Piggy Bank Awards
December 28, 2010 | alternatives, Michigan | Comments (0)A Detroit News columnist rails at banks. From the story:
When can I buy pig protection? The newest credit-card racket being foisted on the American consumer? Payment-protection-insurance programs. These policies, added to your monthly credit card bill, promise to suspend interest and minimum payment requirements if you get sick or lose a job. According to The Wall Street Journal, policies cost 80cents to 90 cents per every $100 of debt, so a $5,000 balance means a protection premium of up to $45 per month. It’s a bad deal and the money is better spent paying down your balance, or paying for a balance transfer to a card with a lower interest rate. But just because you don’t sign up for it doesn’t mean you aren’t getting charged. Media reports find that just as in the past, the new fee is sneaking onto bills without consumers even requesting them. David Paris, an attorney based in New York, sued Discover Card in federal court, saying thousands of people had been pushed into the program without their knowledge. A class action suit over similar problems has been filed against HSBC in Illinois.
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