What is Digg?94 Comments
- inactive, on 12/18/2008, -1/+55Why wait? Do it now!
- hookski, on 12/18/2008, -2/+53They can approve $700 Billion bailouts in a few days but anything to do with helping the American people takes a year ot two. They increase minimum wage $1 and it takes a few years to kick in or given in intervals. Their (thousands of dollar) raises kick in NOW!
- casspa, on 12/18/2008, -3/+412010? Wont we be in a depression by then?
- AnotherDiggGuy, on 12/19/2008, -0/+26You can tell the Federal Reserve voted this one. It's about 10 years to late.
- inactive, on 12/18/2008, -3/+28Good news for the consumer here.
- bacon_skoda, on 12/19/2008, -0/+12difference is this is going against the CC industry.
it has taken more like a decade.
Senator Dodd have put out legislation to do all this and more every single year, but defeated by lobbyist every single year.
This year, a little hole broke through the damn.
*Dodd wanted even more regulations on CC industry on top of the current one. - Ghab, on 12/19/2008, -0/+12What I want to know is who are the politicians responsible for regulating credit cards? Also, how much have they received from these companies in donations?
If they've forgotten the people who got them elected in favor of the credit card companies that are giving them bribes, err... donations, I say it's time for the to go! Get out there and vote them out next election! - suinmind, on 12/19/2008, -1/+12The credit card companies will invent new ways to rob customers in no time.
- rynsa, on 12/19/2008, -2/+13I just can't believe those ***** in Washington are actually regulating something. Too little, too late, I'm afraid.
- JackpotCity, on 12/19/2008, -1/+11We're in it already, it's just getting deeper.
- kd420, on 12/19/2008, -1/+11Though I do believe that credit card companies are greedy, this doesn't solve the problem at all. If a child slips and scrapes his knee, do you invest in making concrete easier on skin? Yes, implement these policies to punish greedy and unfair policies, but more must be done. Basic financial education MUST be taught! There are very few reasons not to pay off the bill in full and there is NO reason to buy unnecessary items unless you can afford them. Teach people how to follow a budget, otherwise they will fall into these traps and make themselves very vulnerable to being fleeced out of their money.
- seks03, on 12/19/2008, -2/+122010? what a ***** Joke! these guys are just begging for a riot ain't they.
- Tiemmothi, on 12/19/2008, -2/+11To little to late, I made the mistake and was stupid with credit cards in my early 20s. I have been slowly digging my way out. Once my last credit card is gone, I dont care about whats on my credit history for credit cards. If i have to go to cash so be it, but i wont be paying anyone 15-20% or more interst again. I dont care if they offer me 0% or a low fixed %.
- NicoNicoNico, on 12/19/2008, -1/+9Recession. There's a difference, albeit small.
- ToxicGas, on 12/19/2008, -0/+8Can't agree more ... I made the same mistake. On top of that, I now have a business and I see the even sketchier side of CC practices as they screw merchants just as much as they screw consumers. Guess who pays for those supposed "rewards" that CC companies offer ? Merchants .... not the CC companies.
- lostsymphonies1, on 12/19/2008, -0/+7Yeah why the hell is it going to take 18 months to get this in place? Just tell the companies now...
- ErickStevenson, on 12/19/2008, -0/+7I like how they always wait until everything is ***** before they actually act on anything.
- TheBigBad, on 12/19/2008, -0/+7Have to give the credit card company's lawyers time to find loopholes.
- bacon_skoda, on 12/19/2008, -2/+9going to the moon took less time.
- bacon_skoda, on 12/19/2008, -0/+7go to any chinese own shop in San Francisco's Chinatown.
No Credit Cards, No Checks. Cash ONLY. No Refunds. You break it, you bought it. - cl2yp71c, on 12/19/2008, -0/+6They approved?
And they aren't even part of the government. - inactive, on 12/19/2008, -0/+6so the companies can do a final solid ***** you in the ass adjustment....
- MelissaOfTroy, on 12/19/2008, -0/+5I agree with you 100% and unfortunately think that skin-friendly concrete is indeed where we are headed. But credit card companies have all kinds of sneaky policies to screw the consumer that the average person might not be able to detect. Yeah, they should be taught to detect it, but that doesn't mean the company should be allowed to do it.
