Sep 29, 2008 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) -- ADS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Alliance Data Systems, a provider of loyalty and marketing solutions, has signed a multi-year agreement with Ann Taylor Stores Corporation, a retailer of women's apparel, footwear and accessories, to launch a new co-brand credit card program and to continue providing private label credit card services.
The agreement terms include launching a new co-brand MasterCard credit card program and an exclusive points-based rewards program for cardholders.
The services Alliance Data provides for both the co-brand and private label credit card programs include: account acquisition and activation; receivables funding; card authorization; card issuance; statement generation; direct mail and email marketing services; remittance processing; customer service functions; and marketing services.
Alliance Data will launch four new card-plastic designs for Ann Taylor, including private label and co-brand cards for both the company's Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft brands.
Ivan Szeftel, president of Alliance Data's retail services, said: "We are excited about expanding our relationship with Ann Taylor by providing this fully integrated credit and marketing solution. Our programs are guided by analytics and results-oriented marketing principles, and we are leveraging our expertise and the strength of the Ann Taylor brands to deliver a truly special program to their clients."
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For full details on Alliance Data (ADS) click here. Alliance Data (ADS) has Short Term PowerRatings of 5. Details on Alliance Data (ADS) Short Term PowerRatings is available at This Link.
News Source : http://www.tradingmarkets.com/
Monday, September 29, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Alameda man arrested in identity theft case
ALAMEDA — A search of a man's laptop as part of an identity theft investigation revealed that he was in possession of the personal information of 95 people, including their credit card numbers, police said.
Tou Man "Ray" Kuan, 23, was arrested Wednesday on an $80,000 warrant at his Alameda residence and is expected to face multiple felony charges in connection with the case.
Kuan admitted to using the credit card number of at least one woman to try and purchase a $360 Sony Play Station on the Internet, police said.
Investigators are piecing together how someone acquired the information, which included people's names, addresses, credit card numbers, as well as the security number on the back of each credit card that is meant to prevent the card's misuse.
Kuan told police he received the list from an acquaintance in Japan, and detectives suspect that he may have been planning to use the credit card numbers to play online games with his friends.
Alameda police began investigating Kuan in August after they were notified by the Parker County Sheriff's Department in Texas about the attempt to purchase the PlayStation.
The victim was a 46-year-old woman who lives in the county, Alameda police Detective Greg Ella said.
"He admitted that he tried to purchase the Play Station on eBay," Ella said about Kuan. "He said he was 'testing' the information on the list to check whether it actually could be used."
tracked down Kuan through records at Alameda Power & Telecom, where his Internet account was used for the eBay transaction, Ella said.
After he was interviewed, Kuan allowed police to search his laptop, which led them to discover the personal details of 95 people, police said.
The victims live throughout the United States and include some people who live in Canada.
"In some cases they had detected fraud on their cards," Ella said. "But in most they did not know that their card was compromised and that their information was floating around the Internet."
Kuan remains in custody at Santa Rita county jail in Dublin.
In the wake of the case, police are reminding people to take steps to avoid becoming identity theft victims, including shredding old account statements and other documents that may contain personal information.
Police also suggest people regularly check their credit and bank accounts for fraudulent activity.
News Source : http://www.mercurynews.com/
Tou Man "Ray" Kuan, 23, was arrested Wednesday on an $80,000 warrant at his Alameda residence and is expected to face multiple felony charges in connection with the case.
Kuan admitted to using the credit card number of at least one woman to try and purchase a $360 Sony Play Station on the Internet, police said.
Investigators are piecing together how someone acquired the information, which included people's names, addresses, credit card numbers, as well as the security number on the back of each credit card that is meant to prevent the card's misuse.
Kuan told police he received the list from an acquaintance in Japan, and detectives suspect that he may have been planning to use the credit card numbers to play online games with his friends.
Alameda police began investigating Kuan in August after they were notified by the Parker County Sheriff's Department in Texas about the attempt to purchase the PlayStation.
The victim was a 46-year-old woman who lives in the county, Alameda police Detective Greg Ella said.
