The Credit Card Bill of Rights may cost credit card companies $10 billion in revenue. Of course, since the law has yet to take full effect this is mere speculation. But without a doubt the new law will cost credit card companies profit while protecting consumers.
The bill does require some very specific things from credit card issuers. One is that they cannot increase the interest rate on a customer’s account until 60 days have passed without payment from the customer. This eliminates interest rate hikes when a customer misses the payment date by one day.
Additionally, interest rate increases would not affect the balance on the credit cards, only future purchases, thus reducing the income to credit card companies. That being said, this is good news for credit strapped consumers, many who struggle to pay their bills each month.
According to CBS5.com, President Obama has said the bill is not about condoning people who have acted irresponsibly; rather it is about making credit card companies fair and responsible as well.
If you are having credit card difficulties and need assistance dealing with your credit card issuers, you may want to consider retaining an experienced financial attorney to review your situation.
When consumers find themselves in debt they cannot manage, they look for a way out and a way to fix their damaged credit history. One such way is with a credit repair company.
ABC2News.com reports in their SCAM Alert, The BBB says no one can remove negative information from your credit report if it’s accurate and only time can undo the damage. Still, credit repair firms persist, claiming they can get rid of everything from late payments to bankruptcies. And many charge you, often upfront, for their service.
Everything a credit repair company can or will try to do, you can do on your own without paying for the service to the repair company. Additionally, you might consider hiring an experienced financial lawyer to assist you with services from credit repair to debt collection defense.
Recently, two credit repair companies were barred by the court from acquiring advance payment for services to its customers.
A news report shares, A federal judge in Miami barred two credit-repair companies from requiring advance payment for services and from telling customers that accurate negative information will be removed from their credit reports. The orders came out of a settlement between the companies, Legal Credit Repair Center and Ace Group, and the Federal Trade Commission. In October 2008, the FTC sued the companies and three individuals as part of “Operation Clean Sweep,” a crackdown on companies offering to clean up consumer credit reports.
For more information about credit repair services, read our article.
