U.S. Credit Card Industry in Revolt

By James B. Kelleher, Reuters

Nobody seems happy with the U.S. credit-card industry these days — not the consumers who use the cards, the retailers and merchants who accept them, or the lawmakers who oversee the industry.

The merchants accuse the industry of illegally fixing the processing fees its charges them and they are not taking it any more. A growing number have filed suit against the industry’s two biggest associations, alleging violations of U.S. antitrust law.

Consumers, meanwhile, accuse the industry of larding its contracts with fine-print “gotcha clauses” that trigger rate increases and penalties — and they’re not taking it anymore either. A growing number are complaining to the Better Business Bureau, where credit-card gripes are now the third-largest source of complaints, and to representatives in Congress.

“I think the credit-card industry is reaching a tipping point,” said Travis Plunkett, the legislative director at the Consumer Federation of America, a Washington, D.C.-based group that has been inundated with complaints from consumers.

“People are just fed up with the approach that the large credit-card issuers have taken over the past five years. They’re fed up with an increasing number of traps and tricks. They’re tired of being hit with a fee every time they blink.”

For this complete story, please visit U.S. Credit Card Industry in Revolt.