South Florida Paralegal Blog

A few weeks ago, I was mesmerized watching CSpan as the head honchos of three of the largest credit card companies explained to Congress how wonderful they are. As Senators read horrible tales of how their constituents had been abused by credit card companies, the three multimillionaire CEOs squirmed and shifted in their seats.

As someone who deals with people going through difficult financial situations, I wanted to stand up and cheer. About time Congress got involved in the credit card mess. Unfortunately, some of the worst offenders didn't send their representatives to the hearings.

Generally speaking, I like to see as little government regulation in business transactions, but this is an area where some real reform is needed. These companies are literally out of control. Here's an example of a stunt that Capital One pulled on me:

As anyone who pays their bills online knows, you must select the closest business day before the payment due date if it falls on a weekend. A few months ago, I set up my online payment almost three weeks in advance and selected Friday, the day before my payment was actually due.

When my next month's statement arrived, I was surprised to see a hefty late fee. Before calling Capital One, I checked my bank account online to verify that it had in fact been paid on the Friday I selected; it had. I called Capital One and was informed that they since did not receive my payment until after 3:00 on that Friday, it was not credited to my account until the next business day. I was flabbergasted! That is perhaps the most creative way to basically steal money from customers I have ever seen! They had my money one day early yet I was charged a late fee. Only credit card companies can get away with unethical, dirty, sneaky tactics like this!  

We as consumers need to stop complaining and do something. Write to your elected officials and let them know you've had enough already!