For anyone who has experienced universal default, where a credit card company raises its interest rate based on any change in your credit report, even if that change is unrelated to that company… or wondered why their payment due date has shrunk from 21 or more days to just 14… for anyone who has paid off their credit card in full and then got a bill the next month for interest accrued the previous month… for anyone who has been upset that payments are always applied to the lower-interest balance first… good news is on the horizon.
Yesterday, 228 Democrats and 84 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to support The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights (H.R. 5244). The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for its consideration.
Not unexpectedly, banks such as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Capital One Financial Corp and Discover Financial Services oppose the bill. With the markets in turmoil and drowning from the collapse of the U.S. housing and subprime mortgage markets, the legislation could limit their credit card revenue by limiting the fees they can charge for practices that consumer advocates say are designed to hurt or deceive consumers. The White House also opposed the legislation, which seeks to curb unfair and deceptive credit card practices, saying it would constrain banks' ability to price risk.
Summary of the H.R. 5244 bill
111 Republicans and 1 Democrat voted "nay." How did your representative vote on H.R. 5244?
