Credit Card Bill of Rights Passes!
On
May 22, 2009 the President signed into law the Credit Card Accountability
Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, or more commonly referred to as the
Credit Card Act of 2009 or the Credit Card Bill of Rights. Finally, consumers will have rights against
the big bank credit card companies that take complete advantage of
everyone. Unfortunately, the rights will
not take effect until July of 2010 so you may have to endure the abuse until
then. But then again maybe not...maybe its
time to do away with your high interest credit card and get a Gulf States credit card. You won't have to wait until 2010 to have
credit card rights. You have them
here. We have always offered credit
cards without taking advantage of the consumer.
Check us out at www.gulfstatescu.org. Listed below are the highlights of the Act
for your information.
-
No more double
cycle billing finance charges.
Credit card issuers are prohibited from calculating finance charges using this
method which causes cardholders to pay interest on previously paid balances.
-
No interest
rate increases during the first 12 months of opening a credit card, unless the rate increase was disclosed when you
first opened the credit card.
-
Promotional
rates must last at least 6 months.
-
No interest
rate increases on pre-existing balances.
If your credit card issuer decides to increase your interest rate, that new
rate would only apply to new balances. Your current balance would continue to
be subject to the old interest rate. There's an exception, however, if you
become more than 60 days late on your credit card payments.
-
Credit card
issuers must give a 45-day advance notice before increasing your interest rate
or making any major change to your
credit card agreement. This is a big increase over the current 15-day advance
notice requirement.
-
Your interest
rate could increase if you don't make the minimum payment within 30 days of
your due date, even during the first
12 months of opening your account. You must receive a 45-day advance notice of
penalty rate increases.
-
Increased rates
must be reviewed and lowered if the review shows changes. Credit card issuers could no longer raise your rate
to the default rate and leave it there even though you've improved your payment
habits.
-
Payments above
the minimum must be applied to highest-interest rate balances. If you have balances with different interest rates,
the new rules require
banks to allocate anything over the minimum payment to your highest interest
rate balance. This reduces the amount of finance charges you pay on balances.
-
No fees to make
your credit card payment online, by mail,
or over the phone, unless you make a last-minute payment over the phone and
your bill is due the same day or next day.
-
Payments are
due on the same date each month.
-
No
over-the-limit fees unless you request (opt-in) the credit card issuer to process
over-the-limit transactions. Otherwise, over-the-limit transactions would
be denied and you would not incur a fee.
-
Only one
over-the-limit fee is allowed per billing cycle. You cannot receive more
than one charge for exceeding your credit limit in any billing cycle.
-
Only one
over-the-limit fee per over-the-limit transaction. If you make a purchase
that puts you over your credit limit, you should only be charged one fee for
that instance. Even if your balance remains over the limit the next billing
cycle, you would not be charged a credit limit fee, unless you make an
additional transaction that puts your balance over the limit.
-
No
over-the-limit fees caused by a hold on your credit limit. If a
transaction, like a car rental, puts a hold on your credit limit, thereby
reducing your available credit, a subsequent charge cannot put you over the
limit.
-
Billing
statements must be sent 21 days before the due date, giving you more time
to pay your credit card bill and reducing the risk of a late fee and interest
rate penalty.
-
Mailed
credit card payments received by 5 pm on the due date are on time. This
keeps credit card companies from stipulating an 11:00 am due time that would
make your payment late if the mail doesn't get there until 3:00 pm.
-
Payments are
on time when received the next business day after a holiday or weekend
(when the credit card company doesn't accept payment on those days). If your
due date falls on a weekend and your card issuer receives your payment on the
following Monday, your payment would still be considered on time. The same
thing applies to due dates that fall on holidays.
-
Payments
made at a local branch should be credited the same day.
-
Removal of
new accounts from your credit report if you never activate or use the
account, or you close it within 45 days.
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