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WalletPop Wire

The problem with credit card agreements? Most Americans can't understand them

Martha C. White Jul 26th 2010 @ 5:15PM EST Filed Under:

Do you find the legalese in your credit card agreements confusing, that you give up squinting at the fine print and throw the document into a drawer? Well, a new study shows that you're not alone. Even worse, some consumer advocates claim that the card companies make it deliberately tough for you to fully grasp what you're getting into until it's too late.

The site CreditCards.com conducted what it calls a "readability study" of more than 1,200 card agreements with the help of software created by Micro Power & Light Co. What they found is shocking: The average card agreement is written at a twelfth-grade level. This wouldn't be so bad, except the average American reads at a ninth-grade level, and only one in five reads above a twelfth-grade level. In other words, the card companies are churning out these documents it knows 80% of its customers won't understand any more than if they were written in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

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Postal rate hike less certain

Ira Teinowitz Jul 26th 2010 @ 5:00PM EST Filed Under: Extracurriculars, In the News

It looks like there is one price hike that consumers may yet get to avoid next year. The U.S. Postal Service's plans to raise prices on stamps to 46 cents from 44 cents in January -- a 4.5% increase -- could be in doubt.

In an unprecedented move today, a coalition of 700 mailers acting as the Affordable Mail Alliance followed through on its threat to join together to oppose the rate hike, filing a petition with the Postal Rate Commission and joining some Capitol Hill critics of the rate hike. The commission needs to approve the rate hike for it to take effect Jan. 2.

The move is unusual because normally the 700 mailers each try to win the best rate for themselves and in the process, sometimes counter each other's rate arguments.

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Wal-Mart's plan to use smart RFID tags sparks privacy concerns

Josh Smith Jul 26th 2010 @ 3:45PM EST Filed Under: Shopping, Technology

Wal-Mart is trying to keep better track of its inventory by adding smart tags, or RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, to individual items in its stores. But privacy experts and consumers are worried that store merchandise won't be the only thing it tracks.

Starting next month the tags, which the retailing giant previously used on pallets carrying products, will be embedded in the items you buy at the store. Equipped with a handheld reader, store workers will be able to quickly check the stock of an item on a shelf by scanning the tag. In addition to managing inventory, Walmart hopes that the tags will help curb employee theft by allowing the store to track the clothing throughout the store. Privacy experts are concerned, however, that the tracking may occur beyond the store.

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Insider secrets to enjoying a long and happy retirement

Jennie L. Phipps Jul 26th 2010 @ 2:15PM EST Filed Under: Retire, Retirement Advice

Money is only a small part of what makes you happy after you retire, says blogger Sydney Lagier, a former certified public accountant who left the working world two years ago at the young age of 44 and now writes about the experience of escaping the grind for U.S. News & World Report.

Here are what she says are the seven secrets to retirement happiness.

Good health: Be healthy enough to enjoy yourself.
A significant other: It doesn't matter whether you're married or just living with a partner and enjoying life, so long as you have someone to share the good times.
A social network: Socialize not just with your children and grandchildren, but with plenty of friends and acquaintances as well.
Avoid TV: At least two studies confirmed that unhappy people watch the most TV.
Intellectual curiosity: Do things that keep your brain chugging along.
Don't be overly ambitious: If it's important to you to be the top dog, you probably won't like retirement.
Enough money: You don't have to be rich, but you need to be able to pay the bills. You won't be happy if you spend all your time worrying about where your next buck is coming from.

I thought this was a fine list. But since I'm not retired yet, I decided to seek out an expert opinion. So I walked down the street to Bob's house on the corner.

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Iams recalls prescription cat food over salmonella fears

Linda Doell Jul 26th 2010 @ 1:30PM EST Filed Under: Recalls, Consumer Ally, In the News

Iams is recalling two lots of its prescription dry cat food because of a possible salmonella contamination, says its parent company Procter & Gamble.

