Posts Tagged ‘ Capital One ’

Mary Watson v. Plastic: A Tale of One Pissed-Off Retailer

April 18th, 2011. By Hunter West

We’ve been ticked off at credit card companies for a long time, haven’t we? The high interest rates, the late-payment fees, and the propensity to jack up the rates at the drop of a hat. Congress finally called the credit card companies to the carpet and forced them to reign in some of their practices—although critics have always maintained there will be other ways found to make up for any lost revenue. 

And that’s just for us—the schmucks who use credit cards. What about the merchants? 

Well, according to a proposed class action lawsuit filed Monday in Canada, merchants aren’t happy with the status quo, either… 

Mary Watson is a retailer who operates a furniture store in British Columbia. She has since 1990. And like most merchants who sell big-ticket items, she can understand that most people would rather use plastic to buy that pricey leather sofa, than pull out a wad of hundred-dollar bills. 

No, she’s okay with that. What Mary is upset about are all the fees charged to her business when a consumer uses plastic. The fees are hard to track. What’s more, she’s not allowed to promote, or suggest that her customers use an alternative form of payment, such as cash or debit.

She’s not exactly required to suggest her customers use their credit cards. But at the same time, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bank of America, Bank of Nova Scotia, BMO Financial Group, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Capital One, Citigroup, Credit Card fees, credit cards, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec, Mary Watson, MasterCard International, National Bank of Canada, Retailer fees, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Visa Canada
Posted in Financial, lawsuits | 1 Comment »

Capital One: Low Blow to Low Interest Rates

October 19th, 2009. By LucyC

Capital One got hit with a potential class action lawsuit this week, and one guess what it’s about? Interest rate hikes on its supposedly low interest rate credit cards. 

I would dare to hazard a guess that unless you live in a cave, you have likely seen one of the several Capital One’s ads promoting their low interest cards… you know the “what’s in your wallet?” campaign? Not a lot by the time Capital One is finished with you, from the sounds of things. 

The back story is sadly, not unique, but rather the predictable narrative of deceptive business practices which appear to have become the hallmark of big banking.

Capital One, the suit alleges, raised interest rates on many card holders whose accounts were in good standing. Why? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Capital One, credit cards
Posted in Financial | 1 Comment »