End of free ride for Credit Card "deadbeats?"

 http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/credit-card-update.asp


This morning, the above credit-card blog raised an alarm that BofA
was about to start charging a monthly $1.50 fee to those "deadbeats"
that pay their balance in full every month. Now the story's been updated
and it seems this was a false alarm but there's still understandable
lingering
concern that this might portent a new business practice of the cc industry.

Well I'm not thrilled at that prospect either but what I find amusing is
that
these columnists are actually acting indignant about it. Now that major
banks
have been pressured into ending "unfair" practices like universal default,
the same people who've been egging on these SBC hearings in cc practices
are now acting shocked, *shocked*, that these FOR-PROFIT firms would
actually *think* about collecting the money from someone else. And if you
can't
get it from your irresponsible cardholders without being harrassed by the
government, hell let's soak the responsible ones. Perhaps you guys should
have kept your mouth shut while you (we) "deadbeats" had it good with
our perpetual 0% financing.

  SpammersDie wrote:

There's no link between universal default and minimum fees.  It's not as
if they have a certain target for revenue and stop trying to get more
beyond that.  If they think some new policy will bring in more money,
they'll do it, whether or not other unrelated policies are also helping.

 

If they always behaved rationally according to economic theory, they would
act as you say but the fact is, bank execs are not immune to human
complacency and being fire-alarm driven. So when a sudden threat to revenue
from one segment shows up and a new revenue grab begins in another, it's
likely there is a link between the two.

 The Brea Familyt credit union charged a $5 inactivity fee
causing me to drop them after 15 years.

 
   Oh sure, like it's their fault your lazy money was just laying
around getting fat. ;)