A recent report on lending revealed that 46 percent of all loans made in the consumer credit market were made to debtors with a FICO score over 750. That's nearly half! And it's not that many debtors are suddenly seeing their credit scores shoot up, it's that lenders are still finicky about who they will [...]
One of the most common recommendations for post-bankruptcy debtors looking to rebuild their credit is that they get a secured credit card. But all secured credit cards are not created equally. Questions you should ask before you sign up for a secured credit card: How much of a deposit is needed? Most secured credit cards [...]
Prepaid debit cards are gaining popularity as the desire for unsecured credit cards decline. But are prepaid debit cards such a great idea for the average consumer? Prepaid credit cards work in much the same way as a traditional debit cards except that it is not attached to a checking account and comes with a [...]
Many debtors are becoming savvy about how debt can have a very negative impact on their financial health. Many debtors are even going so far as not taking on any debt at all, keeping their existing credit card balances at zero and rejecting any and all new credit card offers that come their way. But [...]
No one can argue that credit card reform has brought many improvements for consumers; but there have also been some unintended negative consequences for clamping down on credit card companies' questionable policies and tactics. First, let's take a look at the good: Credit card consumers are no longer surprised by sudden changes to the terms [...]
The Credit Card Act is officially rolled out and many debtors are reaping the benefits; but credit card companies are not taking their loss of revenue lightly. Many are getting sneakier than ever and trying to hit consumers where it hurts the most - in their wallets. Credit card tricks debtors need to be aware [...]
The Federal Reserve has approved the final set of rules for the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD) of 2009. The new rules, which will limit credit card companies' ability to charge penalty fees, will go into effect August 22, 2010. Listed below is a summary of the rules and how they may [...]
The new CARD Act as been in effect for the past few months, but there is still a lot of confusion surrounding the new rules. Below we offer some clarity on a few of the rules. Rule: Credit card consumers must be given 45 days notice before their interest rate is increased. Clarity: Sometimes you [...]
The Credit CARD (Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure) Act was designed to protect credit card consumers and combat the increasingly unethical tactics of some credit card lenders. But in our legislators' effort to please both consumers and credit card lobbyists, they left some gapping loopholes that credit card lenders can use to get around the [...]
Credit Card lenders and their debt collectors have a limited amount of time to sue debtors for failing to repay credit card debt. In the state of Texas, the statute of limitations for open ended type debts such as a credit card is four years. A debt collector pursuing a debtor for payment on a [...]
