Thanks to Oprah & Friends for having me on the show
This morning at 11 a.m. EST, I had the great privilege of doing an interview on Oprah & Friends Radio, a Sirius XM satellite station. The host of the one-hour show, which focuses on financial advice, is Jean Chatzky, an award-winning author and financial editor for The Today Show. She is great and quite the expert on financial matters; I can only hope to know as much as she knows.
The show went by so fast –much faster than I anticipated. However, we did have time to take a question from a caller who was in a similar situation as I was just a few months ago. How apropos! A credit card company, whose name he didn’t mention, lowered his credit limit from $10,000 to $200. He didn’t understand why. Jean and I answered his question, but I am sure it didn’t quell his frustration. And so the campaign continues. I hope Oprah & Friends will invite me back.
If you heard the show this morning or afternoon, what did you think?
Greetings! I’m Kevin D. Johnson, a business owner who has recently assumed the role of consumer advocate and internet activist. Atlanta, Georgia is my home.
Upon returning from my wonderful honeymoon in Jamaica in October 2008, I received what I thought was an ordinary American Express bill, but to my surprise it was a disappointing letter informing me that my credit line was reduced by about 65% for a highly suspicious and discriminatory reason. Considering my excellent credit score and pristine payment history, it just didn’t make sense. However, what does make sense are the unfair and insidious policies that I have uncovered when asking why. It is time to change them.
I created this web site to document and share my challenging journey to change what is wrong, unfair, and unjust in the credit card industry. The ultimate goal of this web site is to inform consumers of ways to stand up for themselves against treacherous business practices and to educate consumers about how to improve their credit. Finally, I hope to encourage a more open dialogue with credit card companies about their policies–good and bad.
I am proud to say that this blog's unyielding demand for change led to an important 
Please Everyone.....
Listen to Carole May....
I happen to be fortunate enough that I have Health Insurance through a family business. I was diganosied with Breast Cancer in 2007 and I am not able to obtain any Insurance outside of the policy I am in......this Insurance would LOVE to cancel us. The company (my family owns) decided to do a direct debit from the corporate checking account -- so the Health Insurance Company can't say we missed a payment and cancel us.
But what about people who are not as fortunate as me, like Carole, who pays to go to the Doctor using a credit card????
I used my AMEX to pay for my deductible of $2,000 for my MRI.....is that why AMEX removed my credit line? I am "high risk" because I used that card to pay an unexpected medical bill?
Posted by: Holly | February 18, 2009 at 09:51 PM
I know all I got was higher interest rates. I just got my first statement and my monthly interest went from $57 to $87. And before you think that my credit card balance is from blissful spending, it is 95% medical bills. There is no way out of this. I'm so frustrated I could scream! I've written letters to my representative (2 letters - no response to either of them), my senators (I got a canned response about the economy), Timothy Geithner and President Obama (no response as yet, but I just wrote last week). I don't know what else to do. I don't want to file bankruptcy but this is ridiculous.
Posted by: Carole May | February 14, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Despite the Carolyn Mahoney and Barney Frank efforts to expedite H.R. 5244 (Creditors'Bill of Rights), all appears silent as to same being included in the just passed bailout package for banks, etc. Just yesterday, Capital One advised me that my prior business card credit limit was being cut to just above the due balance. I run my business on credit. Capital One has now joined the ranks of Chase, First Equity and Citibank, et al, in cutting credit limits of longstanding credit worthy card holders to just above the due balances. It is obvious that they will take money from wherever they can, without helping the consumers.
Query: I thought the goal of the latest "stimulus" package was "to loosen credit for consumers." Given my latest credit slash, aren't the taxpapers extending credit to the credit card banks just to save the banks' own necks after having made risky investments? Why are these salvaged banks still tightening consumer credit? We consumers reaped absolutely no benefits from the stimulus package. There goes the economy!
Our grandchildren will be burdened with these bank bailouts.
Posted by: Edward Weinberg | February 14, 2009 at 10:47 AM
The more the words gets out the better it is for all of us.
Posted by: Kumar in New York City | February 13, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Just heard the show... Thanks for all your work.
Posted by: Laura B. | February 13, 2009 at 01:33 PM
Kevin, you were great on the show. I listen to Jean often on The Today Show and on Oprah & Friends Radio. It was good to hear about all you've accomplished in such a short time for all of us frustrated consumers. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Heidi | February 13, 2009 at 12:09 PM