You're late!(credit card fees)

How did Mike Stookey come to owe $92 in fees and interest on a credit-card balance of zero?

Stookey, a software-company manager from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., says he paid his bill on time and in full; Household Bank says he was late. When he was dunned $29 plus interest, Stookey complained and canceled his card.

But the fee and interest remained--and the bank fined him twice more. It was only after Stookey complained to federal regulators earlier this year that Household Bank credited his account in full "in the interest of customer relations," the bank wrote him. Still, Stookey's miffed that he was charged two late fees on a disputed late payment.

"It's the principle of the thing," says Stookey. "If I were them, I would have said, 'We're sorry this happened.'"

Tales like Stookey's are on the rise as credit-card companies, desperate for revenues, have boosted late fees, added penalties, reduced "grace" periods, and in many cases made it harder for consumers to make payments on time.

A number of complaints have morphed into class-action lawsuits. Earlier this year, Capital One Financial Corp. was sued by cardholders Jautassa Nelson and Jennifer Gendel, who said the company improperly charged late fees and double-billed for products. The two allege that while Capital One doesn't receive bills on the weekends and holidays, it lists those dates as bill due dates and fines consumers when their ...