Do we nee a credit card bill of rights?

[cannonball996]

The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights was approved today by the House Financial Services Committee by a vote of 48 to 19. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

The legislation would provide credit card customers protection against certain practices which are the norm these days.

Some of the pratices include double-cycle billing, due-date gimmicks, and retroactive interest rate hikes.

The bill would also increase the advance notice of impending rate hikes and give credit card holders the information and rights they need to manage their credit responsibly.

Banks and credit card companies would have to give at least 45 days written notice before the hike the annual percentage yield (APR) on a credit card. Let’s hope the notice is prominatly displayed and isn’t in fine print.

The badly crippled banks aren’t going down without a fight, they are lobblying against the measures which include:

Protect cardholders against arbitrary interest rate increases
Prevent cardholders who pay on time from being unfairly penalized
Protect cardholders from due-date gimmicks
Prevent companies from using misleading terms and damaging consumers’ credit ratings
Empower cardholders to set limits on their credit
Require card companies to fairly credit and allocate payments
Prohibit card companies from imposing excessive fees on cardholders
Protect vulnerable consumers from high-fee subprime credit cards
Bar issuing credit cards to vulnerable minors
The bill’s sponsor, Representative Carolyn B. Maloney said:

“This landmark legislation helps level the playing field between cardholders and card companies. For too long the relationship has been one-sided; but markets function best when all sides know what they’re getting into — and these deceptive practices need to be stopped. The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights brings more transparency to the contractual relationship and give consumers the tools they need to responsibly manage their own credit.”

“The substantial reforms in this bill are needed now more than ever, as working Americans have increasingly turned to credit cards to help pay medical bills, buy groceries, and make ends meet in this troubled economy.”

The legislation would provide credit card customers protection against certain practices which are the norm these
days.

[greenbullitt]

bill of rights? not necessarily...however, penalties should be in store for abuse on rates etc. credit card companies do abuse the privileges,no way around that...even first chance they get on the long time,on time paying ,low balance holding customers.

[AL P]

Without a doubt we do. Banks have been very predatory when it comes to credit cards. They are always trying to manipulate things to make a buck. To some degree that is the business but we have gone far beyond what is reasonable these days. Loansharks don't make as much on their money as Citibank does. I'm serious.

What is amusing is that the banks respond to this bill of rights thing with "If you implement these rules then not everyone will be able to get credit". I can't help but think that is exactly what we are trying to do. The average person is pretty irresponsible, it is hard enough for them to pay debts off without banks constantly trying to manipulate things to make an extra buck.

Here is a great example, I have a Chase card that I use for big purchases to get free shit. It had these floating payment dates. One month it was the 19th, the next it was the 24th, the next the 21st. All done in an effort to get that much coveted late payment fee out of me. I call their sorry asses and tell them that I want it to be the 23rd of every month otherwise they can cancel it. They made it so with the punch of a button. Fucking crooks. I cancelled a Citibank card I had for 17 years because of similar bullshit.

[greenbullitt]

Without a doubt we do. Banks have been very predatory when it comes to credit cards. They are always trying to manipulate things to make a buck. To some degree that is the business but we have gone far beyond what is reasonable these days. Loansharks don't make as much on their money as Citibank does. I'm serious.

What is amusing is that the banks respond to this bill of rights thing with "If you implement these rules then not everyone will be able to get credit". I can't help but think that is exactly what we are trying to do. The average person is pretty irresponsible, it is hard enough for them to pay debts off without banks constantly trying to manipulate things to make an extra buck.

Here is a great example, I have a Chase card that I use for big purchases to get free shit. It had these floating payment dates. One month it was the 19th, the next it was the 24th, the next the 21st. All done in an effort to get that much coveted late payment fee out of me. I call their sorry asses and tell them that I want it to be the 23rd of every month otherwise they can cancel it. They made it so with the punch of a button. Fucking crooks. I cancelled a Citibank card I had for 17 years because of similar bullshit.


pretty good points there, and im by no means against it...dont take it that way for sure...funny you mention chase, i just had this discussion with them this am...all of my business will be removed from them...they are as crooked as it gets IMO

[JP135]

More government is what we need!

[AL P]

More government is what we need!

You really aren't creating more government, just changing the rules of oversight to go with the times. In 20 years they will need to be changed again because the banks will circumvent the new ones.

[scootro]

good i'm glad to hear it!

[mustangguy289]

Yes we do.... if they increase the % rate... it should only apply to future purchases. When you make a purchase you are agreeing to a contract of x% no matter how long it takes you to pay it. Nothing wrong with increasing but it should only be for future charges.

[cannonball996]

it is bigger government.

the problem is people dont read the terms of their credit card contracts, and then later bitch when they get screwed by their own laziness to read and under stand the contract. its not the credit card companies fault these people did not read the terms of the contract.

I agree that credit card companies play dirty, but they explain to every one in their terms and conditions before anyone signs anything, and no one is forced into getting a credit card to begin with, its their own dumb fault.

what I think we should rather implement is on the education side, require students in high school to take a class on credit and how it works. we could deduct an elective, and it wouldnt cost the school anything to teach.

[Juiceweezl]

it is bigger government.

the problem is people dont read the terms of their credit card contracts, and then later bitch when they get screwed by their own laziness to read and under stand the contract. its not the credit card companies fault these people did not read the terms of the contract.

I agree that credit card companies play dirty, but they explain to every one in their terms and conditions before anyone signs anything, and no one is forced into getting a credit card to begin with, its their own dumb fault.

what I think we should rather implement is on the education side, require students in high school to take a class on credit and how it works. we could deduct an elective, and it wouldnt cost the school anything to teach.