The recall affects five and a half-pound bags of Iams Veterinary Formulas Feline Renal with the lot numbers 01384174B4 and 01384174B2. The lot codes can be found on the back of the bag, in the lower right corner. Consumers who have bought the recalled food should discard it and contact P&G for a refund. So far there have been no reports of illness in connection with the cat food, which is sold through veterinarian offices nationwide.

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Do this now, before you lose your wallet

Tom Barlow Jul 26th 2010 @ 1:00PM EST Filed Under: Shopping, Travel, Identity Theft

Most of us have experienced that stomach-churning moment when we realize we've lost our wallet. As Consumerist points out, a little preparation now can make that experience much less dreadful. Here are four things to do before you realize your wallet is gone, and one suggestion of how to avoid losing your wallet.

1. Know what you have in your wallet. Emptying mine, I find:

Driver's license
Two library cards
One credit card
One debit card
Proof of insurance
Car registration
Medical insurance card
Coffee shop gift card (a free $2.50 coffee with every $25 added; where else can you get 10% on your money?)
A list of my current medications
My glasses prescription
$1 cash (come on, payday!)
A blank check
One business card

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New York homeowners barred from renting to tourists

Jason Cochran Jul 26th 2010 @ 12:00PM EST Filed Under: Extracurriculars, Home, Travel, Fraud, In the News

New York Governor David Paterson signed it. The new law, which I alerted you to last month, bans homeowners and apartment holders from renting their homes to tourists. The law, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg pushed for, claiming it would protect vacationers from "unsafe conditions", will affect personal pocketbooks: It will make New York City's hotels, where rooms are routinely $350 a night, nearly the only game in town.

There are solid arguments on both sides of the issue. Housing advocates are rightly upset that some unscrupulous landlords have been forcing legitimate renters out in favor of the more lucrative tourist trade. In fact, a building that I once lived in was largely and unfairly converted to that under-the-table trade.

But instead of crafting a law that cracked down on that practice, the politicians in Albany simply banned by-owner rentals to tourists completely. It's the way of the lazy politician: Rather than repair the plumbing, simply rip it out.

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President Obama to appear on 'The View' on Thursday

Jason Cochran Jul 26th 2010 @ 11:24AM EST Filed Under: In the News

Whoopi Goldberg announced that this Thursday, July 29, President Barack Obama will appear on ABC's morning chat show The View. Goldberg said it will be the first time that a sitting American president has appeared on a daytime talk show.

Show creator and co-host Barbara Walters, who left the program temporarily to have heart surgery, will return for the interview, which will be recorded on Wednesday. It will be her first broadcast from the show's New York City studio since early May.

"It will be an outstanding day," said co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who frequently registers her opposition to Obama's policies.

"All of those cute security guards! I love to see them," said co-host Joy Behar. "Remember when Biden was here? They were all over the place."

"They gave me the extra check then, remember?" said Hasselbeck.

Obama appeared on The View twice before his presidency began.

It's the latest sign that politicians think the stay-at-home and unemployed viewing public is as important as the evening news viewers and newspaper subscribers. Nearly two decades after Bill Clinton appeared with his saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show, our politicians are finally starting to show signs that they see value in communicating with us where we actually live, in between the ads for groceries and diapers.

Six costly mistakes you can make on travel booking sites

Jason Cochran Jul 26th 2010 @ 11:00AM EST Filed Under: Bargains, Technology, Travel

Six ways you can screw yourself on the travel booking sites

You might think that the power to compare travel prices online has created a buyer's market, since hotels and airlines must always jockey for your business with the best price. But that's an illusion.

Economics dictate that companies will do whatever they can to secure a profit, and so checking the Web for cheap airfare and vacation prices can be a process fraught with hidden pitfalls that aren't evident to you. Behind the scenes and under the hood, travel vendors have sneaky ways of making sure they still get the money they need to please shareholders despite the fact customers are always hunting for the lowest price.

I talked with Lauren Volcheff, a marketing exec for the company behind the Internet hotel discounter LastMinuteTravel.com, and she agreed to fill WalletPop readers in on a few tricks of the trade. Before you click "buy," know about these common mistakes people make when booking travel online:

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