Debit card fees are last straw for some consumers
Apparently, consumers have a breaking point — a $5 monthly debit-card fee. Since news broke late last month that Bank of America planned to introduce such a fee next year,...
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Even savvy consumers can find it tough to negotiate car sales
Most of us don't buy cars all that often. So when we do, we can come away with that nagging feeling of not knowing whether we got a fair deal...
Taking the mystery out of the bottom-line cost of college
By the time you know how much it will cost out of pocket to attend a college, you are far along in the process. Not only have you been accepted...
Retailers fight back against BofA $5 monthly debit card fee
Bank of America's plan to charge customers $5 a month to use a debit card has been blamed on new regulations that reduces its fee income. Starting Saturday, big banks...
How do you break out of phone menu prison?
My column today about getting around automated phone systems set up by companies prompted Don to write: "My wife, a hearing person, can become quite frustrated and confused when trying...
How to find a real, live person for real customer service
This recorded message must be one of the biggest fibs a business makes to customers: "Your call is very important to us." If that's true, why not hire someone to...
Demand erupts for trip insurance
Visions of the Iceland volcano spewing ash into the air, and weary travelers waiting it out at airports, are causing more people to consider travel insurance. For one, InsureMyTrip.com, which...
Credit scores not always on the number
Everyone's got your number — a credit score, that is — and as a savvy consumer, you might want to find out exactly what they've got. This three-digit number tries...
Credit card offers a good sign?
Could a sign of economic recovery be in your mailbox? Synovate, which tracks credit card solicitations, reported last week that card offers mailed to consumers fell about 6 percent from...
Don’t get caught losing your home and retirement fund
You're barely keeping up with the mortgage as it is. Now the interest rate on your adjustable-rate loan is about to reset higher. Casting about for a solution, your eyes...