CardInform Blog

Well, thanks to the beautiful birth of the credit card, people in the US have been in personal credit debt for 50 years now!

The WSJ created a little video outlining how this wonderful invention that can spur consumer spending has created $2.5 Trillion in debt with 640 million card in issuance, which as you can calculate is over 2 cards per person (yes, even babies use credit cards).

 Watch the WSJ video here.

…and many more…

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“When the Federal Reserve asked for comments on its proposed rules on abusive credit card practices, an astonishing 56,000 poured in”

56,000!!?!@?!

That’s larger than the entire population of Canada!

Will the government listen?  Yes… Maybe…. Not really…. only a little….

With the Democrats in power, we’ve basically seen some sidestepping, but they’ve put out a Credit Card Bill of Rights that will attempt to allow consumers to :

• Pay off higher interest rates first
• Raising interest rates on balances incurred under lower rates
• Eliminate the practice of Universal Default (i.e. raising interest rates after a late payment on an unrelated bill)

Not a bad start I guess, but what is the most amusing are the credit card companies that argue that most cardholders are happy and that the complaints are just “anecdotal.”

Well… If 56,000 people are wrong and companies refuse to acknowledge it then, we’ve got alot of work to do!

What are your thoughts on this?  I know it’s a bit of both consumer idiocy and unfair practices, but what are you readers opinions on the subject?

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This post is for all you credit card cherry pickers scouring for the best offers and sitting by the mailbox waiting for better offers to call (myself included).  Have you noticed a lack of enticing promotions? or anything worthwhile?  It seems all I’m getting are convenience checks to transfer my balance.  They’re not even giving me a better rate! Apparently I should be thankful that they’re providing me for this ‘convenience’.

Well apparently according to NYT this is more of a trend than just a thought:

As the credit shakeout continues, and more lenders consolidating, it seems that our promotional offers aren’t knocking as hard anymore.  I see this as only a temporary trend, they’ll be back like a cheap hooker at TGIF’s.  They always come running back!

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New York Times has a great interactive piece on the changing culture of debt not only across the U.S., but across the world.

With the recent bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it’s a good look and discussion of how we got ourselves into this situation, and what the corporate lenders have done to help us into this situation of debt, mainly through the use of home equity loans, and credit cards.

In a nutshell, it discusses how credit card companies have taken one of our favorite past-times of accumulating debt, and faster than a liberal to a gay-pride, pro-choice rally, spread it to other nations.  The authors of the piece also have the wherewithal to speak with enough honesty to tell it like it is.  They stop short of saying that it’s a bad move but essentially describe it as a Hurricane Ike in the making… It’s fast and wet at first, but it’ll eventually take your house and car.

I’m all for a credit industry in burgeoning markets (as it buys daddy his new shoes),  but only so long as it is done responsibly, and corporate America in all honesty has done nothing to reassure us that this is the case.

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