Author: Ben Popken

Like the nerdy girl in the movies who loses her glasses and gets a new haircut and all of a sudden she’s popular, consumers who pay off their credit card bills in full every month may soon find themselves the center of some unexpected courting.

Used to be that “bad consumers” who charged more than they earned and never paid on time made the credit card companies’ loins tingle. These people would just stay in debt until they were dead, earning credit card companies over $200 billion a year in interest and fees. The only way this plan could go wrong is if everyone started defaulting on their debts. Which would never happen! Until it did.

Now credit card companies are going after the customers that they ignored or even tried to actively get rid of, people who pay their bills in full and on time! Well, people who pay their bills in full and on time, AND make lots of purchases, racking up lots of nice interchange fees for the credit card companies. Interchange fees are fees credit card companies collect from merchants for processing transactions.

Look to be wooed with offers for rewards cards programs and for these rewards programs to be less stingy, like 5% cashbacks, flexible rewards that don’t expire, and increased service. And banks will start adding rewards programs to debit cards for non-signature transactions.

So for everyone with perfect credit and payment history that got their credit card lines reduced or cut, a tiny rose has been tossed your way. Just watch out for the new annual fee thorns.

Credit card biz shift: Penalties to perks [Marketplace] (Thanks to c-side!)

If you know 5 people behind on their mortgage payments, 4 of them are going to end up losing their homes, according to a new study released by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

They say that there is a “shadow inventory” of approximately 5 million houses with delinquent mortgages that will go on the market in the next few years. However, because they’ll only get released as homeowners’ fingers are slowly pried from their deeds, there probably won’t be another drop in prices. Sorry, bargain hunters.

The consultants also say that the current efforts to modify loans, few of which are accompanied by a balance deduction, will only delay the inevitable. I can hear the clatter of jingle mail already!

80% Of Today’s Delinquent Homeowners Will Lose Their Houses — 6 Million In All [Business Insider]

Consumer action reporter hero Bob Sullivan is doing a neat thing today, it’s called the “Red Tape Fight Pledge!” Just pledge to spend one hour this month standing up for your consumer rights with a company that’s “trying to take you to the cleaners” by publicly posting your commitment here. Then do it and come back and tell everyone how you did. The stories will be used in an upcoming MSNBC Red Tape Chronicles story. Cool, I have a few fees that I’ve been meaning to get around to fighting, this could be the perfect little kick in the pants to get me started.

Red Tape Fight Pledge [Facebook]

Become a fan of Consumerist on Facebook and get new post updates, connect with other readers, and meetup infos in your news feed. Post your horror stories and consumer spit-takes. Facebook! Or not! Anyway, it’s there!

Another reason to try/buy generic: you might have to because your favorite name-brand could be getting the boot from store shelves.

If the product isn’t selling well-enough or the store just wants a better margin or co-branded advertising, sayonara. For instance, Walmart recently kicked off Glad and Hefty trashbags and replaced them with its own “Great Value” brand.

Less choice, less clutter, lower prices, it could make shopping less of a chore. Do we really need to decide between 15 kinds of toothbrushes?

Dumped! Brand names fight to stay in stores [CNNMoney]

Going from strip poles to iron bars in one night, a Consumerist reader says he got tossed in jail when he refused to give a strip club his thumbprint. Their ATM was broken so he had to pay his tab using a credit card cash advance. The club demanded a thumbprint and he refused, so cops that were already there threw him in jail. Was this legal?

Our intrepid reader writes, “I was at a “gentleman’s club” in downtown Detroit and their ATM didn’t work so I had to get a credit card cash advance on some moneys owed on my tab.

They charge a premium for this obviously but I just wanted to pay up and go (about 160 bucks). It was the end of the night and police were there already for whatever reason. They ran my card (with my photo ID in hand) and came back asking for a thumbprint. I thought this was absurd and declined. Well the two uniformed police stroll up and side with the bouncers and say surrender the thumb print. I refuse. They say they’ll arrest me if I don’t. I still refuse and I am taken in for disorderly conduct. Everything was later dropped but still this all felt terribly fishy.

I owed a girl for a few dances (I told her I would need to hit the ATM if I was going to get a dance when she approached me) and drinks for me and a friend (those add up fast at nearly 9 dollars a pop). They wouldn’t put the dances on the bar tab and basically made me use their cash advance (not the bank’s) system where you pay 20% to the club to front you cash. The advance fee, dances and drinks all came to something in the neighborhood of the 160. I had about 4 failed pings to the ATM the next day that vanished from my online bank statement a couple days later. Everyone was paid what they were owed in full.

I had to spend a night in jail which was obviously uncool; the lawyer I spoke to said it might be more trouble than it’s worth and pursuing it would be more a matter of principal. Sometimes righteousness isn’t very cost effective, I guess.

