Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Credit Card Review

The Fed apparently is getting a bit nervous about the best credit card industry and the possiblility it will be this next bubble to burst or to go bust, ironically because of it’s own predatory practices. When you consider that “Penalty fees make up nearly half of industry revenues” the credit card industry is “banking” on us to miss a payment or make a mistake and they will “as designed” profit from our misfortune. Another glaring example of disaster capitalism and in my opinion the Fed aided and abetted this whole situation with their asleep at the wheel oversight that’s the bad news,

But here’s the good news: If you’ve ever been steamed by surprise fees on your credit-card statement or had your interest rate cranked up without warning, the Federal Reserve Board wants to help you. The Fed? That oracular secret society whose chairmen say Yoda-like things about interest rates? Well, actually, yes.

There’s plenty to reform. During the housing bubble, credit-card vendors inflated interest rates – even as the Fed slashed them – and found increasingly sneaky ways to usher their customers into perpetually indebted servitude. Such as:

•Raising rates as high as 32 percent on existing balances, with no
notice, even when they’ve always been paid on time.

•Compressing the time between statement mailings and due dates.

•Charging interest on debt already repaid.

•Posting on-time payments after their due date – and then charging late fees.

•Neglecting to disclose how much interest and time it will take to pay
off a balance with minimum payments (if ever).

They want to hear our horror stories so let’s give them an ear-full.

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