They change the terms at will. You can obtain a card, and then you're at their mercy as they change terms. It happens all the time. It is still up to you to read it and cancel if you want, but it's BS. Education is a good idea. Too many young people fall victim to credit traps.

[cannonball996]

They change the terms at will. You can obtain a card, and then you're at their mercy as they change terms. It happens all the time. It is still up to you to read it and cancel if you want, but it's BS. Education is a good idea. Too many young people fall victim to credit traps.

but they tell you in the terms that they can change the terms at any time, its your own fault for agreeing to them.

[CoorsLightCoupe]

Shit.. Well's Fartgo has been dry-fucking me in the ass for the last 9 months on my interest rate. Used to be 9.9, then all of a sudden i get a statement last year that says it's now at 19.9 due to a late payment and now i'm in the penalty rate. A month later i managed to sell my coupe to pay it off completely, pay it down to zero, call them up to change the rate back, and they say i need 6 months straight of on--time payments to fix it. Nevermind the fact that i just gave the pricks 4200 bucks in one shot. Then 2 months later it's at 26.9% or some bullshit.. still been on time with my payments since last november. They popped off some other bullshit excuse about how when i paid it off it was still considered a late payment. Just last month the rate finally dropped back to 19%, but they still aren't lubing it up for me.. I should have cancelled the damn thing when i paid it off. oops.

[jw33]

I'm all for it. Hopefully less shithead people will be able to get credit cards, which is a step in the right direction and a good thing for our country IMO. Of course Obama is behind this so it's got to be evil though.

[mustangguy289]

They change the terms at will. You can obtain a card, and then you're at their mercy as they change terms. It happens all the time. It is still up to you to read it and cancel if you want, but it's BS. Education is a good idea. Too many young people fall victim to credit traps.

You agree to the chance of rate changes... I am just saying... rate increase ( not for late payments) but because the company wants too.... should only apply to purchases made after the date.

[Txstang1]

Shit.. Well's Fartgo has been dry-fucking me in the ass for the last 9 months on my interest rate. Used to be 9.9, then all of a sudden i get a statement last year that says it's now at 19.9 due to a late payment and now i'm in the penalty rate. A month later i managed to sell my coupe to pay it off completely, pay it down to zero, call them up to change the rate back, and they say i need 6 months straight of on--time payments to fix it. Nevermind the fact that i just gave the pricks 4200 bucks in one shot. Then 2 months later it's at 26.9% or some bullshit.. still been on time with my payments since last november. They popped off some other bullshit excuse about how when i paid it off it was still considered a late payment. Just last month the rate finally dropped back to 19%, but they still aren't lubing it up for me.. I should have cancelled the damn thing when i paid it off. oops.pay it off and keep it open, it helps your debt to assest ratio.

[CoorsLightCoupe]

pay it off and keep it open, it helps your debt to assest ratio.

That's the only reason I kept it open.

[AL P]

but they tell you in the terms that they can change the terms at any time, its your own fault for agreeing to them.

I'm saying that should be against the law. I'm saying that, as a lender, they shouldn't be able to ask you to agree to that in order to extend credit.

There are many examples of this within other areas of law and there is a technical term for it although I can't recall it. For example, you can't sign away your rights to not be criminally victimized. If you could there would be people who are stupid enough to do it for money in order to be on some gladiator show. As kick ass as that sounds (lol) I don't really think things like that should be legal. I know it is a stretch that this lending situation is along the same lines but I think it is a valid point. I'm not saying that banks shouldn't make money, I'm just saying that them making a loan with an all in rate (including fees) of 40-50% APR is a bit excessive.

I'd agree with you about the finance class. Hell, not even finance...just a class called "Money". The average person is incredibly ignorant of the way money makes the world go around.

[Juiceweezl]

You agree to the chance of rate changes... I am just saying... rate increase ( not for late payments) but because the company wants too.... should only apply to purchases made after the date.

That's what's wrong. You shouldn't have to agree to a chance of rate changes unless triggered by certain actions (no payments for a few months, etc.). I don't carry balances on my cards. The 2 true CC's I possess have APR's of like 9.5% 12% or something. One time they sent a notice saying it was jumping to 18.5%. I had no balance, didn't intend to carry a balance, and wasn't really impacted by the interest rate -- at the current time. I did care about what might happen if an emergency occurred that I need to put something on one for say 6-9 months. I didn't want the rate to be that high just in case. I phoned them up, told them to put it back or I was out. They moved it right away. I never agreed to a rate hike, never "qualified" for one because of late pay, etc. They just tried to force me to take it while hoping that I built up a balance. It's unfair business.

[Muffrazr]

It wasn't normal practice for schools to teach about credit cards, checking accounts, and other basic banking functions?

I recall getting a workbook, simulated checking account with checkbook, and registry in the eighth grade. In high school we began with where we left off, and added credit, which included credit cards.

I graduated in '97 is anyone was curious.

[mopar63]

I worked for a CC company back in 2004. This particular company targeted in all their advertising minorities, low income people across the board and people that would use the card to pay for medical procedures.
They raped people on a daily basis.

[Dacotua]

I personally don't have a credit card.

Cash is the best way to go vs a Credit Card.

Just save up 5-6k in the bank and legislate the credit cards with a pair of scissors. Get a separate account from your regular checking and get a Mastercard/Visa Debit card and keep it as an "Emergency".

[AL P]

I personally don't have a credit card.

Cash is the best way to go vs a Credit Card.

Just save up 5-6k in the bank and legislate the credit cards with a pair of scissors. Get a separate account from your regular checking and get a Mastercard/Visa Debit card and keep it as an "Emergency".

Cards are great if you have to pay work expenses with them and get to cash in on the free miles or whatever else. The wife does trade shows and will often run 3 or 4 grand through the card for one of them.