- iloveobama, on 12/19/2008, -1/+5Basic financial education isnt even taught in public schools. I've been saying this for a long time. Schools need to teach how to save, invest, etc.
- ToxicGas, on 12/19/2008, -1/+5Last Xmas my business had "recession" sales.
This Xmas my business is having "depression" sales. - bosoxrock, on 12/19/2008, -0/+4For all the whining we hear about Supreme Court justices legislating from the bench, when will someone question whether this regulation should really be within the Fed's jurisdiction? More and more government action seems to skip right past Congress (first the conflict in Iraq, which Congress never declared as a war; then the auto bailout, which our democratic process rejected but then the administration went ahead with anyway; and now this credit card regulation).
- skipdog172, on 12/19/2008, -3/+7usually that is what parents are for. oh well, lets coddle everybody some more and spend money on educating people on the basic "DON'T BUY WHAT YOU CAN'T AFFORD" principle.
- oldgal, on 12/20/2008, -0/+4No doubt they want the credit card bubble to burst first.
- calforyou, on 12/19/2008, -1/+5How do you save an economy based on perpetual spending? America is a consumer culture - if out economy doesn't grow 3% annually like clockwork, we're in a recession. But wait, how do you grow an economy with now infrastructure of manfacturing? Oh yes. the Federal Reserve. Check out the blog: http://dollardeath.com/?p=20 to find out exactly what the fed is!
- BlacklabelSAR, on 12/19/2008, -0/+4About a year ago, on CNN's Lou Dobbs show, there was one of the congressmen that was for the legalized loansharking we have had for erm...7-8 years...and he had one of those expressions that I can only describe as a liar's smile.
He called it a free market for credit, and that now people with better credit could get lower rates on loans. And that look on his face, like he knew what he was saying was *****, and it didn't matter. Truly a caracature of a corrupt politician. - holzp, on 12/19/2008, -0/+4They should be paid the average American wage for the previous year.
- 11oops, on 12/19/2008, -0/+4It's not only the 'I want it now' but also the 'oh ***** my car died' or the 'oh ***** my kid is sick' or the 'oh ***** gas is insane' or the 'oh ***** I got laid off and need to feed my kids' or the 'oh ***** my home got reassessed and my escrow is $1,000 short' or the 'oh ***** I got hurt and can't work for a month' or the 'oh ***** [fill in the blank for anything else unexpected]'.
Not all families earn a decent wage and many Americans don't have a large savings for those unexpected events. Unfortunately they fall back on credit cards to cover the difference. - 11oops, on 12/19/2008, -0/+4If they need to modify their practices, I'm sure they could accomplish that in four weeks, six weeks tops. 18 months is *****.
- Unimatrix0, on 12/19/2008, -1/+5Do yourselves a favor and don't wait for 2010 to get any regulatory help. Help yourselves!! Do whatever it takes to pay off and cancel your credit cards. Quit living off of the credit cards and buying crap you don't really need. Take a second job if you have to and get those leeches paid off. It may take a little bit of time and be hard work but believe me, it will be one of the most freeing experiences you will ever have. To hell with credit card companies.
- maz2331, on 12/20/2008, -0/+3@eastcoast
It also applies to people who have an "oh, ***** - I mailed the gas bill two days late" and then hit Universal Default - with the past two cycles on the unrelated card suddenly getting rebilled at 30% APR - with the date of interest calculation being the date of purchases.
We're talking about someone who may spend $1000 each month on a card having to suddenly pay interest on *last month's* $1000 for 2 months. And all future balances not paid off during grace periods suddenly ballooning at 30% a year.
If money is even slightly tight it means bankruptcy, or maybe deciding whether the kids eat this week or not. - maz2331, on 12/20/2008, -0/+3The issue isn't making the concrete softer, it's keeping the concrete from jumping up and hitting the consumer in the knees.
Right now, the banks can unilaterally change the terms of the deal at any time and for any reason they wish. Did you know that they can charge a fee - and then charge a fee for the fee? Or how about charging interest on a previously paid bill out of the blue because a payment on a non-related account wasn't made in time - even if it's a bona-fide billing dispute?
Or how about practices like charging a $500 non-refundable and non-credited fee to get a card for some people? A credit card that starts out at -500 bucks with interest charged to it?
