Congress Could Pass Pro-Consumer Credit Card Bill

Although the chances are slim there remains some hope that Congress could opt to pass pro-consumer credit card legislation before the November election is here. There is legislation being discussed by Congress right now that is strongly opposed by the banking industry because of the benefits that it gives to you, the consumer, at their expense. Because of the potential impact of a new president on the forward motion of this type of bill, it is believed that some in Congress want to hurry up and approve this legislation before the change occurs. The House is highly likely to pass the legislation but it could get hung up in the Senate and end up delayed until the new president is in charge of the White House.

The legislation is based on the idea that the rates and terms offered by credit card companies today are causing problems for the consumers who opt to take advantage of the availability of credit cards. People with credit cards are suffering from overwhelming debt due in part to the practices of credit card companies. These practices include fees, interest rate increases and billing issues which would all be changed if the law is allowed to pass through.

There are three major things that the new legislation would seek to do in order to protect consumers from some of the common problems that are faced in today’s credit industry:

1. Require card issuers to notify consumers about interest rate increases 45 days in advance of the increase. This would give the consumer enough time to consider other options such as balance transfers to a lower interest credit card.

2. Eliminate fees on the remaining interest-only balance when a credit card payment has been made on time.

3. Require that monthly bills be sent to the consumer 25 days before the date that they are due. This would mean that customers would have more time to make on-time payments even if there are problems with mail delays.

These three things are addressed in one version of the bill that is being considered. Additional bills are also being reviewed that cover some of the same issues and seek to find solutions to the same problems.

Whether or not this type of legislation passes at the current time, it is indicative of a change that has taken place in the climate of Congress. Both the House and the Senate have been under the spell of the credit card companies for a long time. Much of the legislation that has been proposed regarding rules that limit the credit card company has been rejected in the past. The fact that there is a big push right now to pass through legislation that is pro-consumer at the expense of the credit card companies goes to show that there is a shift taking place in the government that could benefit the consumers in this country and improve the state of the economy here.