Unless you’re a more recent shareholder in Bank of America or CitiBank, you’ve got to be disappointed with how banks are crushing consumers. And if you’re a credit card holder from either of these banks and others, or of the American Express products, you no doubt know first hand how they’ve reacted to the regulation changes around credit card fees. Some of their fee income will be impacted by things like late fee guidelines and the inability to collect over limit fees unless the consumer opts in — yeah, right.
So our wonderful leadership in Washington decided on a consumer rights law and painted all credit card issuers with one broad brush. What they should have done is take their time and gotten it right. The problem with fees that border on criminal, putting many so deep in the hole that making the minimum payment never allows for any progress in paying off the debt, is that the culprits are banks. And not even all banks, mostly the large ones with a regional or national footprint. So why punish ALL credit card issuers for the sins of a few? Because we’re talking about lifelong politicians that aren’t even impacted by the rules they seek to change. How ironic is that? Ready. Fire! Aim.
I’m adding this cool little video created by a young lady in Alberta province, Canada aimed at educating folks on the differences between banks and credit unions. Forget that it is a commercial for her area youth group — pay attention to the message, because it is spot on. Enjoy. And pay attention!
I Got Issues* 