Consumers Lobby Congress to End Credit Card Abuses

By Truman LewisConsumerAffairs.Com
February 15, 2008
Congress got a special Valentine’s Day message from Americans fed up with unfair credit card interest rates and fees yesterday.
Consumers Union, Service Employees International Union, and the Consumer Federation of America delivered over 120,000 “Kiss Credit Card Abuses Goodbye” Valentine’s Day postcards along with Hershey’s Kisses to members of Congress signed by constituents demanding credit card reform.
The Valentine’s Day delivery was part of an intensifying push by consumer groups and lawmakers in Washington to rein in credit card lending practices that unfairly penalize Americans and contribute to increasing debt during an economic downturn. The effort comes amid new reports that some banks are arbitrarily and sharply raising credit card interest rates.
“Consumers are sick and tried of credit card company gotchas that result in unfair penalties and interest rates that climb through-the-roof,” said Jeannine Kenney, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. “These practices have always been abusive, but now consumers are being hurt even more at a time when the economy is worsening and they can least afford it.”
In mid-January, Bank of America sent notices of steep rate hikes to many of its cardholders. The move has prompted a storm of protest from consumers who face rate hikes even though they’re in good standing with Bank of America.
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• Get Control of What You Owe
• No Easy Way Out Of Credit Card Debt
• Penalty Fees, Interest Rate Hikes, and Misleading Contracts Await Credit Card Shoppers
• "Convenience Checks" Carry a Heavy Price Tag
• New Forms of Credit Scoring
• Understanding Credit
• Credit Bureaus: Who You're Dealing With
• Credit Card Debt Climbs Worldwide
• As Credit Delinquency Rises, So Does Credit Relief Scrutiny
• Congress Calls Out Credit Card Companies
• College Students Warned Against Credit Card Trap
• High-Fee, Low-Credit Charge Cards Prey Upon the Poor
• Senate Bill Would Curb Abusive Credit Card Practices•