Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Credit cards have new ideas for swindling money from people

Less than a year after the passage of new laws limiting banks' ability to impose certain fees on credit and debit cards, Bank of America Corp., Discover Financial Services, J.P. Morgan Chase& Co. and other lenders are using different tactics to boost their fee income.

Some are raising minimum payments on certain customers' accounts in order to increase late penalties. Others are ramping up credit-protection insurance programs and charging customers for coverage without permission. Still others are pushing aggressively into high-fee prepaid cards, which are exempt from most of the new rules.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703778304575590823786685984.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_personalfinance