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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: credit card

credit card stories: 87 news summaries

1 - 20 of 87 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>

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Credit Cards Rates Jump Ahead of New Regulations

Companies add fees and cut limits in blind cash grab

Nov 6, 09 1:57 PM CST
(Newser) - If your credit card bill just exploded, it wasn’t an accident. Card issuers have been jacking up rates to historic highs—in excess of 30%—cutting limits, and adding new fees in an effort to squeeze money out of customers before new federal regulations kick in Feb. 22. The... More »

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House Financial Services Committee • Mafia • credit card • Barney Frank • banking industry • Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights • credit card reform

BofA Cardholder Rips 'Thieving Bastards'

Foe of 'usury and plunder' won't pay 'til CEO watches video

Sep 14, 09 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - A California woman who says she kept paying her credit card bill even after she lost her job has had enough: She's pledging not to pay down her Bank of America account until the creditor lowers her interest rate, the Huffington Post reports.. It’s “the proverbial first... More »

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Bank of America • credit card • interest rate • consumer debt • Wall Street bailout • Ken Lewis • Ann Minch • debtor

Credit Cards
Cut Deadbeats More Slack

With unemployment rising, companies modify, reduce debt

Sep 10, 09 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - With unemployment nearing 10%, credit card companies are doing something once unheard of: forgiving debt, or modifying it in the customer’s favor, the Washington Post reports. Companies are loathe to discuss the practice, lest it inspire more delinquencies, but according to one industry report, roughly 3 million people... More »

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unemployment • credit card • interest rate • consumer debt • financial crisis • loan modification

Debit Card Overdrafts Bring Banks Billions

Fees make credit card shopping look like the smarter thing to do

Sep 9, 09 9:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Debit card overdraft fees are helping to pay banks’ bills in the recession—and they're hitting customers hard, the New York Times reports. “Banks will let you overspend on your debit card in a way that is much, much more expensive than almost any credit card,” says an... More »

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bank • debit card • credit card • fees • regulator • overdraft fee

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors indicted three hackers in Washington today for allegedly snagging more than 130 million credit card numbers from retail and financial organizations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Calling it the greatest US debit- and credit-card data theft ever, feds hit Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, and two accomplices... More »

MORE ABOUT:
hacker • identity theft • credit card • TJX • 7 Eleven • federal indictment • Hannaford • T.J. Maxx • computer crime

(Newser) - Many credit card users are getting to the register only to discover that their cards have been canceled—without a word of warning, the Wall Street Journal reports. With credit tightening, many issuers give only a cursory rationale for the drops, and then only by mail weeks later. And... More »

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credit card • credit market • credit crisis • customer service

glossies

Hefty Credit Card Debt Fattens You Up


Aug 7, 09 6:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Heavy credit card debt can take a toll on your waistline, Gourmet reports. A German study of 9,000 people found that 25% of those in debt were obese, compared to 11% not in debt. "In the situation of over-indebtedness, eating can become a compensation and gratification," the... More »

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obesity • credit card

Arbitration Firms Quit Consumer Debt Biz

Credit card, cell phone companies scramble to collect by themselves

Jul 22, 09 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Credit card and cell phone companies are scrambling as two major arbitration firms back out of the business of settling consumer disputes, the Wall Street Journal reports. The National Arbitration Forum—accused in a Minnesota lawsuit of misleading consumers into thinking it was impartial—will stop taking cases this week,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
consumer protection • credit card • contract law • contract • cell phone industry • credit card loans • consumer debt • arbitration • debt collection • National Arbitration Forum • American Arbitration Association


 What Not to Put on Plastic 


Jul 12, 09 5:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Credit card companies know more about you than you think—and if they think you're financially stressed, you're in trouble. American Public Media lists 10 "red-flag" purchases that you shouldn't make with plastic unless you want to give your credit card company the jitters.
  • Traffic tickets: These
... More »

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credit card • default • bill • tickets • credit card accounts • bargain shopper

More Americans Falling Behind on Loans

Balances surge on bank credit-cards as Americans struggle to pay bills

Jul 7, 09 4:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - Delinquencies on consumer and home-equity loans rose in the first quarter as unemployed Americans struggled to pay their bills, the Wall Street Journal reports. The number of borrowers at least 30 days late on their consumer loans, which include auto loans, rose slightly to 3.23% from the previous quarter.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
debt • unemployment • credit card • loan • consumer loan markets • home-equity loans • American Bankers Association • delinquency

