As the credit card companies continue to prove they are not interested in providing value to the customer and making a fair profit from the value they provide. Instead they attempt to do whatever they can to get money from customers. I would guess because they can get more from careless customers that don’t block each attempt to take their money than the companies have to pay back or pay in fines.
J.P. Morgan Chase — What Every Person With A Credit Card Should Know
Canceling cards from companies that repeatedly treat customers as a source of ill gotten gains is wise. Unfortunately most options seem to be led by the same unethical tactics. Some credit unions seem to actually believe in providing a fair service and treating customers with honesty and integrity (though many just outsource credit card service to a company that has no interest in the mission of the credit union to serve members). During the era of the robber barrons it was accepted that business was amoral. Since then it is understood morality applies in the business world - some people just case less about morality than cash.
I called the Chase Fraud Detector number first and talked to a nice guy who explained to me that when I called to ask a question about an issue in January, “they must have asked me” to try this 30-day free trial for Fraud Protection.
Again, you can no longer trust credit card companies (you probably could trust http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/002121.html, them in 1990. Exactly when they became so immoral I am not sure). You have to treat them as though they will take your money if they can figure out some way to trick you. And it would not surprise me that they will do it even if they don’t trick you but instead just figure they can take a lot of money from a lot of customers and then make it a huge hassle to retrieve your money. And they figure they can most often keep any fines below what their profit from doing so.
Think about this: Technically, they start charging your credit card without your authorization, supposedly when you ask for information.
Why we continue to tolerate such unethical behavior is beyond me.
Remember, your credit card company will try and trick you out of money. You must monitor them in the same manner you would anyone that has access to your credit and is willing to take what they want without informing you. Look at your statement every month and look for the latest bad behavior. And don’t support companies with your business that show repeated bad behavior.
Related: Sneaky Fees - Poor Customer Service: Discover Card - Secret History of the Credit Card (PBS expose) - Hidden Credit Card Fees - Credit Card Currency Conversion Costs - Rogue Charges Resurrect Expired Amex Card - Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litigation - Credit Card Victims Muzzled - Prisoners of Discharged Debt - Senator Dodd Believes Industry Changes are Necessary to Protect American Consumers -My Very Own Risk-Based Repricing Experience - Mugger Used Our Credit Card, Now CapitalOne Sued Us Without Us Knowing For $1200 And Won - Wife beat corporate horde at Capital One - EU may fine credit-card companies - Credit Card Issuer Will Repay Millions To Some Customers
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[...] The government has been far to slow in prohibiting the abusive practices of credit card companies. [...]