Help The Middle ClassNews and Information For The Heart Of America
CREDIT CARD NEWS: Late Credit Card Payments Don’t Justify Rate Hikes Anymore (Creditcards.com)
Late payments don’t justify rate instant rate hikes anymore
Passage of the Credit CARD Act protects those who slip up once in a while
QUESTION:
My husband and I are trying to pay off our debt. I keep track of the bills on Quicken and try to pay everything early. Today I was 3.5 hours late paying a [...]
MUST READ: Watch Out For The New Credit Card Traps (CNN.com)
If you haven’t heard, big changes are here for the credit card industry. On Monday the CARD act goes into effect and consumers finally get some relief from such practices as “double-cycle billing” and arbitrary rate increases.
The new act, which was signed into law last May, promises consumers more transparency about their credit card bill. [...]
Opinion USA TODAY: New Credit Card Law ‘Full Of Holes” – Issuers Up To Their Old Tricks
Starting today, a slew of credit card abuses that should have been banned years ago will finally be prohibited by federal law.
No longer will banks be able to raise rates on existing balances “at any time, for any reason.” Or impose sky-high interest rates because a customer is an hour late paying. Or slap a [...]
How To Protect Yourself From Debit Card Scams (Consumer Reports)
Whether by choice or necessity, American consumers are increasingly relying on debit rather than credit cards. Debit cards are expected to account for nearly 60 percent of purchases made with plastic in 2009, according to the Nilson Report, a newsletter that tracks the consumer payment industry.
When you use a debit card, the money is immediately [...]
10 Ways To Control Your Credit Cards In 2010 (Bankrate.com)
The new credit card law that takes effect in 2010 will bring about changes for issuers and cardholders. Issuers will be bound by restrictions on rate hikes and fees and increased disclosure requirements. Borrowers will need to know the key provisions in the law and the loopholes.
While the new rules will clamp down on retroactive [...]
Credit Card Companies Slam Consumers With New Fees Not Covered By Credit Card Act (Creditcards.com)
While the Credit CARD Act of 2009 puts an end to abusive tactics card issuers have long used to boost their profits, consumers need only to look at their card statements to know there’s no reason to celebrate.
In the past year, card issuers have rolled out or expanded their use of other ways to collect [...]
3 Ways To Beat Credit Card Debt (Bankrate Debt Advisor)
Dear Debt Adviser,
I have been with a large national bank for approximately 50 years, with a checking account, savings account and a credit card. I have always paid on time and pay way more than the minimum required each month on my credit card. The problem is that I just received a notice from the [...]
FICO Reveals ‘Credit Score Secrets’ – Mistakes That Damage Your Finances (Yahoo! Finance)
Disclosed for the 1st time, ‘damage points’ taken off for late payments
Borrowers already knew that late payments hurt their credit scores, but for the first time, they now know the extent of that damage.
Did you max out your credit card? Expect a credit score drop of 10 to 45 points. Declare bankruptcy? Your score will [...]
Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont): The Middle Class Today Is In Desperate Shape (VIDEO)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) was on fire in his weekly YouTube video, “Senator Sanders Unfiltered.”
“The reality is that the middle class today in this country is in desperate shape and the gap between the very very wealthy and everyone else is going to grow wider,” he begins. Sanders goes on to detail why he gets [...]
You Used Your Credit Cards, Now It Is Payback Time. Banks Get Their “Blood From A Stone’
Karen King owes nearly $36,000, more than she’s ever earned in a year.
All day long, bill collectors call. She hunts for a second job, sometimes skips meals, and stays with other family members at a grandfather’s crowded apartment, trying to get out of debt and turn her life around.
She largely holds herself at fault. “Years [...]
