy jumped head-first into a drained pool in 2008, many American shoppers turned away from using their credit cards to make purchases, instead opting to use debit cards and cash. But during the last six months, the numbers show that we've returned to pressing the "credit" button at the checkout line. More »
Banks Pull Credit Card Tricks To Lure Consumers Back Into Spending More Money
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 2, 2011 5:00 PM
58 Comments
Now that recession-weary consumers have been shedding debt, banks are doing their best to convince you to get that spending back up. Somewhat tricky moves from various credit card companies could result in a high balance if you're not careful. More »
(TLFagan)
Online Tools That Show You The Benefits Of Paying Off Debt
By Phil Villarreal on November 25, 2011 3:30 PM
25 Comments
The longer debt hangs over you, the easier it is to become used to it and disregard the damage it's causing. In particular, credit card debt can nail you the hardest if you ignore high interest rates while paying the minimum balance every month. More »
Visa Launching PayPal-Like V.me Service Next Year
By Marc Perton on November 17, 2011 3:00 PM
32 Comments
Visa will roll out its V.me online payment service early next year. The company, which announced plans for the service in March, has also launched a developer program to help merchants incorporate its payment systems into their web sites and other products. More »
Wells Fargo Tries To Predict The Future, Sucks At It
By Laura Northrup on November 17, 2011 9:15 AM
34 Comments
A few months before her wedding, Megan bought her bridesmaids' dresses at J. Crew, and opened a store credit card account to get 20% off. She scheduled a payment through her bank, Wells Fargo, to pay off the balance, then panicked weeks later when she saw a large chunk of money leaving her bank account that she didn't remember authorizing. She called to cancel, remembered what the payment was for, then canceled the cancellation. This led Wells Fargo's fraud-flagging systems to believe that the next time Megan opened a store credit card and paid the bill, they should just go ahead and cancel the payment. More »
(Square)
Salvation Army Bell Ringers Will Accept Credit Card Payments With Their Smart Phones
By Meg Marco on November 16, 2011 3:30 PM
56 Comments
The Salvation Army has announced that they are testing Square, a service that allows a smart phone to accept credit card payments. The test will take place at 40 locations in Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago and New York. Previous attempts at accepting credit cards weren't successful, but the Army is feeling optimistic that consumers will adopt this new way of paying. More »
