Commerce Bank hiked the interest rate on Mira Tanna’s credit card to 20 percent – without telling her. Once she figured out what the bank had done, realized what happened, Tanna decided to make use of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new online complaint database,
Senator Durbin United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Durbin: We write on behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, an unprecedented coalition of over 250 national, state and local groups who have come together to reform the financial industry. Members of our coalition include
In 2005, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA). Consumer advocates strongly opposed this bill, warning that it was designed only to profit credit card companies while harming consumers. A study ordered by Congress when the passed the bill has proven
Comprehensive Reforms Are Only Way to Ensure Stability in the Economy Washington, DC – Americans for Financial Reform released the following statement marking the full implementation the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act today. Ed Mierzwinski, Consumer Program Director, U.S. PIRG: “The Credit
For Valentine’s Day, The Public Breaks Up With the Big Banks in a Boycott and Outreach Movement This Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to end your abusive relationship with the big banks that have a stranglehold on our country. They’ve been lying, gambling, cheating
The LA Times ran this precient article about banks’ vengeful behavior against consumers in advance of credit card rules going into effect in February. Here is an excerpt: Happy new year. Now pay up. That’s the message from our friends in the banking industry, who
Siegel+Gale put together this PDF which boils down a sample credit card’s terms to one page. While the language is simpler than your average 30-page contract, it’s still not ideal; note that the late fee is still $39, there’s Binding Mandatory Arbitration language, and the
Have you ever waded through pages and pages of credit card contracts in an attempt to figure out what your interest rate will be? Have you overdrawn your account by a few cents, only to get slammed with a disproportionate fee? Would you be upset
October 20, 2009 Dear Representatives, The biggest banks and credit card companies have used the power they wield in the marketplace to push unfair business practices that are costing our members—retailers and individual consumers—tens of billions of dollars each year. The banking industry has moved