Credit cards have been a big stress factor and source of money issues in most of the 
population for quite some time now. The high interest rates that go up and down, various fees and lack of wanting to actually help reduce the credit card holder’s debt hasn’t been regulated.
In February 2010, that will change. The credit card regulation will help cardholders avoid retroactive interest rates on existing card balances, allow for more time to pay their bills, fewer penalty fees, late fees, interest payments and give more of a notice of changes in credit card terms.
Until then though, closely watch what is showing up in your credit card statements each month. “Card companies are trying to come up with a number of ways to make up for the revenue they expect to lose and also minimize their financial risks in light of rising card-delinquency and default rates,” says Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com.
One of the biggest ways for these credit card companies to recover some of their financial loss is to increase the interest rates and payments due right now. Even if you have a fixed interest rate, you may not be safe. If it is already a high interest rate, you need to watch it even closer.
These interest rates also are affected by your credit score. That is the reason some companies are also adjusting credit card limits without notice and lowering them significantly. For instance, if you have a limit of $10,000 and are carrying a $5,000 balance and they lower the limit to $6,000, you are using more of your available credit and it lowers your credit score. This will not only affect that credit card, it will also lower your credit score and raise interest rates on your other credit cards as well.
Another way for the credit card companies to get quick cash from consumers is with fees. Credit cards already have high fees for late payments, cash advances and balance transfers. These too have also been rising with most credit card companies. Only expect this to increase until February of next year.
The only way to beat this is to keep close watch on your credit card statements, try to keep a low balance and pay off your credit cards as soon as you can. If you see a problem arise on your credit card statements, call the customer service department of your credit card company. If they don’t want to work with you, then decide if keeping that credit card is really worth it or not.
Related Content:
- How To Negotiate Credit Card Debt. If there was ever a time when credit card holders had leverage to negotiate a better deal on their credit card debt, now is the time! With near record bankruptcies and unemployment, credit card issuers...
- Want To Save Money On Your Credit Cards? Many people have begun to protest many of the practices of the credit card company that tend to cost them more money than they believe they should be paying. The anger from the general public...
- Consumers Need to Exercise Caution as Credit Card Rates Climb Many consumers are finding that even though they have had the same credit card for years, and have paid the balances off completely every month, their monthly statements are suddenly appearing with a surprise: An...
- Credit Cards Don't Suck, You Suck! I wrote last time about how credit cards suck. While that may be true at times, it may be more the truth that you suck! Sounds harsh I know. But a lot of people who...
- The Horror of Just Paying Monthly Minimum Payment to Credit Cards I think a lot of the peopleâs consumer debt stems from charging a large ticket item into âmanageableâ monthly minimum payments. However, the problem that often arises is that a person only pays back the minimum....
1 users resposed " Impending Credit Card Changes: What Consumers Should Know "
September 30 2009
Credit cards are really a great help, but sometimes it can be so worse that we may be better without them
Recent Comments