"He admitted that he tried to purchase the Play Station on eBay," Ella said about Kuan. "He said he was 'testing' the information on the list to check whether it actually could be used."
tracked down Kuan through records at Alameda Power & Telecom, where his Internet account was used for the eBay transaction, Ella said.
After he was interviewed, Kuan allowed police to search his laptop, which led them to discover the personal details of 95 people, police said.
The victims live throughout the United States and include some people who live in Canada.
"In some cases they had detected fraud on their cards," Ella said. "But in most they did not know that their card was compromised and that their information was floating around the Internet."
Kuan remains in custody at Santa Rita county jail in Dublin.
In the wake of the case, police are reminding people to take steps to avoid becoming identity theft victims, including shredding old account statements and other documents that may contain personal information.
Police also suggest people regularly check their credit and bank accounts for fraudulent activity.
News Source : http://www.mercurynews.com/
Friday, September 26, 2008
French hold out against credit crunch
Unlike Britain, the US and many other countries, France appears to be weathering the credit crunch storm in reasonable shape.
The BBC's Emma Jane Kirby asks if other nations should take a leaf out of the thrifty Gallic book?
If I had to use one word to describe France's financial system, the word I would choose would be "cautious".
French banks are immensely careful about whom they lend money to and, to limit risks, they spread their investments much more widely than those in the US or UK.
Only about a quarter of banking activity is related to investment banking and dealer-broker activity - the rest is all to do with retail banking.
This meant when the credit crunch bit, the French banks were hit a lot less hard than those in many other countries.
But it is not just about banking investments - this country as a whole simply takes far fewer risks.
Take the level of household debt. In France, it is at 47% of GDP, while in the UK it is well over twice that.
Its not that temptation does not exist in France - the lure of consumerism is just as strong as it is elsewhere.
But it is very difficult to spend money you do not have in France.
French credit cards are little more than debit cards, so there is no question of simply sticking a couple of flat screen TVs on your credit card and hoping to pay for them later - if there are insufficient funds in your account, your bank will immediately block the transaction.
In the wealthy suburb of St Germain-en-Laye, just outside Paris, I met Francois Artignan, a well-to-do banker who moved back to France two years ago after a long stint of living in the UK.
Francois admits he misses the buzz of London living but says he was alarmed by the way so many British people lived on their credit cards and never saved money.
"It's true that you can note a big difference in consuming behaviours between the French and the English," Mr Artignan says.
"People here don't believe you can just put your debts together and get them refinanced... But in London... it was as if wealth was something you could get from a bank, it's a sort of miracle people seem to believe in England.
"It seems to me people there are very keen to use up all the money they have, and that's a worry when you wonder how people are going to have money for retirement for instance," Mr Artignan says.
News Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/
The BBC's Emma Jane Kirby asks if other nations should take a leaf out of the thrifty Gallic book?
If I had to use one word to describe France's financial system, the word I would choose would be "cautious".
French banks are immensely careful about whom they lend money to and, to limit risks, they spread their investments much more widely than those in the US or UK.
Only about a quarter of banking activity is related to investment banking and dealer-broker activity - the rest is all to do with retail banking.
This meant when the credit crunch bit, the French banks were hit a lot less hard than those in many other countries.
But it is not just about banking investments - this country as a whole simply takes far fewer risks.
Take the level of household debt. In France, it is at 47% of GDP, while in the UK it is well over twice that.
Its not that temptation does not exist in France - the lure of consumerism is just as strong as it is elsewhere.
But it is very difficult to spend money you do not have in France.
French credit cards are little more than debit cards, so there is no question of simply sticking a couple of flat screen TVs on your credit card and hoping to pay for them later - if there are insufficient funds in your account, your bank will immediately block the transaction.
In the wealthy suburb of St Germain-en-Laye, just outside Paris, I met Francois Artignan, a well-to-do banker who moved back to France two years ago after a long stint of living in the UK.
Francois admits he misses the buzz of London living but says he was alarmed by the way so many British people lived on their credit cards and never saved money.
"It's true that you can note a big difference in consuming behaviours between the French and the English," Mr Artignan says.
"People here don't believe you can just put your debts together and get them refinanced... But in London... it was as if wealth was something you could get from a bank, it's a sort of miracle people seem to believe in England.
