Monday, September 27, 2010

New Rules, Old Tricks

The Credit Card companies are up to the same old tricks. Since the Credit CARD Act of 2009, credit card companies are inventing all sorts of new fees to get around the new rules. They have to, to replace the $390 million they will be losing every year in fee revenue. It is the same old story, regulators impose new regulations to curb abuse of cardholders, and the extremely high paid attorneys representing banks find new ways around the laws. The more laws we pass, the more complex it all gets.

Another way they play tricks is with the marketing of the cards. Have you heard of the new "professional card"? It is like a corporate card but has the same terms as a consumer card, which means they aren't covered under the card law. Balance transfer fees are increasing and you can save money avoiding the annual fee by meeting the minimum spending limit each year.

Folks, if you do business with snakes, you get bit no matter how many times the government passes a new law to supposedly "protect" you.