Credit Reforms May Be Underway

Due to a large concern of harassment and predatory behavior against consumers, the Federal Government has decided to look into the matter of addressing credit card companies in order to determine ways in which people can be protected from their unscrupulous tactics.

For over more than a decade, credit card companies have been subjecting the consumer public to billing practices that are questionable at best — and fraudulent in some extreme cases. Nonetheless, these practices have made the companies that issue credit cards billions of dollars in profit while keeping cardholders stuck making payments for perpetuity. One such example is called a “universal default”, which allows one card company to raise the interest rates applied to a consumer account regardless of the fact that the consumer is diligent with his or her payments when that consumer was late paying another, separate company sometime in the past.

Another miserable tactic is double-cycle billing, which is where a bill that has been paid off can accrue interest despite the fact that it was taken care of. Obviously, these sort of practices do nothing to complement or reward consumers no matter how they respond to their card companies of choice, and instead are just ways of making easy money and keeping people enslaved to their monthly payments.

Realizing the severity of the situation, the Federal Reserve and Congress are both looking into the situation and developing measures that can be taken to protect consumers from these harsh practices while making the businesses practice more transparent and fair policies. The government has opened a forum accepting input from the general population too, so anybody with a suggestion to make, a complaint to deliver, or a story to tell can voice themselves and get the word out.

Even though the past actions of the Federal Reserve have only made the paperwork dealt by card companies even more incomprehensible and tough for the average consumer to follow, there are welcome benefits to the proposed legislation that is currently being reviewed.

Recent additions:

• Have Your Say With Credit Cards
• What Exactly Are Finance Charges
• Credit Or Debit: The Differences
• Some Consequences Of Poor Credit Card Use
• Getting a Free Credit Report
• Credit Score Ratings

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