We called it! While some industry experts like Curtis Arnold of CardRatings.com said that they didn’t expect the recently-enacted credit card reform to impact good customers, we warned readers back in May that it was inevitable.

It’s simple: if you take away the credit card companies’ ability to raise rates, then they’ll simply develop new and “creative” fees and charges to nickel and dime their customers. Perhaps “nickel and dime” isn’t entirely fair since fees and charges are two of the main sources of income for credit card companies (emphasis added): Read the rest of this entry »

Credit card companies are on the prowl. With new legislation limiting the likes of rate and fee increases just months away, and an economy that has nearly everyone pinching their pennies, credit card companies are examining your purchases like never before. Public Radio’s Marketplace has compiled a list of 10 purchases that “can be red flags to credit-card companies watching for signs of consumers with questionable finances”:

Read the rest of this entry »

Has your bank been charging you extra fees on your various accounts? Saddled with losses from rampant foreclosures and credit card delinquencies, banks and credit unions say they have been forced to raise fees and charges in order to maintain a competitive edge in today’s unique economic environment:

“There is an economic storm that has made revenue fall,” said Michael Moebs, an economist and chief executive of Moebs Services, an economic research firm in Lake Bluff, Ill. “Fee income is basically where banks and credit unions can offset both loan- and investment-related losses.”

Read the rest of this entry »

From unexpected fees to poor customer service, we’ve heard it all from consumers who say they’re unhappy with their bank. If you’re one of these unhappy customers, have you considered switching to a credit union?

Credit unions (CUs) operate just like banks and typically offer the same services (checking/savings accounts, credit cards, etc.). CUs are member-owned and not-for-profit institutions: Read the rest of this entry »

Citigroup is the third banking institution to release “better-than-expected” first-quarter earnings this week — but some of their customers, as well as the Treasury Department, are not impressed — frankly they’re concerned.

An accountability report released this week by the Treasury Department revealed that lending amongst the nation’s largest banks declined by six percent in February from the month prior. The Department has become so concerned with the lack of lending amongst TARP banks that it launched a Federal probe to investigate the matter.

Read the rest of this entry »

In response to overwhelming customer complaints, a Congressional committee has launched a probe in order to examine the lending practices at the banks which have received TARP funds:

Elizabeth Warren, chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, the body named by Congress to oversee the federal bailout, said the panel is working on a report examining instances of potentially inappropriate lending by banks that got taxpayer capital. “The people who are subsidizing the activities of the banks through their tax dollars are the same people who are furnishing the high profits through consumer lending,” Ms. Warren said in an interview. “In a sense, we’re asking taxpayers to pay twice.”

Read the rest of this entry »