This Week In Credit Card News: Debt Collectors Garnish Wages, Cards Coming With Microchip Bill Hardekopf , Contributor Debt Collectors Have Figured Out a Way to Seize Your Wages and Savings It appears the debt-collection industry has found a troubling strategy: filing lawsuits against debtors on the theory that they won’t ever show up to court to defend themselves. The consequences are dire when the debtors don’t appear in court. A judge can put a lien on someone’s home, garnish wages, even freeze bank accounts–all without a person ever getting a chance to fight their case. And at times, collectors file suit in error. Sam’s Club to Offer Credit Card with Chip to Prevent Counterfeiters Sam’s Club is rolling out a credit card with a microchip to prevent fraud, the first major retailer to switch to a more secure payment card after hackers made off with a trove of private customer data at Target last year. Sam’s Club said the MasterCard credit cards will be available this month. Each credit card has an embedded chip that makes the card more difficult to duplicate. [Los Angeles Times] Large Portion of Americans Are Clueless about Credit Scores A recent survey shows that a large portion of Americans have very little idea how their credit scores are determined. 40% of those surveyed did not know credit card issuers use their credit scores to determine credit limits and pricing. 31% did not know that a cosigner’s credit score can decline with a late payment. 26% did not know that keeping credit card balances low could improve their credit scores. Why American Express Wants to Kill Credit Cards American Express believes the plastic in our wallets eventually will go away. There are two things you always have with you: a credit card and a smartphone. The day is coming when we combine them. The day is coming when we combine them. “What we are hyper-focused on is how do we merge those two things,” said the AmEx leader of digital partnerships and development. “Especially as one day the physical card will disappear. Protecting Consumers Five Years After Credit Card Reform In 2009, President Obama signed into law the Credit CARD Act. This law ended credit card industry practices in which interest rates could change at any time and in which hidden provisions enabled companies to charge significant fees without justification. These changes have created a clearer, fairer, and more competitive marketplace for consumers and have given them new tools to understand the terms of credit card offers and to pay off their debts responsibly. Yet while these laws were significant victories for consumers, some regulatory gaps remain. Cut Cost of Travel Abroad with Right Credit Card Save some money every time you make a purchase on your international trip. Have the right credit card in your wallet-one that does not charge a foreign transaction fee. The Switch To Credit Cards With Embedded Computer Chips Has Serious Downsides For The US Payments Industry Debit and credit cards with embedded microchips are coming to the U.S. They are known as “EMV cards,” and most merchants will accept them by year-end 2015. EMV cards are supposedly more secure and fraud-proof than magnetic stripe cards, which are still dominant in the U.S. market. But they aren’t a cure-all for fraud risks, and they pose other disadvantages too. Visa is Preparing a Standard for Prepaid Debit Cards Prepaid debit cards are growing in popularity, but it’s often hard to know whether a card is a good deal before you buy one, because there’s no requirement that the cards disclose their fees and terms in a uniform way. To help clue in consumers, Visa said that it would soon flag prepaid cards that meet a set of consumer-friendly standards, like flat monthly fees. The cards and their packaging will carry an emblem, in addition to the Visa logo, so consumers can quickly tell if the card meets the criteria. To contact our office please call 856-589-8901 or through our website @ pfdlaw
Posted on: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 12:23:02 +0000
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