Has there ever been an industry so relentlessly at war with its customers as the credit card industry is now? Watching new credit card legislation sail through Congress this week is the industry's reward for giving even its most responsible customers the overwhelming sense that they are getting ripped off. Indeed they are, and there is no more compelling, incontrovertible proof than the flimflammery of "over the limit" charges.
Last week, in a town-hall-style anti-credit card rally, President Obama shared his stage with a woman who had accidentally charged a payment to the wrong credit card, which let the payment go through, then turned around and said she was "over the limit" and raised her rate to 30 percent. This neatly encapsulates the worst practices of the credit card industry. Credit card companies can easily just turn down a charge that put a card over its maximum. No harm, no foul.
In Their Own Interest: Government is saving the credit card industry from itself. | The Big Money
Last week, in a town-hall-style anti-credit card rally, President Obama shared his stage with a woman who had accidentally charged a payment to the wrong credit card, which let the payment go through, then turned around and said she was "over the limit" and raised her rate to 30 percent. This neatly encapsulates the worst practices of the credit card industry. Credit card companies can easily just turn down a charge that put a card over its maximum. No harm, no foul.
In Their Own Interest: Government is saving the credit card industry from itself. | The Big Money
Comment