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It was inevitable. With all the rules that the government is putting in place, it was only a matter of time before credit card companies increased fees and introduced new fees to keep their businesses viable. First it was the interest rates that went up. And we are not talking about interest rates being increased only for those with a bad credit history. Even those with a great credit history have had their APR raised by their issuers.

Interest fees seem to be the first step in the process. Many experts claim that the next step in the process is the introduction of annual fees for most credit cards. With more regulations going into effect next year, it’s only a matter of time before things get even more tough for credit card owners.

The latest moves by credit card companies have certainly had a negative effect on consumers. According to surveys, satisfaction rate and consumer confidence have dropped significantly in the past few months. Let’s not forget that credit card companies have increased all kinds of fees, so if you happen to miss a payment or are late for one, you are going to see a large increase in your fees. Read the rest of this entry »

Talk about biting the hands that feed you. Many banks and credit card companies have been in trouble due to the recession that has been going on in the U.S. We have all heard how we can’t move forward if these companies fail. That’s great that our government is thinking about the good of people. But rewarding companies that have raised interest rates on customers is simply unacceptable. A few banks are starting to turn their businesses around and generate profit, but where is all this money coming from? If it is coming from those higher interest rates that poor customers have to shoulder, that’s what you can call theft of epic proportions.

Regardless of whether you are for this president or against his policies, you’ve got to admit that he has had a lot of issues to work on. But bailing out the banks just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I have no trouble with the bailouts but how the money has been used, and how these financial companies have turned their backs on their customers. How are customers supposed to pay all these large fees when they themselves are struggling in these tough economic conditions. What has corporate America done in these tough times? They have borrowed the taxpayers’ money and charged the taxpayers much more to give the money back. If that’s not unfair, I don’t know what is. And don’t think for a second that rate hikes are over. We haven’t even begun.

Your take: are credit card companies’ actions justified here? How would you fix this mess?

If you are a disgruntled credit card consumer, there is reason to rejoice today. Forbes is reporting that House of Representatives passed the credit card reform bill today. The bill is a great news for consumers. It helps avoid nasty suprises on your bill. In addition, credit card companies are required under this bill to mail their bills 25 days before the due date. Best of all, they will have to give us a heads up before raising the interest rate out of the blue. Unfortunately, the Republican White House is against such bill, but here is hoping that the members of Congress will somehow find a way to pass this bill. Here is the rest of the story.

These days you hear from a whole lot of people about how their credit card companies ripped them off. To be honest, I don’t doubt that some credit card companies do rip people off on an everyday basis. but for some reason, those who complain the most are people who actually do not have a valid case.

BadCreditCards.org is a credit card organization that talks about bad credit cards and allows consumers to post their complaints about major credit card companies such as Chase, American Express, Citi, Advanta, and … If you go to one of these pages, you probably see a couple of thousands negative feedback for these companies. But based on my experience, 90% of these claims are just not valid.

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen people complain about the fact that their rates were increased because they were late by a day. Being late is simply being late. If you don’t pay your bills on time, then you shouldn’t expect credit card companies to do you any favor. I know a few credit card companies that forgive such instances, but if you can’t bank on that. Also, people complain about transfer fees. Balance transfer credit cards all come with fees, so you simply can’t ignore that fact and expect not be charged when you use your card.

The moral of story here is you need to pay your bills on time, and you need to read the footprint. I personally don’t agree with the fact that credit card companies get a way with putting their terms and conditions in a small font on a seperate page than the application page. But we all know how the game is being played, so make sure you click on the terms and conditions link on the application page every time. Once you read it and understand it, most likely there won’t be any suprises.

Have you had any credit card companies rip you off? Please share your experience here.

For those of you wondering why the site has been idle for the past few days, we have been gathering and ranking cards and they will be added gradually in the next few days. Please feel free to share your experience with the existing cards. If you like, you can subscribe to Credit Cards Unleashed by Email. Please stay tuned for more features as we add them.