"It seems to me people there are very keen to use up all the money they have, and that's a worry when you wonder how people are going to have money for retirement for instance," Mr Artignan says.
News Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Labour's credit card slated for sky-high interest
THE cash-strapped Labour Party is urging members to sign up for a credit card that could seriously damage their wealth.
Delegates at the party's conference in Manchester are being offered the Visa card in exchange for a £15 donation.
But financial experts have warned that the 18.9 per cent APR interest rate is cripplingly high and that much better deals are availab
Labour has three credit cards, but only the most expensive was offered to delegates at Manchester.
Financial experts said consumers should shop around.
David Kuo, head of personal finance at money website Fool.co.uk, said: "We should never allow emotions to cloud our financial judgment. In the case of political affinity cards, politics and money just do not mix."
Other high street credit cards offer interest rates up to 10.4 per cent lower.
A Labour spokesman said all the main political parties in the UK offered affinity cards and that the deal was "comparable" with others.
"We offer a range of services to our members, as do almost all large membership organisations," he added.
The Labour Party still has debts of £16 million, despite a £1 million donation from JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author, which cheered delegates at the start of conference week.
Total debts have fallen by £11 million since 2005, and Jack Dromey, the party's treasurer, has said Labour is making "real progress" with its finances.
He said the party made a £7.5 million surplus last year and was no longer relying on overdrafts.
News Source : http://news.scotsman.com/
Delegates at the party's conference in Manchester are being offered the Visa card in exchange for a £15 donation.
But financial experts have warned that the 18.9 per cent APR interest rate is cripplingly high and that much better deals are availab
Labour has three credit cards, but only the most expensive was offered to delegates at Manchester.
Financial experts said consumers should shop around.
David Kuo, head of personal finance at money website Fool.co.uk, said: "We should never allow emotions to cloud our financial judgment. In the case of political affinity cards, politics and money just do not mix."
Other high street credit cards offer interest rates up to 10.4 per cent lower.
A Labour spokesman said all the main political parties in the UK offered affinity cards and that the deal was "comparable" with others.
"We offer a range of services to our members, as do almost all large membership organisations," he added.
The Labour Party still has debts of £16 million, despite a £1 million donation from JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author, which cheered delegates at the start of conference week.
Total debts have fallen by £11 million since 2005, and Jack Dromey, the party's treasurer, has said Labour is making "real progress" with its finances.
He said the party made a £7.5 million surplus last year and was no longer relying on overdrafts.
News Source : http://news.scotsman.com/
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Congressman Welch Supports Credit Card Reform; Encourages Congress to Act on Credit Card Interchange Fees that Hurt Both Merchants and Consumers
WASHINGTON, Sept 23, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Today, the House of Representatives passed the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act, legislation to rein in unfair and deceptive credit card company practices. Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) made the following floor statement in support of credit card company reforms and urged subsequent legislative action on credit card interchange fees, one anticompetitive card company practice not being specifically addressed today:
"This bill is the beginning of important reforms in credit cards -- the beginning of increased protection for consumers of credit card companies. The other side of the coin, which we're not taking up today but will hopefully get to, is for merchants who pay fees to credit card companies for every single credit card transaction -- the so-called interchange fees.
Mr. Speaker, in the United States, our credit card interchange fees are the highest, the highest, in the entire world accounting for as much as 2% of the cost of every credit card transaction, in some cases a good deal more. These bloated interchange fees are passed on to the consumer. The average American family in fact pays an extra $300 a year in items they purchase as a result of credit cards.
I have introduced legislation, H.R. 6248, the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act, which would require credit card companies to disclose their interchange rates, terms, and conditions to consumers, businesses, and the public. In addition, the bill would empower the Federal Trade Commission to review these rates and rules and prohibit any practices that violate consumer-protection or anti-competitive laws. Chairman John Conyers also has important legislation - the Credit Card Fair Fee Act -- that has been passed out of the Judiciary Committee and would give merchants a seat at the negotiating table to determine the fees assessed for every sale made by credit card.
In the next Congress, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on the Financial Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee to pass legislation into law that protects both the consumer and the merchant from credit card companies."
