The New Credit-Card Tricks

[Steve02C5]

Very interesting read:

..."Card companies are figuring out how to replace old fees with new ones," says Victor Stango, an associate economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a professor at the University of California, Davis, who has been analyzing how the Card Act will affect consumer banking. "It's a race between regulators writing ever-more-complex laws and credit-card companies setting up ever-more-complex fees...."


A Consumer's Guide to the Latest Credit-Card Traps - WSJ.com

[Steve02C5]

Duplicated - my mistake.

[buddy]

And? People should just pay their bills on time and forget about it.

[buddy]

Not to change the subject or steal the thread, but what kind of dog is that in your avatar? Looks like an american eskimo, but too big for one. Just curious.

[mojo]

looks like a white wolf...........btw......just cut up the cards and use a debit card or cash!

[Steve02C5]

Mojo, you're one astute dude and the first person to ever realize TAZ, my 7 yr. old pet, is a wolfdog weighing in at 140#. Got him he was 6 weeks old. Everyone asks me why I wanted such a big dog, I tell 'em "Hell, he only weighed a few pounds when I got him." I had professional trainer work with me and TAZ, as a young dog, so he's very well-mannered. He loves the girls and they love him.

[CathyInBlue]

I got screwed just like the programmer in that story got screwed. Due date was on Sunday. I paid on Friday. BUT! They don't allow you to date the payment on the date you make it. They don't even allow you to date the payment on the NEXT day. And the day after the next day was a Sunday, when they DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENTS either. So in order to make a payment on that Friday, they forced me, through the web form, to forward date it on Monday, which was NOT the day I paid, but which was the day after the due date.

They did the same thing to me. $39 late fee and jacked me to 29.99%. I called and bitched them out. They dropped the $39 late fee, but refused to drop my interest rate back to what it was. They would only drop it to 24.99%, which I'll be damned if I'm going to use a card with a goddamned 25% interest rate. I still hold the card, but it does not and never will again hold a balance.

[Mudinyeri]

Well, it should come as no surprise that a credit card company, bank or any other company for that matter would try to find ways to replace revenue lost to regulation. After all, these companies have to make a profit to stay in business. They also have to make a profit to continue to employ the individuals who work for them.

Simply put, consumers need to take some personal responsibility and educate themselves. If you INITIATE a payment on a given day that payment doesn't reach the company that same day. Just because you initiate a payment on a Friday, as in Cathy's example, doesn't mean that payment is received on that Friday. In fact, depending on the time of day the payment was initiated on that Friday it may not have been received by the following Monday.

In full disclosure, I work for a bank. I don't work in the credit card area but am fairly familiar with it. My wife handles our bills and has occasionally missed a payment due date (credit card or otherwise). Usually, a calm and rational call to the company straightens things out. You may need to ask for a supervisor for approvals to waive fees, etc. but I don't think we've ever had a situation where the company wasn't willing to work with us. If that were the case and it was a credit card company we would simply drop that card and use another.

A free market economy works, people. We don't need the government babysitting us with regulations.

I saw a story on the news this morning about the number of children killed by being left in hot vehicles by their parents. The reporter asked the rhetorical questions, "What is the government doing to prevent this? Why aren't there regulations on the vehicle manufacturers?" Seriously? Give me a break.

I look at the credit card situation similarly. Essentially, we're asking, "What is the government doing to protect me from being charged for paying my bills late and failing to manage my credit well?"

[JSDinTexas]

Got my bill for my CC charges and at the minimum payment I will get the balance to zero in 19 years. (I pay it off and never get charged interest, so no problem, BUT).
The bottom line is the govt and business are sparring but the citizen is the one getting punched.