I must also confess that I had a couple adult beverages that night but it was made very clear to me that the ultimatum was “thumb print or jail”. I returned to get my credit card from the bar and an employee reiterated that, “all you had to do was put down your thumbprint!” The cops even took a moment to relish in mocking me when I said I know my rights and said I’d call the ACLU. He must have had a change of heart because when I arrived at court none of the police paperwork had been filed and I was free to go.

Mostly, I’m curious about the legality of giving my thumbprint to any CC merchant that wants it. I tried very hard to look into this and couldn’t find much info.”

What do you think? Legal? Abuse of power? A right not worth fighting over?

Have you ever used a muscle relaxer to treat muscle pain? In this video from our sister publication, Consumer Reports Health shows how that might not be the best first choice.

Instead, try massage, yoga, or a heating pad, or for lower back pain, a chiropractor. Over-the-counter medications like Tylenol can also help. If you do need to take a muscle relaxer, you might want to try the cost-effective Cyclobenzaprine or Baclofen. Avoid “Soma” because it has a risk of addiction. Talk your doctor first for recommendations.

Treating Muscle Pain [Consumer Reports Health]

Monique: 254-298-4490. She’ll take care of you.

PREVIOUSLY: Reach Acer Executive Customer Service

You can get free buttermilk shortstack of pancakes at IHOP on Tuesday Feb 23 in celebration of national pancake day. [ihoppancakeday]

Let’s step into a time machine and travel through the mists of chronos to an ancient yesteryear. It was a different era, Britney Spears shaved her head, Boris Yeltsin died, and people learned how to print images on toast from the comfort of their own workshops. Oh, and a lil’ thing called an iPhone came out. The year was 2007, and Verizon and Sprint were so scared that they issued these ridiculous sheets to their frontline reps with talking points for discouraging people from buying an iPhone:

VERIZON: [AppleInsider]

“Touch screen: It sounds cool, but if you’re a heavy text or email user, it could be challenging not being able to feel the keys as you press them. And how are you going to type without looking with a keyboard you can’t even feel.”
“Sorry, iPhone can’t send picture or video message — only e-mail. No over-the-air downloads. You have to connect to a PC to load music.”
“Wi-Fi is not a mobile technology. You have to be in a fixed location to use it — and that’s if you know where to find it. And some Wi-Fi hotspots make you pay to use them. There’re also those pesky concerns about security of Wi-Fi.”

SPRINT [AppleInsider] (PDF)

“The iPhone is an Apple product and has some nice features. It also has a nice price. Do you really need all those features in one device?”
“Are you sure 4G or 8G is enough storage for you? To give you a comparison, most iPods/MP3 players hold 40 to 60Gigs or more.”
“Using the iPhone on the GSM/EDGE network may be like having a really powerful computer on dial up.”

Ok, that last one turned out to be true.

The TSA forced a disabled 4-year old to get out of his stroller and remove his leg braces and walk unassisted through the metal director. After the humiliating and frightening incident, the boy’s father, a cop, told the supervisor, “This is overkill. He’s 4 years old. I don’t think he’s a terrorist.” The supervisor then said, “You know why we’re doing this,” and walked away, according to the father. It turns out that this didn’t even follow TSA policy, which would have allowed for the boy to be privately screened and swabbed for explosive material traces, without having to remove his braces.

Another case of TSA overkill [philly]

Maximize your Craigslist profits by crafting copy that really stands out. Like this guy’s rental listing that begins, “$500 HOLY CRAP! IS THAT A ROOM FOR RENT ON MY CRAIGSLIST??!?!?!?” and continues, “Do you want to be homeless? Then you better come check this room for rent out. It has WALLS and a CEILING. BLOCKS THE F****** WIND AND RAIN FOOL!”

We’ve told you that it stipulates in the contract between merchants and credit card companies that stores aren’t allowed to force you to show ID when you buy stuff, but what about the other side of the story? Alex is a 26-year old small business owner and Consumerist lover, but he doesn’t know how he’s supposed to prevent fraud if he can’t check people’s ID’s. Contrary to what some commenters assume, when a stolen credit card is used, the money gets yanked out of Alex’s bank account and he is unlikely to get it or the missing merchandise back. He gets jacked twice: once by the fraudster, and once by the credit card company. What should he do? Switch to cash only? His story, inside…

Alex writes, “I am a 26 year old small business owner with a brick and mortar retail location, and also a loyal consumerist reader for years. I have read multiple articles posted on your site how merchant agreements between retailers and CC companies do not allow the retailer to require ID from a consumer with a CC purchase. In fact when I read these articles the posts in the comments sections tend to get very heated against the retailer.

My question is as a small business owner and retailer there does not seem to be any safeguard to protect me against CC fraud. Most recently the article you posted about a consumers problems while trying to make a purchase at the Disney store requiring ID with CC purchase, the OP stated that even if the card was stolen VISA would surely cover the the loss to the retailer. This is not true!