News Source : http://www.marketwatch.com/news/
"This bill is the beginning of important reforms in credit cards -- the beginning of increased protection for consumers of credit card companies. The other side of the coin, which we're not taking up today but will hopefully get to, is for merchants who pay fees to credit card companies for every single credit card transaction -- the so-called interchange fees.
Mr. Speaker, in the United States, our credit card interchange fees are the highest, the highest, in the entire world accounting for as much as 2% of the cost of every credit card transaction, in some cases a good deal more. These bloated interchange fees are passed on to the consumer. The average American family in fact pays an extra $300 a year in items they purchase as a result of credit cards.
I have introduced legislation, H.R. 6248, the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act, which would require credit card companies to disclose their interchange rates, terms, and conditions to consumers, businesses, and the public. In addition, the bill would empower the Federal Trade Commission to review these rates and rules and prohibit any practices that violate consumer-protection or anti-competitive laws. Chairman John Conyers also has important legislation - the Credit Card Fair Fee Act -- that has been passed out of the Judiciary Committee and would give merchants a seat at the negotiating table to determine the fees assessed for every sale made by credit card.
In the next Congress, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on the Financial Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee to pass legislation into law that protects both the consumer and the merchant from credit card companies."
News Source : http://www.marketwatch.com/news/
Monday, September 22, 2008
Who will bail out American families?
The logic is impeccable.
The government bails out American International Group Inc., a private insurance company, with an $85 billion loan largely because the mortgage-related securities it insures are based on subprime loans now in default.
The government bails out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which trafficked in subprime home loans, because the companies claimed to be too big to be allowed to fail.
And now we face the Mother of All Bailouts—a government purchase of dangerous financial instruments based on subprime mortgages, taking speculators off the hook and leaving taxpayers with the bill. Once again, the story is that we must do this because otherwise the worldwide financial system will crumble. And once again, the blame falls on subprime lending and the culture of deregulation that fostered it.
Lost in the headlines are the families who signed their names to subprime mortgages, not knowing or caring that the pieces of paper they signed would become one of the cards in the house of cards that now threatens the U.S. economy. No less visible are the people who have lost jobs as the economy reverses, the students who can't pay for college without taking on ruinous loans and the millions of families who turned to credit cards and payday loans as they have been caught in the squeeze between declining wages and skyrocketing costs. They are casualties of a financial system that saw them not as customers, but as prey.
The secretary of the Treasury and the chairman of the Federal Reserve have told us that now is not the time to assign blame and that we must concentrate on preserving the bedrock institutions of our economy. But the real bedrock of that economy is the American family, countless thousands now in or facing foreclosure, families falling further behind on credit cards or paying 400 percent interest to payday lenders just to keep groceries on the table.
News Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
The government bails out American International Group Inc., a private insurance company, with an $85 billion loan largely because the mortgage-related securities it insures are based on subprime loans now in default.
The government bails out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which trafficked in subprime home loans, because the companies claimed to be too big to be allowed to fail.
And now we face the Mother of All Bailouts—a government purchase of dangerous financial instruments based on subprime mortgages, taking speculators off the hook and leaving taxpayers with the bill. Once again, the story is that we must do this because otherwise the worldwide financial system will crumble. And once again, the blame falls on subprime lending and the culture of deregulation that fostered it.
Lost in the headlines are the families who signed their names to subprime mortgages, not knowing or caring that the pieces of paper they signed would become one of the cards in the house of cards that now threatens the U.S. economy. No less visible are the people who have lost jobs as the economy reverses, the students who can't pay for college without taking on ruinous loans and the millions of families who turned to credit cards and payday loans as they have been caught in the squeeze between declining wages and skyrocketing costs. They are casualties of a financial system that saw them not as customers, but as prey.
The secretary of the Treasury and the chairman of the Federal Reserve have told us that now is not the time to assign blame and that we must concentrate on preserving the bedrock institutions of our economy. But the real bedrock of that economy is the American family, countless thousands now in or facing foreclosure, families falling further behind on credit cards or paying 400 percent interest to payday lenders just to keep groceries on the table.
News Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Better pay that credit card minimum
Dear Debt Adviser,
Can I pay less than the minimum payment on my credit card? I am finding it difficult to pay the monthly payment. Thank you.
