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NEW YORK — For Citibank credit card holders, there is one way to escape the bank's rate hikes currently under way: Meet a monthly spending requirement. Those who meet the spending minimum — in some cases $750 a month — will be able to get a rebate on their total interest charges for that month. The rebate could cover some or all of the interest rate hike. Customers also need to make payments on time to qualify for the rebate. Without giving specifics, Citi said the monthly spending requirements and interest rate hikes will vary depending on the cardholder's credit...

As if hyperactive Washington politicians haven't already grabbed enough power by taking over banks and car companies and trying to control everybody's health care, now they are getting closer to centralized bureaucratic control of the entire consumer credit market. Pending legislation to create a superpowerful Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) would take an ax to financial freedom and significantly increase consumer costs. That's not what most people would call "protection." The bill already has made it through the House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat. It is expected to reach the House floor shortly after Thanksgiving....

So, I'm sure many of us have been getting these letters, see the URL for an example, in the mail from our credit card companies. Since my wife passed away, I've been able to pay off all of them and now have just one card with CitiBank that I use and now pay off each month. I like it because I get airline miles on it and I've had the account for over 20 years. Citibank took $300BILLION of tax payer bail out money and have tried to jack up my rates twice since July. The first time, I called...

To whom it may concern; If I reduce my credit-card balance, American Express will cut my credit limit to a much lower “comfort limit.” If I don’t make a big payment, my card will be suspended. If I DO make the big, unexpected and unannounced payment on demand, my “comfort level” may be capriciously dropped anyway, leaving me both without operating capital and without a reserve. My “utilization rate” is a key factor in determining my credit scores, and the bank has crashed my credit rating. I am a small business owner and as a result of the usurious and...

PHILADELPHIA — If a teacher learns that a student has been rewriting Wikipedia entries instead of doing the assigned research, how long should the teacher give the student to quit her deception and start earning grades the old-fashioned way? How about a parent who sees a child cheating at a game? Should he be given a few months to learn to play by the rules, or told to start playing fair right away? Over the last year, Washington has faced those kinds of questions with the nation's credit-card industry — and given an answer that would make the most lenient...

Note: The following text is a quote: Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETuesday, November 10, 2009 Alleged International Hacking Ring Caught in $9 Million Fraud Major Credit Card Processor Victimized in Elaborate Theft of Account Numbers Sergei Tsurikov, 25, of Tallinn, Estonia; Viktor Pleshchuk, 28, of St. Petersburg, Russia; Oleg Covelin, 28, of Chisinau, Moldova; and a person known only as "Hacker 3;" have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Atlanta, Ga., on charges of hacking into a computer network operated by the Atlanta-based credit card processing company RBS WorldPay, which is part of...

Consumer Credit: AwfulFriday, November 6, 2009 Posted by Karl Denninger Where are my green shoots? Consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 6 percent in the third quarter of 2009. Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 10 percent, and nonrevolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 3-3/4 percent. In September, consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 7-1/4 percent. Yuck. Here's the graphical representation. Nothing good in here. The non-revolving flattened out some in September (gee, you think "cash for clunkers" might have influenced August and September?) but revolving credit - that is, credit cards...

WT is wrong with this clown? WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd on Monday introduced legislation that would immediately freeze credit card interest rates on existing balances after he complained that financial institutions weren't supporting a new credit card act that is scheduled to take effect in February. "And no sooner had it been signed into law, but credit card companies were looking for ways to get around the protections this Congress and the American people demanded," said the Connecticut Democrat. "This bill would end those abuses and further protect customers today." Dodd has been giving Dirty...

Time to call out the outrageous actions this "bank" has taken. Let's first start with the fact that Capital One, along with most of the other "big banks", took TARP money. Why did they need/take TARP money? Simple: They were incompetent in their risk underwriting and thus got in trouble. That's a fact. Now let's add the other sin, to which the other big banks are also subscribed: These same firms have all front-run the legislation passed by Congress to bar certain practices, such as universal default and two-cycle billing, by raising rates and fees in front of the changes....

No law, including the Credit CARD Act that has started to take effect, prevents banks from closing down credit accounts without warning. Credit card issuers all maintain the right...

"The first thing they do is laugh. They think it is one of the most ridiculous things out there." Gordon Hageman is talking about a credit card offer that just came in the mail, an offer he could hardly believe. "I think they are trying to take advantage of me. I think that's what's going on right now with the economy, maybe just trying to see what they can get away with," says Hageman. And this card comes with an interest rate you won't believe. Not 20 or 30 percent, not even 50 or 60 percent, the Mastercard offer from...

Gordon Hageman couldn’t believe the credit card offer he got in the mail. "My first thought, it was a mistake," Hageman said. The wine distributor called the number on the offer, gave them the offer code and verified his information. Sure enough, it was right: the pre-approved credit card came with a 79.9 percent APR. Yes, 79.9 percent.

Q: Is it true that if I use my credit card at fast food places, my credit score will decrease or that it will affect my score in some way because it looks like I cannot afford to buy food? I pay my bill in full every month. -- Burger and Fries Lover A: Dear Burger: The fast answer is no, where you eat doesn't have an impact on your credit score, but that's not the full story. Your credit score is just one of the many factors that issuers use when making lending decisions, and while paying plastic for...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGC1mCS4OVo Message to Bank of America: I've decided to it's time to take a stand against the banksters' usury and greed! If our founding fathers were willing to sacrifice their LIVES for our FREEDOM, then I can certainly sacrifice my credit score and be willing to be sued. I'm staging a DEBTOR'S REVOLT!

Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc customers defaulted on their credit card debts in August at the highest rates since the onset of the recession, a sign that the banks' consumer lending woes are far from over.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Millions of Americans have already seen their credit card limits shrink, and millions more face the same fate as lenders prepare for tougher U.S. consumer protection rules. Since the financial crisis deepened a year ago, credit card companies have been closing millions of inactive accounts, cutting credit limits and raising interest rates to cushion themselves from record loan losses. This is just the beginning of the biggest shake-up in the credit card industry in at least 20 years, analysts said. . . . . . Going forward, credit card companies will purge customers rather than risk...

In May, President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act into law. The White House ballyhooed the bill as the triumphant victory of the little guy over the massive credit card company. This was your bill of rights to ward off those nefarious credit card companies with their sneaky fine print and “hike the interest rates whenever we want” mentality. Now, the real world impact of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act goes into effect this week for millions of Americans and “surprise” it isn’t what was promised. In fact, it amounts to a government...

Three Indicted in Largest Corporate Identity Theft Case in History Monday, August 17, 2009 DEVELOPING: Three men have been indicted in New Jersey in an identity theft case that the Justice Department is labeling as the largest in history. Authorities say more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen in a corporate data breach involving five different companies. This is a developing story. Please click refresh for updates.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is asking for help identifying a man wanted for stealing credit card numbers. Officials released a crime alert. They believe a man is stealing the numbers from shoppers in Plymouth and Maple Grove and using them to make his own credit cards. The wanted man was captured by a surveillance camera in Cub Foods in Maple Grove on July 28.

As a columnist for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the newspaper of record for Broward County, Michael Mayo is a fairly astute fellow. But that hasn’t made him immune to credit card issuers pulling the rug from under him. This past April he posted the following tale of personal woe: “I got a letter from Bank of America the other day. The fine folks at Bank of America wanted to let me know that they were raising my credit card interest rates. Currently, the card has an 8.9 percent fixed annual rate on purchases. I have a credit line of...