If I or one of my employees makes a sale, and the card is later reported stolen the CC companies pull the amount in question immediately out of my bank account with no forewarning, no recourse and I am left holding the bag for the entire purchase amount. Just to be clear I can dispute charge backs, however a stolen card has no recourse from a retailers standpoint. Typically I receive a letter regarding the charge reversal a couple days after it disappears out of my account, and this letter also states my limited methods of recourse.

The credit card companies do not offer any sort of fraud protection to the retailer. This is incredibly frustrating since I am the one paying the CC companies for the “privilege” to accept their credit card on every single transaction I swipe. I am now the victim, this gets especially dangerous to my ability to keep my doors open when my cost on a large ticket item is in the hundreds to thousands of dollars. So what am I to do?

In my opinion the CC companies are at fault, they continue to do nothing to increase the security of their cards. This is blatant negligence on behalf of CC companies in the U.S. Especially when this issue has been directly addressed in the E.U. where credit cards have smart chips and a user defined pin is required for the majority of CC purchases.

If I am not allowed to safeguard myself and my business against CC fraud, then eventually I will be forced to go cash only, a growing trend.

Please offer some advice or at least words of encouragement.

-Alex”

What should Alex do?

RELATED:
I’m Happy When Clerks Demand I Show My ID With Credit Card Purchases
Starbucks Told Me It’s Corporate Policy To Check My ID With $27 Credit Card Purchase
10 Things You Might Not Know About Your Credit Card

Store brand is the new black. Nielesen says that buying of generic brands has increased 8% since 2007. Name brand purchases have dropped ~4%. But here’s a question: what’s what’s never okay to get as a store brand? For me, it’s tomato sauce. It’s like pouring ketchup on your spaghetti. [Boston Globe via NYT Bucks Blog] (Thanks to James!)

New service “pHarmony” is like eHarmony except it matches together polluters, lobbyists and politicians looking to make that special connection that only money and power can bring! In this satirical Greenpeace video, an oil lobbyist talks about how used pHarmony to find his true special someone, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. He says things like, “We both like to stay up at night and gut energy bills,” “It’s like we finish each other’s legislation,” and, “We talked about how much we both don’t like Jon Stewart.” Worth a chuckle, as long as you don’t take it too seriously and get all bent out of shape about it, oh wait, here comes the Consumerist comment section.

(Thanks to Vivek!)

Does the new computer savvy Barbie have tinier tatas than her predecessors? Reader jgodsey says she noticed a discrepancy in this side-by-side profile on TV. Or is it just the angle and the bodice? Here’s Geek Barbie from another angle along with another Barbie friend so we can settle this argument.

Guess that’s what happens when you give up your lead implants.

Commenter VaMPKiSS1 they collect Barbies and yes, the breasts are smaller, but it has nothing to do with this Barbie being a Geek, rather, “A few years ago, Barbie changed all their dolls’ bodies; now there are several different body types, but all of them have much smaller boobs. It was done to make her proportions more realistic. It was also about the same time they changed the Barbie face again and gave more realistic features to the non-caucasian dolls. It was a positive change, I think.”

(Photo: Migraine Chick)

What are you going to do with the money once you get your tax refund check? Take our poll and let us know!

Clarice is financially recovering from a divorce. Her husband handled all the finances, and it turns out that he had a card in her name but never paid off a $300 outstanding balance on it. Besides this card, she’s never had a credit card. Now she wants one and no one will give it to her, because of the outstanding derogatory item and lack of credit history. She’s tried applying for credit cards online, with her bank and with stores. She could get a co-sign from her father but “doesn’t want to wrap him up in all of this.” What can Clarice do? Well, the last thing she can try is to apply for a secured credit card.

A secured credit card is one where the lender requires you to deposit money to get access to the line of credit. Your credit limit is usually equal to the amount of money you put down. You want to look for one:

– with no application fee and a low annual fee
– that converts to a regular unsecured credit card after 12-18 months of on-time payments
– and most importantly, reports to all 3 credit bureaus.

Bankrate and Credit.com are good places to start looking for one of these cards.

BIG WARNING: Since secured credit cards cater to the unbanked and financially unsophisticated, this market is rife with hidden fees and punitive rates. Scope out potentially lenders super-carefully and take a fine-tooth comb to the fine print.

As regards the $300 outstanding balance, commenter wcnghj suggests, “File a police report for ID theft, and forward it to the big three CRAs, and the card issuer. It will go away. When it’s gone, apply for an easy to get card like the Macys store card”

You’ll never get the ladies with those milk crates! You need to sex up your pad with some choice items from IKEA, the furniture that helps a boy become a man. Riegel and Blatt show you how in this comedic ode. Beware, there is some NSFW language and guy in boxers humping Swedish furniture.

IKEA Song [Atom] (Thanks to Maya!)

The CARD act is supposed to go into effect next week, Feb 22. As we get close to the deadline, is your credit card complying with the rules? Courtesy of BillShrink, this giant infographic is here to tell you the answers. Teaser: absolutely zero issuers are doing fair allocation of payments.