Edmund Mierzwinski Quotations

ATM surcharging benefits high-fee, big banks and hurts low-cost alternatives such as credit unions and smaller banks.

First of all, ... if you just opt out, you're protecting your information from being shared with telemarketers who use deceptive scripts to trick you into ordering junky products. If this decision is upheld, you're also protecting your Social Security number from being shared with information brokers and that might protect you from identity theft and stalking.

The success of the banks' legally suspect practices has given them tremendous market power. Merchants have no choice but to accept Visa and MasterCard products on the sellers' terms. Otherwise they lose customers and sales.

Bank fees are still increasing and big banks are charging bigger fees. It's a serious problem for consumers.

Your best defense is going to be a security freeze. A freeze prevents access to your credit report to new creditors. This closes a loophole that identity thieves have exploited, since most businesses will not issue new credit or loans to people without first reviewing their credit reports.

Everyone has a right to make money, ... But what they're doing is taking disgruntled customers and converting them into longer-term customers by some sleight of hand.

Surcharges aren't only unfair to the consumers who pay them. They'll ultimately lead to bigger banks and fewer choices, which means higher fees for everyone,

Industry hopes to use the furor over breaches as a way to pass a modest federal reform that just happens to also permanently restrict the states from passing virtually any financial privacy or identity theft laws.

Identity theft is a huge problem, and every number and indicator shows that it's on the rise. This is not a question of six degrees of separation -- everybody knows somebody who's been a victim.