In Australia, credit card issuers simply tack on a percentage—over 5% in some cases—when a customer makes a purchase using plastic. Is this where we’re headed?
Fees
Must-See Recession-Era TV: “The Card Game” and More
PBS’s “Frontline,” which features journalist Lowell Bergman on camera and that awesome, ultra-serious voiceover dude who has the ability to make everything sound like there’s some nefarious conspiracy afoot, takes on the credit card industry—again. Also, TV shows on how to sell your stuff for quick cash, and how to endure financial …
Fed’s Next Target: Gift Card Fees
After stepping into the debit card overdraft fray, the Federal Reserve is now taking on gift cards.
Cell-Phone Bills: Even Economists Can’t Make Sense of Them
You’re charged a lot if you use a cell phone a little. You’re charged a little if you use your cell phone a lot.
Debit Card Overdraft Reform Gets the OK. Now What?
When Congress introduced credit card reform, the banks and credit card issuers reacted by jacking up rates and adding new fees. Likewise, with the Federal Reserve ruling that banks must reform the way debit card overdraft fees are assessed, there will certainly be unintended consequences: Banks are sure to react with new strategies that …
And the Fees Just Keep on Coming
If you’re a Citibank customer, you may be getting hit with a new $7.50 monthly checking fee.
Credit Card Upheaval: Time for You to Wake Up and Take Charge
Whether you’ve got one credit card in your wallet or 13, whether you carry a balance or always pay your full bill on time, big changes happening to the way banks and credit card companies do business will affect you. What can you do? At the very least, you really ought to take a few seconds to read notifications from your credit card …
Guess How Many Credit Card Companies Engage in “Unfair and Deceptive” Practices?
You’d think there would be at least one or two credit card issuers out there that weren’t totally trying to rip off customers. But you’d be wrong.
Bank Fee Horror Stories
There’s no shortage of anecdotes about banks hitting their customers with odd fees. For example, many banks offer free checking accounts for customers who use direct deposit. One teacher says that her bank gives her fee-free checking during the months her salary is direct deposited—but because she gets paid only ten months of the year …
Jacking Up Credit-Card Rates and Fees is Cold. Solution? Freeze Them
The final provisions of new credit card legislation aimed at protecting consumers won’t go into effect until February. What this means is that right now, while consumers are relatively unprotected, credit card companies are raising rates and adding fees to reap in as much profit as possible from their customers before such strategies are …
No More Real Estate Agent Fees. No More Dry Cleaning Bills. No More Charges for Pest Exterminators.
Among a certain group of consumers, it’s becoming a DIY world. To save money, they’re reevaluating many of the services the rest of the world has grown accustomed to paying.
Smartphone Apps that Help You Avoid Bank Fees
One of the frustrations of modern life is that often, you must spend money simply to get your money. I speak of the $3 fee for using an ATM not affiliated with your bank. Now, there are apps for the iPhone and other smartphones to help you avoid ATM fees, as well as other charges, including the ever-annoying overdraft.