Nobody is saying "be nice to deadbeats" - but there is a big difference between a deadbeat and someone run into bankruptcy by made-up fees and sudden interest rate jumps. It makes the customer unable to predict even what the bill will be for the next cycle.
What makes the current practices even more unconscionable is that in addition to interest and fees from the card holder, these banks are charging merchants an average of 3% on every transaction as well.
Cry me a river of crocodile tears for the poor card issuers.
I say this as a pretty hard-right guy with zero ($0.00) of debt. - Jlaugh, on 12/19/2008, -1/+4Yeah parents should be taught that too.
- sousademiami, on 12/19/2008, -2/+5I have read up on these practices the last couple days, and it's disgusting. I've had all my banking with credit unions, and now exclusively with USAA, (Thankfully I'm fortunate enough that my family members were in the service and they allow me to reap the benefit) if you can, join a credit union or if you or a parent/grandparent served in the military, take advantage of USAA, the services are great, and they do everything they can NOT to screw you.
Example: 25 day grace period on credit cards (no interest is charged for anything paid within 25 days, and whatever you pay goes toward the oldest balance, so if you keep the balance low, even revolving balances often pay no interest)
Also, they always make sure you set up FREE overdraft protection to either transfer money from savings, or use your credit card to advance the money to your checking account to avoid any fees. - bosoxrock, on 12/20/2008, -0/+3FTA:
"1979 Nixon took us of the Gold Standard - allowing the money supply to grow exponentially, leading to the largest booms in American history, during the Regan years."
I call *****. Two other presidents had served since Nixon by 1979. - skipdog172, on 12/19/2008, -4/+7no. we aren't in a ***** depression.
- inactive, on 12/21/2008, -0/+3In Greece, they are burning the credit bureaus.
Will Americans also put their precious credit ratings to the torch?
Faster, please! - 11oops, on 12/19/2008, -0/+3Agreed, but remember, we have to keep spending to keep America strong and show those terrorists we aren't afraid. 42" HDTVs for everyone!
- jackal14, on 12/19/2008, -0/+3An investment in skin-friendly concrete? That's absurd, science fiction quackery. Any sane person would obviously realize that money should only be invested in genetically engineering children who are scrape or concrete resistant.
On a more serious note, what you said is more or less spot on. - terryallison, on 12/20/2008, -0/+3It's about time. Right now the credit card companies are nothing more than legalized loan-sharks. I don't know why the regulations has to wait till July 2010 to take effect. By then, most people will probably already declared bankruptcy. When that hapens, the credit card companies will start hollering that they can't make any money. The credit card companies will ask to be bailed-out. Hurry up and institute the crack-down on these credit card companies now and save us all.
Sincerely,
Terry Allison - normlsparky, on 12/20/2008, -0/+3In other words, congress has given the credit card companies the green light to continue ***** consumers for another year and a half. Thanks congress.
- publiclurker, on 12/19/2008, -1/+4Considering the mess we have now, do you actually think the parents know anything about these topics? If we are lucky, maybe the kids can teach them later.
- 11oops, on 12/19/2008, -0/+3Yes and no. Good news in July 2010, but unfortunately that will be too late for millions of consumers.
- 11oops, on 12/19/2008, -0/+3Hey, I'm no stupid consumer, but they got me a few months ago. I had a snowblower purchase on one of those '1.9% introductory rate' cards, not because I couldn't afford it but because I didn't want to pay for it right away so I figured I'd earn some interest on that cash for a year.
I had my bank set to auto-pay the minimum $12 each month on the 10th because the bill was always due on the 14th. Long story short, they changed my due date with no notice to the 9th so they got their payment 1 day late. My intro rate was cancelled and went up to a 38% 'default' rate and the interest was back calculated to the date of the purchase and added to the minimum payment due. Original balance, $800, current balance, $712, minimum due $504, remaining balance $710.
I called the ***** up and they wouldn't budge, but did admit to changing the due date and said that my bill was the notification -- that they weren't obligated to give any prior notice. Granted it was partially my fault for not catching it on the bill, but come on. Upping the interest by 16x for a payment one day late (actually just 2 hours late because my bank submits electronically at 2:00am) could easily bankrupt some consumers, especially if the balance was a large one.
And this was one of the bailouts largest recipients. Bank's name starts with a C. - Symbotic, on 12/19/2008, -1/+4I read a interview with a credit card exec saying that all this is going to do is result in higher fees
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