-- Nor
Dear Nor,
Your question reminds me of Sunday dinner when I was a kid. My mother, Grace, was a great cook and I'd often ask, "Can I have seconds?"
Her response was, "Of course, you can, but may you?"
Can you pay less? Sure! But may you? Now that's the real issue.
According to the cardholder agreement you signed when you accepted the credit card from the lender, the answer to your question is "No, you may not." You must make at least the minimum payment due on your statement or you are violating the terms of the agreement.
When you make less than the minimum payment, the result is not pretty.
First, you are assessed a late fee, which is typically $30 or more per month. Also, expect to move to a penalty-interest-rate status. Your new annual percentage rate could be as high as the mid-30 percent level.
Next, if you are close to the credit limit on your card, the late fee and additional interest charges added to your balance may push you over your limit. And yes, you are correct -- another fee is added to your account. This time, an over-the-limit fee of -- you guessed it -- $30 or more.
Next month, your minimum payment, which you couldn't afford to begin with, will go up to include the late fee, the over-limit fee and the higher interest charges. This makes no sense from your perspective, but it does from the lender's point of view. You are a higher risk and the lender needs to be compensated for it.
I strongly suggest you do all you can to avoid paying less than the minimum due. Start by taking a look at your discretionary spending, like meals out or entertainment, and cut back enough to try to cover your minimum payment.
You can also try to get some more income from a part-time job or by having a garage sale.
If you need a longer-term solution -- aside from cutting back on lattes or trips to your favorite ice-cream place -- call your credit-card issuer and ask for a hardship program. You should expect to be asked to document why you can't make your payment, what you are doing to correct the situation and how long you will need a reduced payment.
News Source : http://www.abcactionnews.com
Can I pay less than the minimum payment on my credit card? I am finding it difficult to pay the monthly payment. Thank you.
-- Nor
Dear Nor,
Your question reminds me of Sunday dinner when I was a kid. My mother, Grace, was a great cook and I'd often ask, "Can I have seconds?"
Her response was, "Of course, you can, but may you?"
Can you pay less? Sure! But may you? Now that's the real issue.
According to the cardholder agreement you signed when you accepted the credit card from the lender, the answer to your question is "No, you may not." You must make at least the minimum payment due on your statement or you are violating the terms of the agreement.
When you make less than the minimum payment, the result is not pretty.
First, you are assessed a late fee, which is typically $30 or more per month. Also, expect to move to a penalty-interest-rate status. Your new annual percentage rate could be as high as the mid-30 percent level.
Next, if you are close to the credit limit on your card, the late fee and additional interest charges added to your balance may push you over your limit. And yes, you are correct -- another fee is added to your account. This time, an over-the-limit fee of -- you guessed it -- $30 or more.
Next month, your minimum payment, which you couldn't afford to begin with, will go up to include the late fee, the over-limit fee and the higher interest charges. This makes no sense from your perspective, but it does from the lender's point of view. You are a higher risk and the lender needs to be compensated for it.
I strongly suggest you do all you can to avoid paying less than the minimum due. Start by taking a look at your discretionary spending, like meals out or entertainment, and cut back enough to try to cover your minimum payment.
You can also try to get some more income from a part-time job or by having a garage sale.
If you need a longer-term solution -- aside from cutting back on lattes or trips to your favorite ice-cream place -- call your credit-card issuer and ask for a hardship program. You should expect to be asked to document why you can't make your payment, what you are doing to correct the situation and how long you will need a reduced payment.
News Source : http://www.abcactionnews.com
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
School’s In Session On How To Choose, Use Credit Cards
College students, listen up - especially freshmen. On campus this semester, credit-card companies are going to hunt you down. They will send credit-card solicitations to your dorm mailbox, staff tables around campus and offer you cool handouts if you apply for their card.
Fifty-five percent of college students get their first credit card in their freshman year, said Clearpoint Financial Solutions spokesman Bruce McClary in Richmond, Va.
Bill Hardekopf, co-author of “The Credit Card Guidebook,” available free at http://www.lowcards.com, said an incoming freshman with no debt in September will have about $1,500 in credit-card debt by May.
