Protection from bad credit reports has come a long way, baby

The report about protection from bad credit reports has finally come out after a long wait of 6 years when the U.S. Congress mandated it in 2003. It is a collaboration between Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve. It will affect mortgage and all other loan applicants and home purchasers. Good news for everyone … Continue Reading »

Is it free or $14.95 monthly service you probably don’t need?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is not amused with the company responsible for the popular advertisement in the media promoting freecreditreport.com. It has long believed that the company is deliberately diverting people from a government-mandated site where consumers can get free credit reports by law. FTC says the company is using the reports as … Continue Reading »

The poor are subsidizing the rich – say what?

The poor are subsidizing the rich – say what? Are you crazy? No I am not crazy. Let me explain. A rich dude with 10 credit cards goes into a store and buys stuff using his plastics. The card companies charge the store a certain amount of fees for giving the store the convenience to … Continue Reading »

Will other card issuers follow Amex to end gift card fee?

American Express said Wednesday, September 30, it would eliminate monthly fees on its popular gift cards. Will other major card issuers follow? The move certainly puts pressure on them.
The company’s decision, which takes effect immediately, goes further than legislation Congress enacted in the spring that would limit, but not eliminate, monthly fees on gift … Continue Reading »

It’s not always possible to prevent credit or charge card fraud

It’s not always possible to prevent credit or charge card fraud from happening. But there are a few steps you can take to make it more difficult for a scum to capture your card or card numbers and minimize the possibility. Mind you nothing in this regard is fool-proof. You can only minimize the financial … Continue Reading »

I understand FICO but what the heck is ChexSystems?

When you go to your neighborhood bank to open an account, most probably you would be accepted and you would open that account. There are folks who are unfortunately rejected. How does a bank decide whom to accept and whom to reject? Well! the bank asks for the services of the national account verification company … Continue Reading »

Overdraw for $5 worth of fast food on debit card, bank fees $35

If you were the bank, you would be happy – 4th of July, bells ringing. But you are the consumer. You don’t check your account, you overdraw and the bank charges you $35 for the $5 worth of food. You are debited $40.
Some folks don’t realize this. Imagine if 100,000 people did that in the … Continue Reading »

Can the new credit card laws protect us from ourselves?

Maybe, maybe not. One thing is for sure. In the Western World and Japan and a few other countries, owning a credit card or two, or perhaps ten for some, is almost a must. It is nearly impossible to avoid it entirely. It has become a swine flue of your finances, a pandemic if you … Continue Reading »

The anaconda squeeze in the credit swamp of the consumer misery

The anaconda squeeze in the credit swamp of the consumer misery has been relaxed and loosened up. Thanks U.S. Senate. For months now, the card companies have been threatening to cut rewards programs sharply to make up for revenue lost because of the new restrictions. Card companies want to make money, and big spenders help … Continue Reading »

Common credit card pitfalls. Do you have a choice?

You charge an amount of your purchase on your credit card. At the end of the month, you receive the bill. You have one of three choices.

Pay the minimum and you have almost double the purchase price and would keep paying for the same amount for a longer period.
Pay a little more than the … Continue Reading »

Why the sponsor of a key bill says banks need to be reined in

President Obama is pressing Congress to pass legislation that will restrain influence of the credit card industry’s practices by Memorial Day. The Senate is currently debating two bills aimed at protecting consumers. One is Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s (D., N.Y.) Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, which passed the House of Representatives in April by a … Continue Reading »

Your business card is CRAP!

What do you think of this guy? He says it took him 25 years to design the business card and it doesn’t fit or belong in a rolodex… Watch this short video.

Understand the credit crisis – visually

Searching for banking, credit and finance in general using my favorite search engine, I came across this rather fine explanation of the credit crisis from Jonathan Jarvis. If you have ten minutes and want to understand how we got into this mess, watch the video. Jonathan offers an overview of the credit crisis. If you … Continue Reading »

Consumers making bare minimum payment

These days, the economy is so bad – no kidding – some credit card issuers are patronizing consumers to just close down their accounts. They are the consumers who have a history of paying the bare minimum on their credit cards every month.
These consumers used to be money-making machines for the credit card companies. … Continue Reading »