Initial reports from the financial markets last week would seem to bode well for the consumer economy: according to syndicated columnist Michelle Singletary, Americans appear to be paying down the balances on their credit cards. Trans Union said that average balances on bank-issued cards had dropped for a fifth consecutive quarter. CreditKarma reported that consumer [...]

Nationwide, credit card debt has fallen to the lowest level in the past eight years, according to an AP article by Eileen Connolly. The highest levels of credit card debt are in Alaska, and people in Alabama have been paying off their cards the most. Massachusetts and new Hampshire are about in the middle as [...]

Are you aware of the differences between an authorized user of a credit card and a joint account holder? Texas attorneys Allmand & Lee have put together a great post explaining these differences in detail. For people considering a bankruptcy filing (especially married people), the differences can be crucial. A joint account holder is just [...]

If you were wondering why not a lot of people feel sorry for credit card issuers, and their problems with individuals filing for bankruptcy on their accounts, look no further than the companies latest attempt to get around reform legislation. A law that went into effect earlier this year requires credit card companies to credit [...]

The United States Senate approved a bill this morning that would place new limits on what processing companies can charge for debit card transactions. Illinois senator Richard Durbin’s plan forces the Federal Reserve to ensure the fees that credit card companies charge for debit card use are proportional to the costs of processing the transaction. [...]

Massachusetts Treasurer Tim Cahill’s plan for pressuring large banks to respect the state’s law capping credit card interest rates at 18 percent is turning into a largely symbolic protest. As I reported here last month, Cahill, who is also an independent candidate for governor in the upcoming November elections, decided to withdraw state funds from [...]

Just when Congress put the damper on some of the most onerous fees credit card companies try to charge, — surprise — the companies are figuring out loopholes to get around the new laws. The new laws try to prevent companies from tacking on fees for payments by phone. But some credit card companies have [...]

The Massachusetts state government will soon start moving its money out of accounts it has on deposit in Citi, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo because those giant banks have refused to cap their interest rates at 18 percent. Many more people in Massachusetts have been forced to consider bankruptcy recently, because many banks have [...]

If you’re contemplating bankruptcy, a must-read is Detroit Free Press cartoonist Mike Thompson’s take on credit card reform. Click here and check it out!

One side effect form the fallout from Bank of America’s announcement earlier this week concerning the demise of overdraft charges is a renewed spotlight on a Pennsylvania woman who came home from work to find her house padlocked, wrongfully foreclosed on by BOA, and her pet parrot (actually named Luke instead of Polly) taken away [...]