Many students graduate with an average balance of $2,785 on their credit cards, according to US PIRG, the federation of state public interest research groups in Washington.
Do you want to sink that far into debt before you graduate? Your first credit card is the gateway to a good or bad financial future. Before saying yes to one, follow this advice from experts who know how fast you can mess up if you don’t pick the right credit card and use it responsibly:
# Shop for the best card. Look for the lowest interest rate and best terms. Avoid cards that have an annual fee. Compare cards at http://www.lowcards.com, http://www.indexcreditcards.com, http://www.bankrate.com or http://www.creditcards.com.
# Use the free online calculators. They will show you how much you will repay the issuer of one card versus another when their interest rates and terms differ. There’s a calculator at http://www.bankrate.com.
# Credit is not intended to pay for things you can’t afford. If you can’t pay off your credit-card bill every month, you probably can’t afford what you bought, said Maxine Sweet, spokeswoman for the Experian credit agency in Texas. If you carry over charges for whatever reason, devise a plan to pay it down and get back to paying it off every month.
# Don’t make an on-the-spot decision. Take the application and disclosure statement back to your dorm and read it carefully. Don’t sign your name to a mystery product that you don’t understand, McClary advised. Don’t make a hasty decision to get that really cool iPod offered free for signing up. Call Clearpoint at (877) 877-1995 and run the rates and terms by one of its credit counselors for free.
# Don’t believe everything you hear. A credit-card marketer may offer you a zero percent credit card, said Cherry Hedges, financial education director for the Virginia Credit Union in Richmond. When you get the card, the disclosure statement may reveal an 18 percent APR.
# Don’t use it if you don’t like it. “Once they use the credit card, they’ve agreed to what is in the disclosure statement,” Hedges said. “See if you can get a better rate or cancel the card.”
# Miss payments and you’re a dead duck. “Even if you’re just a minute late, you possibly could be hit by much higher penalty rates,” said Linda Sherry, national spokesperson for San Francisco-based Consumer Action. Your rates could zoom from 18 percent to 32 percent. Worse, if one credit-card company raises your rate, another can, too. Sign up for payment alerts.
News Source : http://www.tricities.com/
Fifty-five percent of college students get their first credit card in their freshman year, said Clearpoint Financial Solutions spokesman Bruce McClary in Richmond, Va.
Bill Hardekopf, co-author of “The Credit Card Guidebook,” available free at http://www.lowcards.com, said an incoming freshman with no debt in September will have about $1,500 in credit-card debt by May.
Many students graduate with an average balance of $2,785 on their credit cards, according to US PIRG, the federation of state public interest research groups in Washington.
Do you want to sink that far into debt before you graduate? Your first credit card is the gateway to a good or bad financial future. Before saying yes to one, follow this advice from experts who know how fast you can mess up if you don’t pick the right credit card and use it responsibly:
# Shop for the best card. Look for the lowest interest rate and best terms. Avoid cards that have an annual fee. Compare cards at http://www.lowcards.com, http://www.indexcreditcards.com, http://www.bankrate.com or http://www.creditcards.com.
# Use the free online calculators. They will show you how much you will repay the issuer of one card versus another when their interest rates and terms differ. There’s a calculator at http://www.bankrate.com.
# Credit is not intended to pay for things you can’t afford. If you can’t pay off your credit-card bill every month, you probably can’t afford what you bought, said Maxine Sweet, spokeswoman for the Experian credit agency in Texas. If you carry over charges for whatever reason, devise a plan to pay it down and get back to paying it off every month.
# Don’t make an on-the-spot decision. Take the application and disclosure statement back to your dorm and read it carefully. Don’t sign your name to a mystery product that you don’t understand, McClary advised. Don’t make a hasty decision to get that really cool iPod offered free for signing up. Call Clearpoint at (877) 877-1995 and run the rates and terms by one of its credit counselors for free.
# Don’t believe everything you hear. A credit-card marketer may offer you a zero percent credit card, said Cherry Hedges, financial education director for the Virginia Credit Union in Richmond. When you get the card, the disclosure statement may reveal an 18 percent APR.
# Don’t use it if you don’t like it. “Once they use the credit card, they’ve agreed to what is in the disclosure statement,” Hedges said. “See if you can get a better rate or cancel the card.”
