Statement by President Obama on CARD Act Implementation
Last year, I signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act into law to put a stop to deceptive credit card practices and hold credit card companies accountable to their customers. Yesterday, the final reform provisions of the CARD Act took effect. As of today, consumers will be protected against unreasonable fees and penalties for late payments, as well as unfair practices involving gift cards. This law will also make the terms of credit cards more understandable and puts a stop to hidden over-the-limit fees and other practices designed to trap consumers. It restricts rate increases that apply retroactively to old balances. And the CARD Act prevents companies from increasing rates within the first year an account is opened.
In addition, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act I signed into law last month will empower a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with just one job: looking out for consumers in our financial system. This includes making sure that credit card reforms are implemented forcefully and that big banks and lenders are living up to their responsibilities under the law. And in the wake of a terrible recession, these reforms and this independent consumer watchdog will not only protect consumers, they’ll strengthen our economy as a whole, leveling the playing field for responsible lenders and ensuring that families and small business owners are better able to make financial decisions that work for them.
http://www.whitehouse.gov
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The rules for credit card users are changing reports The Wall Street Journal. Good news unless your under 21 – read on…
New Law Forcing Credit-Card Issuers to Play Fair – WSJ.com
By JONNELLE MARTE
The rules of credit are changing. Consumers will see improvements this month as credit-card companies roll out the latest in a big series of government-ordered reforms on how they operate.
The various provisions of last year’s Credit Card Act give consumers more disclosures and restrict credit-card rates and fees. Further, the financial-overhaul bill signed by President Obama last month creates a new consumer-protection agency and entitles consumers to more information.
“Institutions are going to be forced to become more accountable to consumers,” says Adam Levin, chairman and co-founder of Credit.com.
But the news isn’t all positive: Credit-card companies are making up for lost revenue by adding new fees and increasing interest rates.
More Disclosures
The Credit Card Act, formally known as the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act, requires card companies to give consumers 45 days advance notice before increasing interest rates, changing certain fees or making other significant changes.
Payments and Fees
Since February, card companies have been required to deliver your bill at least 21 days before your payment is due, and your payment must be due on the same date each month.
Interest Rates
In addition to requiring the 45 days advance notice, the Credit Card Act prohibits card companies from raising rates for the first 12 months an account is open, unless you are more than 60 days late in paying your bill or if an introductory rate has expired — and those must last for at least six months.
Challenges for Young Adults
The law makes it more difficult for people younger than 21 to obtain credit cards, by requiring that they have a cosigner or prove they can afford to make the payments. The restrictions mean some younger consumers may have to turn to alternative methods for building credit.
read more here… WSJ.com
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It’s a whole new group of people seeking credit debt help today. This news report shows some that never experienced financial problems are now among those needing debt counseling.
Consumer 10 Report: Demand for debt counseling even higher now
By Kurt Ludlow WBNS-10TV
As the economy starts to rebound, business is picking up for many industries, including, oddly enough, the debt-counseling industry.
Although it might seem counterintuitive, nonprofit debt counselors in central Ohio report that they’re busier now than they were at the peak of the recession – and that they’re bracing for an even bigger onslaught.
“The call volume has definitely picked up,” said Cara Henry, a counseling supervisor with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Ohio, a nonprofit group that has worked with more than 11,000 families and individuals in the past year.
Henry said organizations such as hers aren’t just hearing from more people; they’re hearing from different people.
“Over the years, we’ve seen all different types of socioeconomic backgrounds,” she said. “I think more and more today, though, we are seeing folks who are used to higher-paying jobs suddenly faced with unemployment. read more here http://www.dispatch.com
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Here is an interesting trend… Or is it?
More Consumers Pay Off Their Credit Cards and Let Their Mortgages Go
By Jane Bryant Quinn
If unemployment hits, which bills do you cover first? Traditionally, that would be food, utilities, transportation, and housing. If you couldn’t stretch your income to cover credit card payments–well, you let them go.
Such thinking is so pre-2008. Since the real estate meltdown, growing numbers of straitened borrowers are changing their priorities. They’re protecting their credit cards and letting their houses go. For anyone who loses a job and has no savings to fall back on, that choice makes a lot of sense.
Pre-2008, your house was your piggy bank as well as your home. If you needed money, you just had to tap your home equity line of credit.
Now, however, you might have no home equity left. If you need emergency money (and, ahem, haven’t saved that mythical six-months worth of income in the bank), your credit card is your fastest source of cash. Read more here… http://moneywatch.bnet.com
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FTC pushes back identity theft rules deadline for fifth time
By Jaikumar Vijayan
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has once again pushed back its enforcement deadline for an identity theft regulation called the Red Flags Rule.
The rule requires financial institutions and other organizations that extend consumer credit to develop and implement written policies for detecting and preventing identity theft.
Before this latest deadline change, the FTC was to have started enforcing the rule on June 1. Under the new deadline, it will now start doing so only after Jan. 1, 2011.
The FTC noted in a statement that the delay was prompted by requests from “several members of Congress” who are working on limiting the scope of the Red Flags Rule.
In the statement, the FTC expressed hope that Congress would work quickly on addressing certain “unintended consequences” of the legislation.
The FTC has previously delayed enforcement of the rule on four different occasions, the most recent being in October 2009, when it pushed the deadline back from Nov. 1 to June 1 of this year. read more http://www.businessweek.com
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