Comments on: Upcoming Vote on Credit Card Reforms

By: My Journey

My Journey — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:10:51 +0000

@Terri,

What in the hell are you talking about?

“We who use creditcards need a bailout how about a 6 month no interest bailout?”
1) What the hell should a publically traded company like visa or mastercard not make any money for 6 months?
2) Who is even proposing this ridiculously retarded idea?

“The interest all our cards have been raised to is usury!”
The definition of usuary is that of an illegal amount, as such, the cards can’t be raised past that amount (in NY for example that amount is 29.99%). Why the hell do you get to be a judge as to whether 20%, 15%, 10%, or 29.99% SHOULD be the illegal amount? Are you an elected official, probably not lol.

“Credit card companies are allowed to get away with highway robbery when it comes to rates, over charges etc”
You are corred and I agree with you, but to have a populist gov’t the likes of south america where the gov’t comes in and changes private contracts to appease the mass public will inevitably lead to destruction of the country.

Come on, you may be better than this mass hysteria B.S. or maybe not since your blog just seems to be one huge commercial for TriVeta LOL

By: Terri

Terri — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:20:07 +0000

We who use creditcards need a bailout how about a 6 month no interest bailout? The interest all our cards have been raised to is usury! Credit card companies are allowed to get away with highway robbery when it comes to rates, over charges etc

By: James

James — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:11:52 +0000

Wait a minute…can the federal reserve bank even regulate the credit card industry? Since when do they make rules governing consumer lending?

By: castocreations

castocreations — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:12:09 +0000

What about personal responsibility? Accountability? Just because there are scams out there doesn’t mean you don’t have to be responsible for yourself. I just hate seeing more and more government. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

I’m glad for easier to read details but why does it HAVE to be government mandated? *sigh*

By: Donny Gamble

Donny Gamble — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:19:32 +0000

I think the interest rate cut that the fed did yesterday is not going to help too much. People all starting to live more frugal lives and our not spending money on the things that they are used to spending money on.

By: MyJourney

MyJourney — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:41:40 +0000

I usually keep up on news like this! Great reporting.

I am not sure how I feel about these reforms, mainly because I think generally CC companies are evil insofar as they TRY to screw you out of fees, however, I hate the idea of the government changing a private contract I made with visa. It could be a slippery slope!

By: Craig

Craig — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:06:26 +0000

Do you see a big improvement even if these are passed?

By: Rassah

Rassah — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:24:17 +0000

I am very much for all this stuff. It’s often almost impossible to find your credit card interest rate, even online. I expect that the Cash Back features of many cards will go down or disappear altogether, since credit cards won’t be able to make lots of money off unsuspecting people through huge rates and hidden fees, but I guess the convenience of knowing how your card is actually working for you will more than make up for it.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:25:31 +0000

I am against making universal default illegal. Universal default s a fair rule that lets creditors cover their own backs. If you default on another card, you ARE more likely to default on all your other cards than if you hadn’t defaulted. Credit is priced based on risk. It is irreelvant whether or not you defaulted on that particular card.

By: matt @ Thrive

matt @ Thrive — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:28:59 +0000

We’ve come out fairly loud and hard in support of this legislature, so I’m glad to see it giving coverage; thanks Smithee. The nature of banking is changing and banks are going to have to change with it – because of the internet’s ability to allow for comparison shopping, there is accountability that wasn’t present before. With places like Thrive doing the calculations and recommending the best cards and accounts for people, banks will need to actually present the best offer to stay ahead in the marketplace. No hidden fees, no scare tactics…I believe we can force them to create solid banking products.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:22:27 +0000

This is great news for everyone. I do think the practices could go farther, but it is a start. I’d push to keep the cards out of the “auto rebill” business that nutracutical companies use. They charge a low shipping and handling fee, say $4.99 for a “free trial” to get a consumer’s card number. Then the usually unsuspecting customer is charged $70 to $90 dollars after 14 days. It’s in the fine print, if you have a magnifying glass, but it’s really a sneaky way to charge way too much for what’s often a placebo.

The credit cards are all too happy to play along, just as they were with online gambling until Congress stepped. in.