# Miss payments and you’re a dead duck. “Even if you’re just a minute late, you possibly could be hit by much higher penalty rates,” said Linda Sherry, national spokesperson for San Francisco-based Consumer Action. Your rates could zoom from 18 percent to 32 percent. Worse, if one credit-card company raises your rate, another can, too. Sign up for payment alerts.
News Source : http://www.tricities.com/
Monday, September 8, 2008
Credit card proposal may get vote in Congress
Legislation reining in credit card practices may get vote this year as Congress returns
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Deepening economic distress and concern over consumer debt could help legislation that would overhaul practices of credit card companies get voted on in Congress as lawmakers return this week from summer recess.
In the waning weeks of this Democratic-controlled Congress, with lawmakers looking to show consumer-friendly results to voters before the November election, there could be momentum for the credit card legislation _ more likely in the House than the Senate, backers of the proposal say.
"It's a sign that the lock that the credit card industry has had on Congress is loosening," said Travis Plunkett, legislative director for Consumer Federation of America. "I think there's a very good chance it will pass the House this month."
Yet some congressional aides say chances remain slim of passage in the short time remaining in the session, and that a bill may have to await the new year and new Congress.
The legislation has drawn the strong support of consumer groups and vigorous opposition by the banking industry.
Amid the stumbling economy, many consumers are using credit cards to pay the higher costs of groceries and gasoline, and Americans now are weighed down by about $900 billion in credit card debt, according to Federal Reserve figures.
A bill authored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., cleared the House Financial Services Committee in July and pointed toward the floor of the House. It would, among other things, require credit card issuers to give account holders 45 days notice of any increases in interest rates. Monthly bills would have to be mailed at least 25 days before the due date, up from the current minimum of 14 days, and fees could not be charged on the remaining interest-only balance of a customer who has paid their bill on time.
A similar yet more stringent Senate proposal, by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., faces dimmer prospects because of the slimmer Democratic majority in that body.
Five big financial companies _ Discover Financial Services LLC, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Capital One Financial Corp. _ issue around 80 percent of all U.S. credit cards, according to congressional investigators.
The financial institutions fiercely compete with each other and more than 6,000 other institutions that issue credit cards, the American Bankers Association says.
News Source : http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/a67c758c66f6e7182f1a3d129d8cbc52.htm
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Deepening economic distress and concern over consumer debt could help legislation that would overhaul practices of credit card companies get voted on in Congress as lawmakers return this week from summer recess.
In the waning weeks of this Democratic-controlled Congress, with lawmakers looking to show consumer-friendly results to voters before the November election, there could be momentum for the credit card legislation _ more likely in the House than the Senate, backers of the proposal say.
"It's a sign that the lock that the credit card industry has had on Congress is loosening," said Travis Plunkett, legislative director for Consumer Federation of America. "I think there's a very good chance it will pass the House this month."
Yet some congressional aides say chances remain slim of passage in the short time remaining in the session, and that a bill may have to await the new year and new Congress.
The legislation has drawn the strong support of consumer groups and vigorous opposition by the banking industry.
Amid the stumbling economy, many consumers are using credit cards to pay the higher costs of groceries and gasoline, and Americans now are weighed down by about $900 billion in credit card debt, according to Federal Reserve figures.
A bill authored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., cleared the House Financial Services Committee in July and pointed toward the floor of the House. It would, among other things, require credit card issuers to give account holders 45 days notice of any increases in interest rates. Monthly bills would have to be mailed at least 25 days before the due date, up from the current minimum of 14 days, and fees could not be charged on the remaining interest-only balance of a customer who has paid their bill on time.
A similar yet more stringent Senate proposal, by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., faces dimmer prospects because of the slimmer Democratic majority in that body.
Five big financial companies _ Discover Financial Services LLC, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Capital One Financial Corp. _ issue around 80 percent of all U.S. credit cards, according to congressional investigators.
The financial institutions fiercely compete with each other and more than 6,000 other institutions that issue credit cards, the American Bankers Association says.
News Source : http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/a67c758c66f6e7182f1a3d129d8cbc52.htm
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