Fresh legal adjustments for credit cards will assit consumers
In July of 2010 there are going to be some adjustments in the rules concerning how interest rates are handled with credit cards. These laws are supposed to help the American debtors; however upon reviewing them closely it seems more like a publicity stunt than something to truly help out the American consumer.
These are some of the most drastic legislation changes that we have witnessed in decades and they come as a result of over 60,000 complaints to the Fed over the past couple of years. The complaints are over when consumers suddenly find themselves getting their interest rates greatly increased on their credit cards.
One of the biggest changes is that people will no longer get their interest rates racked up on existing balances when they go a day or two past due. Instead the interest rate hike would be put on future purchases not the existing balance like the credit card companies do today. However if the late payment goes past thirty days then the interest rate increase will be applicable to the existing balance as well. Credit card companies say in their defense that the reason for bumping up the rate is because these consumers are a higher risk of non payment.
Another change made is that the creditors must give cardholders a 45 day warning to the fact that the interest rate is going to be increased; they can no longer just bump it up overnight without warning the consumer.
Personally I feel this is too little too late! How come we have to wait until next year for these laws to take effect? In addition if you are still over thirty days late than you would still see the high interest applied to your previous balance. And many consumers fall behind way further than one month, especially with today’ economy and employment market.
Furthermore these new laws will only take place on the cards issued from July 2010 and forward. So somebody who has a card under a different enrollment agreement will still fall prey to the creditor’s scummy tactics. People stuck with high credit card debts should really figure out how to get out of debt as soon as they can.
One of the more lucrative ways consumers have been accomplishing this is through debt settlement companies; a method in which the debtor will save a lot of money and become debt free within a couple of years. Getting you the correct credit card debt relief should be a top priority.
