You “win” when stores OK your debit card purchases even though there’s not enough money in your account to cover the bill. And as a post-game bonus, you get a trophy filled with overdraft fees.
Fees
The Overdraft Campaign: Banks Try to Scare Customers into Accepting $35 Fees
The overwhelming majority of bank customers don’t want overdraft protection. According to one survey, 80% of debit card holders say they’d rather skip on the arrangement, in which banks allow customers to spend more money than their accounts hold, in exchange for a fee of $30 or $35 each time the customer overdraws. The program amounts …
The Customer Service Confrontation: What to Say to Get Fees Waived
“Pretty please” probably isn’t going to cut it. You want to be polite but firm, knowledgeable but not a know-it-all. And when the time comes, you might have to threaten to close your account—and it’s best if you mean you’d actually do just that.
Tagging along with Credit Card Reform: More Fees, Higher Interest Rates, and Less Credit Period
The final step in the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (or CARD) goes into effect today. That final letter in the acronym is key: Consumers get a lot more disclosure as to rate changes and fee increases (you must be give 45 days notice) and how long it would take you to pay off your balance by making only …
The Problem with a Special One-Year Internet-Phone-TV Bundle for $85 a Month
While the introductory price lasts for 12 months, you have to sign a contract for two years—and during that second year, there’s an automatic price hike.
Fighting Words from the Visionary of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency
“Without a watchdog in place, the big banks just keep slinging out uglier and uglier products.”
Credit Card Lies, Myths, and Misunderstandings
What you think you know about credit cards and debt may not be true.
How Battling the Banks and Credit Card Companies Is Like Whack-A-Mole
Smack down one fee or money-making scheme and others are sure to pop up. And even if you’re really good at the game, there are always more moles than you can possibly whack.
College Applications for Dummies—and Cheapskates
A growing number of colleges are allowing would-be students to use fast-track applications, and in some cases that means that all a high school senior needs to do put a signature on the page. Application done. No forms to fill in, no recommendations to gather, no application fee, no essay. Just sign here.
Don’t Want to Pay for a Web-Enabled Cell-Phone? Too Bad
To many customers, the recent cell-phone plan price cut heralded by AT&T and Verizon actually amounts to an upsell.
So When Does the Real Cell-Phone Price War Begin?
AT&T and Verizon both recently dropped prices on unlimited calling plans by $30 a month. But other changes make it possible—likely, even—that the wireless providers will make more money off of the typical customer.
Do You Have a Clue How Your Bank Accounts Work?
If not, you’re probably missing out on easy savings and unnecessarily paying hundreds of dollars in fees.