The most Popular Posts of the past seven days.
May 19, 2009
Paying for THEIR Bad Choices
The 50-Million or so Americans who pay their credit card bills on time about to be punished. From a story in the N.Y. Times this morning:
"Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups."
Of course the fast paying crowd has been living off those with lesser credit for a long time, getting awards and rewards while paying no annual fee and often no interest, so maybe turnabout is fair play? Is this a good morning for services like Paypal?
[UPDATE: Here's what the new credit cards rules from Congress look like.]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
If my credit card company starts charging interest from the moment the transaction is made, I'll give up the card!
ReplyDeleteThe Southwest Airlines credit card has been very good to me. I would hate to give it up. I've made many flights just paying the Security fee.
In light of the U.S. Senate's passage of a credit overhaul bill for the American people, I find this blog entry quite perplexing, and not only slightly curious... but somewhat disturbing.
ReplyDeleteRemember... there's no such thing as a "free lunch."
I have NO SYMPATHY for banks, insurance companies and other BIG BUSINESS whom of late has been screwing the American people. They have made plenty of money, much of it on the backs of others. THEY made poor choices to push cards on folks who are not credit worthy. THEY made choices based on AVARICE (extreme greed) and built their house of cards on sand using real estate future derivatives (and other such nonsense complex pecuniary paper), and our nation is now paying for their DEREGULATION.
Banks, Insurance and Investment houses, once separate by law - and for damn good reason - are now enjoying a veritable financial orgy, illicit and incestuous fiscal relationships where funds are commingled, opportunities presented from interested parties, which ought to be disinterested, which would be more appropriately likened to a dog catcher luring a dog to a cathouse by telling him it's full of T-bone steak, only to find dog biscuits instead... and no cats.
"That’s a third of credit card customers, 50 million people who have gotten a great deal.” - David Robertson, Nilson Report publisher, a credit card business newsletter
Put another way, Mr. Robertson's remarks could (and probably should) read: "That's two thirds of credit card customers, 100 million people who've gotten screwed (ripped off and legally raped) by banks."
"But with the relaxing of usury laws in some states..."
Usury - the illegal action or practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest.
Think Lowell Baron.
Come on, Tim!
Usury!
That such laws were "relaxing" should make ANYONE hopping mad (not Hopping John)!
"Banks are not required to publicly reveal how much money they make from penalty interest rates and fees..."
Why NOT!?!
FYI, and toward "full disclosure," I have NO proverbial "dog in this fight," since I have used paper (cash or debit card) for well over 15 years.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that I don't have debt, for I do, it's just that I don't use, and haven't used credit cards for well nigh on 15 or more years.