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Beware Credit Card Skimming originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 00:18:06.

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The Federal Reserve has proposed a rule that would limit penalty credit card fees - those fees that are imposed when you default on your credit card, e.g. miss a payment. Right now, credit card companies are charging the maximum penalty fee to the majority of their customers. If it's passed by Congress, the new rule could end that practice.

The rule would stop credit card companies from charing fees that are more than the violation. For example, if you go over your limit by $5, your maximum over-the-limit fee would be $5. The rule would stop inactivity fees and prevent cardholders from being charged multiple times for one violation.

You can let the Federal Reserve know what you think about the proposed rule by commenting at their website. Make sure you leave a comment for R-1584.

The Fed Proposes a Rules to Limit Credit Card Fees originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 02:10:52.

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Credit card issuers are now required to include credit card repayment time and cost on the front of your billing statement, but they may be trying to skirt that new requirement.

Credit card issuers are now required to give a minimum payment warning letting you know just how much you'll end up paying in interest if you make the minimum payment on your credit card. They also have to clearly state late payment penalties including late fees and penalty rates. Both these disclosures are supposed to be printed on the front of your billing statement.

The rule applies to printed statements and if you check your billing statement online, you might not see the warnings unless you download the PDF version of your statement. Could this be the real reason why some private-label credit card issuers started charging consumers a dollar to receive paper statements?

CreditCards.com reports that back in December of 2009, retailers who issue through Alliance Data Systems gave cardholders the option to get their statements online or pay $1 for paper statements. Of course, there'll be some customers to pay the fee because they can't or won't check their accounts online. The ones who opt for online statements could miss out on vital information about how much they're paying for credit.

Are Some Creditors Trying to Hide the True Cost of Credit? originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 02:42:48.

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You could try to pay your way out of debt, but if you don't change certain spending habits, you'll find it close to impossible to become debt-free. One of the first things you have to do is tally up your debt and come to grips with what you owe. Learn four other habits to change before you try to get out of debt.

Want to Be Debt-Free? Change the Way You Spend originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 11:30:02.

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Note: This news story came out last year, but many readers are still facing problems with fraudulent charges from iTunes.

A MyFox New York story warns about fraudulent credit card and check card charges that appear to be from iTunes. The first signs of the fraud include charges or pending authorizations from a APL*ITUNES business for $1.00 which might seem to be accurate or an email for gift card receipts that were purchased with your account. The fraud is happening to a wide-variety of people who may or may not have an iTunes account. From the news story:

The high-tech scam has claimed victims from New York to California. At the heart of it all is Apple's wildly popular iTunes. Victims say it starts with an unexpected e-mail for purchases they never made. That's how Rachel Katz from Manhattan found out, "I got two emails thanking me for my purchase."

But by the time victims get the e-mail receipt it's usually too late. The receipts appear to be legitimate, and come from Apple, generated by the user's iTunes account. The receipts show purchases for iTunes electronic gift certificates and charges that hit checking accounts, credit cards or PayPal depending on what the user has linked to his or her iTunes account.

Some of the thieves wait for the $1.00 charge to complete before hitting the account with even higher charges. Sending an initial small charge through first allows the thief to determine whether the account is legitimate.

Many victims of the fraud are having trouble fixing the situation. Neither the banks nor Paypal nor Apple accept ownership. Meanwhile, victims are left without hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

Brett Larson with MyFox recommends deleting your credit card information from iTunes. Instead, he suggests you fund your account with an iTunes gift card. The cards can be purchased from many retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy. Or, you can make iTunes purchases with single-use credit card number available from your credit card company.

I just deleted my credit card information from iTunes by going to Store --> View My Account. I clicked on Edit Payment information and next to "Credit Card" I selected the radio button next to "None."

If you notice an authorization or charges from Apl*itunes, contact your bank immediately. Here are some Tips to Avoid Credit Card Scams and information about disputing inaccurate credit card charges.

via Consumerist

Watch Out for Unauthorized Charges From iTunes originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 02:05:33.

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