Consumers Union Attacks Credit Card Industry for the Holidays
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Consumers
Union Attacks Credit Card Industry for the Holidays
Consumers Union, best known as publisher of Consumer Reports
magazine, believes the credit card industry deserves a lump
of coal this holiday. To drive this point home, the group has
produced a satirical animation "It's Always Christmas Time (for
VISA)". According to Consumers Union, the animation highlights
unexpected credit card fees, rate hikes, and misleading contracts.
Consumers
Union is urging Congress to pass reform bills that would do
things like ban "universal defaults" (which some credit
card issuers use to hike fees for missed payments on unrelated
bills), prevent late fees on bills postmarked before the due
date, and prohibit over-the-limit fees if the issuer approves
the charge.
The
animation, which includes a song by Texas bluegrass band the
Austin Lounge Lizards with lyrics like "With our plastic
safety net/we've snagged the biggest loan shark yet" can be
viewed at http://www.CreditCardReform.org.
Published 12/06/05 (Modified 05/07/12)
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