And, as a warning

While the guy who maintains The Market Watch can be a total loon, his intense paranoia pays off, sometimes. I tip my hat to him for pointing out this insane bit of fraud on the part of banks. In an effort to apply the maximum possible interest rate to their clients, banks are now looking for any and all ways to force penalties on them. As my dad and stepmother found out very recently, one of their favorite tricks is to tell you that your credit card payments were received after the deadline. Your interest rate immediately soars, and you get a strike on your credit report.

Denninger at The Market Watch received two photographs from one of his readers of a payment coupon from Citigroup, photographs which held a clue as to why so many people are suddenly late paying their credit cards. Citigroup has apparently changed a few of the digits on the mailing address of the second coupon. As Denninger points out, the same post office will receive the letter, but because of the 'mix-up' it'll take that much longer to get to Citigroup. For the x percent of their customers who pay relatively close to the deadline, that means a guaranteed rate hike and even a possible penalty fee.

I can't say this enough. America is so, so very fucked.