Consumer protection

The Card Act was passed in 2009 to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive credit card practices. But some stay-at-home parents complain that one part of the law has made it harder for them to get credit cards.

When times are hard, fraud often gets worse. Americans are under great financial pressure, and there is no shortage of criminals waiting to take advantage of it. 24/7 Wall St. examined the 10 states that had the most per-capita fraud complaints.

The Obama administration's consumer financial watchdog agency is backing off a plan to limit big upfront fees on credit cards. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acknowledged Thursday that its proposal would increase costs for cardholders and allow banks to charge more in fees.

The average fee for overdrafting your bank account rose again last year, but evidently, more Americans are doing a better of job managing their checking accounts, because the amount paid in overdraft fees dropped by $1.5 billion in 2011, after a $4 billion drop in 2010.

Washington's efforts at financial reform keep having strange and unintended consequences. In response to a law that was meant to lower excessive debit card transaction fees on merchants, Visa and Mastercard found a way to raise the fees on a host of small businesses.

Consumer activists are pushing bank regulators to allow people to take their account numbers with them when they switch banks, just like cellphone numbers. Such account number portability might encourage banks to treat customers better because it would make it easier for them to leave.

Bank of America learned pretty quickly last month that customers think $5 a month is too much to pay to use a debit card. But is there such a thing as a reasonable bank fee? One in three people say they're prepared to walk away from their financial institution to avoid a fee, a new survey reveals.

Reebok's promise that its EasyTone and RunTone shoes could shape your legs and tone your butt sounded too good to be true. That's because they were, said the FTC Wednesday, when it ordered the footwear maker to give $25 million in partial refunds to customers who bought the products based on the inflated claims.

Earlier this week, the FCC proposed new rules designed to crack down on "phone cramming," a widespread, illegal practice that robs billions of dollars from phone users. And with 300 million third-party charges hidden in phone bills every year, odds are, you've been a victim.

We got lots of reaction to our article about how changes in debit and credit card swipe fees may affect you. Swipe fees are the charges retailers pay when they allow you to use plastic. One question kept coming up: "Do I pay those fees when I use my debit card?" Regina Lewis explains.