Credit Card Laws and Court Rulings–Have They Helped Consumers?

This is a guest post by Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com . Congress passed the Credit CARD Act in May but gave issuers and banks almost one year to implement the major provisions of the bill. Since then, issuers did exactly what they threatened to do–raise rates and fees on a broad group of cardholders. Consumers and elected officials are not happy about this, and members of Congress plan to introduce a bill to accelerate the effective date of the bill from February 22, 2010 to December 1, 2009. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-25 19:18:38

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Consumers Get a Break on Credit Cards - Finally

First the bad news: these rules don’t take effect until July, 2010 ... barring the deceptive and punitive practices of many credit card issuers. The policy statement ... thirty days late on a payment. In that case, credit card issuers can still increase your interest rate [more...]

Date: 2008-12-19 01:43:31

Debt Consolidation Explained

Debt Consolidation Explained December 16th, 2008 As more and more consumers struggle with out of control debts, ... large and small. In modern society, credit has become so simplified that individuals become burdened ... loan. These typically boast rates far lower than the interest rates offered by credit card companies [more...]

Date: 2008-12-16 15:57:23

Friday morning links

TOP STORIES Rate cut from Japan, Barclays seeks funding - Reuters Nevada, Michigan, Florida lead 'underwater' list - AP Housing plunge: ... is more likely than many assume - MarketWatch Banks, consumer advocates urge U.S. to allow credit card debt ... it feels so bad - CNN/Money Economic data point to the start of a recession - LA Times Recession Ghost [more...]

Date: 2008-10-31 13:20:00

D. Other Publishers

A number of publications from non-Nolo publishers have a wealth of information beyond what is in this book. The Ultimate Credit Handbook, by Gerri Detweiler (Plume Books), covers everything you’d want to know about credit ratings, credit cards, completing credit applications, protecting your credit privacy and many other topics. Surviving Debt: A Guide for Consumers, by National Consumer Law Center. NCLC is a nonprofit organization that normally publishes books to assist lawyers. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-24 02:03:01

The Fed Should Buy Down Consumer Credit Card Rates - Fast

Lets say I owe the bank behind my credit card  1k dollars and Im paying  10pct interest because the best I can do is a little bit more than the ... that I have my credit card  with and charge it 5pct plus some warrants to in turn loan that money back ... with to help save people’s homes, are many of the same banks that are pounding credit card holders [more...]

Date: 2008-10-24 23:38:36

Record Credit Card Defaults Signals a Weaker Recovery

According to reports from Moody’s ( MCO ) Investors Service, credit card delinquencies surged to record levels in August.  In the first increase of charge-off rates since the rally began in March, credit card issuers wrote off 11.49% of uncollectible consumer debt compared to 10.52% in July.  Also loans more than 30-days past due also rose to 5.8%.  Moody’s report also suggests that charge off rates are not likely to peak until mid-2010, as unemployment continues to strain many consumers budgets. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-24 14:40:21

Fed decided to Institute Curbs On Issuers of Credit Cards

On Tuesday rules have been proposed by the Federal Reserve to end banks’ ability to apply credit card payments to balances having lowest interest rates first, implementing legislation Congress passed in May. The Fed also proposed that before charging fees for transactions that exceed credit limits creditors obtain consumers’ consent. The Fed said in a statement that restrictions on lending to people under the age of 21 and subprime credit card fees were also included. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-30 12:56:49

Bailed-Out Banks Stiff Credit Card Customers

Since bailouts are so timely today, Bloomberg weighs in to point out that banks that have been recipients of government bailout money are reacting ... is it that my credit-card loan got pulled? Why am I being charged a higher rate?’” Wonder if Southern ... by charging higher fees on credit cards for consumers. Apparently, they’re trying to get ahead [more...]

Date: 2008-12-19 15:01:55

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