Stuck in the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit is a wonderful gem called the Consumer Credit Card Protection Act of 2005. The CCCPA (aka HR 3492) is an amendment to the Truth in Lending Act to further protect consumers from unfair credit card industry practices.
This bill would:
Prohibit Universal Default Clauses.
Display the number of months necessary to repay your balance in full if paying the minimum payment (assuming no additional amount of credit is used), taking into account the current interest rate.
For open-ended credit agreements, require 30 days notice before an interest rate increase that is based on an index rate change (e.g. LIBOR, etc), unless it is the end of a promotional rate.
Require 60 days notice before an interest rate increase that is not related to an index rate change or end of a promotional rate.
Require a notice of explanation about any fees (e.g. over the limit/late fees) to explain why they were imposed, how to avoid them, etc.
Another gem, this one stuck in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs , is The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility Disclosure Act of 2005, also called the Credit CARD Act of 2005, S. 499, has some great stuff, as outlined by Consumers Union:
Prevent late fees if the bill is postmarked by a specified date.
Prohibit over limit fees if the card issuer approved the charge.
Require that balances can be paid off at the old interest rate if the consumer cancels the card upon receiving notice of an increase in the interest rate.
Ban finance charges or extra fees for on-time payment and for payment in full.
Require that each billing statement tell the consumer how long it would take to repay the balance, and how much it would cost, if the consumer makes only the minimum payment.
Improve disclosures related to artificially low “teaser” rates.
Provide some protections to prevent overextension of credit to young borrowers.
Increase the penalties for credit card companies who break the law.
If you believe that these should go up for vote, Consumers Union has created a website to help you Take Action. There was no movement on these before the holidays. With the new bankruptcy rules fully implemented, I really think this is an excellent time to remind our lawmakers that consumers need some tweaking to our rights and protections. If you feel this is a cause you can get behind, please make the effort to let your voice be heard.
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This entry was posted
on Tuesday, January 24th, 2006 at 1:00 am by Liz
and is filed under Credit, From Washington, Pending Legislation.
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