(Newser) - As many Citigroup customers are already painfully aware, the lender has drastically increased rates on some 15 million credit card accounts, the Financial Times reports. Holders of Citi cards co-branded with retailers such as Sears saw their interest rates climb by as much as 24%—or 3 percentage points—between... More »

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Citigroup • credit card • rate increase • Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights • credit card reform

Credit Card Firms Cut Deals With Delinquents

Newly relaxed policies allow firms to settle
for portion of debt

Jun 16, 09 8:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - With countless customers running behind on payments, credit card companies are taking it easy on delinquents, letting them off the hook in exchange for partial repayments, the New York Times reports. The firms began easing up on their previous policies last fall, experts say; now they’re letting frontline workers... More »

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bankruptcy • debt • unemployment • credit card • HSBC • settlement • payments • banks • credit card accounts • delinquency



 Cities Saddled 
 With the Most 
 Credit Card Debt 

Florida, California have credit problem, Forbes shows

Jun 2, 09 2:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - The recession has many Americans tightening their belts, but some just can’t seem to put away the plastic. Forbes checked in with Equifax and compiled a list of the country's most credit card-happy cities. Conclusion? Florida might have a problem.
  1. Miami: Average household credit card debt: $9,
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • California • list • debt • credit card • consumer debt • consumer credit

Credit Scores Plunge as Consumers Twist in Wind

Average drops 6 points, likely to fall further

May 27, 09 1:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Consumers are caught in the credit crunch, and their scores are starting to show it, USA Today reports. The average TransUnion credit score fell 6 points between the third quarter of 2008 and the first of 2009, and the group’s financial services director expects it to fall even... More »

MORE ABOUT:
credit card • credit score • consumers • FICO

Obama Signs Credit Card
Bill Into Law

Prez 'has ushered in
a new era' of consumer protections: Dodd

May 22, 09 7:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama signed a landmark bill into law today limiting the fees and interest rates credit card companies can impose, the Washington Post reports. "Just as we demand credit card users act responsibly, we demand that credit card companies act responsibly too," said Obama at the Rose Garden... More »

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Barack Obama • credit card • credit card reform

New Credit Card Rules Could Trim $10B From Industry Coffers

Law dials back crucial fees, interest rates

May 22, 09 1:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - A law President Obama is expected to sign today bringing new consumer-friendly rules on credit cards could cost the industry $10 billion in revenue, the Wall Street Journal reports. The legislation, which dials back various fees and interest rates, will devastate companies that target consumers with checkered credit histories and... More »

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legislation • credit card • consumer credit • Obama administration • banking industry • President Obama • consumers • Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights • credit card reform

(AP) - Congress has sent President Obama a bill with sweeping new rules for the credit-card industry that will affect just about every American. The House approved the measure this afternoon, 361-64. The Senate OK'd it yesterday, 90-5. The new restrictions will protect debt-ridden consumers from many of the surprise charges common... More »

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Congress • House of Representatives • credit card • banking • US Congress • US Senate • Obama administration • banking industry • President Obama • credit card reform

Senate Passes Credit-Card Bill

Measure to rein in rates, fees moves to House; Obama could get it by week's end

May 19, 09 12:54 PM CDT
(AP) - The Senate voted today to prohibit credit-card companies from arbitrarily raising an individual's interest rate and charging many of the exorbitant fees. The vote was 90-5. With the House on track to endorse the measure by week's end, President Obama could see a bill on his desk by the end... More »

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Senate • credit card • President Obama • credit card reform

(Newser) - With revenues from high-risk cardholders dwindling, credit card companies are moving to impose stiffer fees on customers who've been accustomed to preferential treatment, the New York Times reports. Expect banks to bring back annual fees and slash reward programs, say industry insiders. And card holders who pay off their entire... More »

MORE ABOUT:
credit card • hidden fees • credit rating • interest rates • Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights • credit card reform

(AP) - Putting himself on the side of fuming consumers, President Obama is pushing for Congress to send him legislation by Memorial Day that would immediately reign in the credit card industry, he said in his radio address this morning. The House has passed a bill banning several predatory practices, but it... More »

MORE ABOUT:
credit card • consumer debt • predatory lending • Government Credit Card Abuse Prevention Act • President Obama • rate increase • Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights

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