Credit Card
Rules are Changing
The days of the credit cards being able to do whatever they want
are quickly coming to an end. It used to be that they could
charge pretty much whatever they wanted for interest, late fees,
over balance fees, over limit fees, etc. – but this is no longer
the case. There are several special interest and consumer groups
that are working to reduce the amount of money that you will pay
to your credit card every month if you happen to have one.
The Federal Reserve Board has had enough of the credit card
companies running roughshod over the consumer and they are
making some pretty big changes. For starters – it used to be
that if you missed a payment on your credit card you could be
looking at anywhere from $35 to $50 or more as a fee on your
next statement. This is no longer allowed and if you are late on
your bill they cannot charge you more than $25. This is nice for
those people who might get confused on their bills and think
that they paid something when they didn’t.
The only exceptions are if you are habitually late or if they
can demonstrate the need for the fee. The feds say that the new
rules are set up so that they are “less costly for the consumer”
and more fair in their dealings. They also cannot asses a number
of penalties for one late payment – for example you are late
with your payment and it put you over your limit. They can’t
charge you for both the over limit fee and the late payment fee.
The credit card companies also have to look at any interest rate
changes that were made since January 1st of last year. However,
even with all of these changes, nine times out of ten it is
still going to be cheaper for the average consumer to get a debt
consolidation loan to pay back what they owe. They will have a
lower interest rate with their debt consolidation loan and they
won’t pay over limit or late fees.
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