Comments on: Feds Take Swipe At Credit Card Rules

Regulators OK Sweeping Changes That Will Limit Interest Rate Hikes By Card Companies

[fatdough_boy]

Also stating they can raise your rate after 1 single missed payment, well that may be true but this policy change will NOT change their ability to do that. This new policy is against Universal Default which is very different then rate increases because of a missed payent or going over your credit limit. Universal Default is when they raise your rate b/c of "other" factors. They can and will still raise your rate if you are late make no mistake about that. Pay on time and you have no issues. If you have a 7.9% APR that also may have been a fair rate at the time the account booked a few years ago but in this environment cost of funds is 3%, cost to maintain your account is 5% and they are paying upwards of 8% in losses on deadbeats. Any rate under 16% is a gift imo. 7.9% in today''s environment is you robbing them for unsecured debt.

[fatdough_boy]

endrepubs - you obvioulsy know how to use the internet rather then complain about your payments not being applied on time (which is false) use the internet to make your payments. Don''t blame them b/c you mailed your statement 2 days before it was due and expect it to get to Delaware, Arizona or North Dakota (depending on where they are processed)and expect they will credit your payment based on the day you mailed it. It is the day they receive it. They always give you either 20 or 25 days to pay your bill. It will not always fall on the same day each month because they do not use a calendar month as a billing cycle. Most banks have a 30 day billing cycle (which only a few months have) but your payment is usually due on day 20. If you pay by that date you are fine. Credit Card companies use cycles and not months, hence why in the disclosures they all read billing cycle. The billing cycles are based on business days. .

[future121]

If it''''s good enough to implement in July 2010, WHY ISN"T IT GOOD ENOUGH TO ENACT TOMORROW?
Posted by USGENERAL at 02:06 PM : Dec 18, 2008

aah, now the banks need time to find another means to make money and that takes 2 years to do? ;-) Now would be nice.

[usgeneral-2009]

If it''s good enough to implement in July 2010, WHY ISN"T IT GOOD ENOUGH TO ENACT TOMORROW?

[future121]

I was one of those who wrote my congress reps about his issue. I have a credit rating of over 800, always pay my bill on time. Then I get a notice the bill pay by date has changed to 7 days AFTER the bill gets mailed. That means unless I pay it before I get the bill I am late paying it! So, I go to the web now get my balance and pay on line. I also use my debit card more than my credit card. I reduced using my credit card by 80% because of this practice.

[oldanalyst]

Probably saying something positive about the credit card companies is not in keeping with the comments on this site. However, we have never had any problems with our credit cards. We use Discover a lot and have found that we have had questions answered promptly and courteously by the company.

When we travel out of the country, we generally use a VISA card and were pleased with the correctness of any bills we received. We notify the card company of the dates we would be gone so that no one would think our card had been stolen and used in another country. The card issuer even checked with us when we made purchases from the foreign country after we had returned home.

I am aware that there are some people who have gotten raw deals from credit card companies and rules should be in place to prevent such situations. However, we have been satisfied but will continue to be vigilant.

[marshmy]

The credit card mess is just that %u2013 a mess %u2013 but a lot of the fault lies in the indiscriminate use of credit by the public in the purchase of things they want but don''t need, or don''t need RIGHT NOW. Unexpected issues such as medical expenses do occur. But, sometimes can be handled in ways other than resorting to a credit card. Often a little extra effort may resolve the crisis.

As a personal example: My wife had a life threatening situation suddenly crop up and was rushed to the local hospital. An expensive test was done that saved her life. The insurance company deemed the test as unnecessary and not preathorized and would not pay for it. Appeals to them proved less than worthless. The result was that we received a bill for that test. Rather than pay with a credit card, I went to the business office of the hospital and after negotiating was able to get the bill reduced by 15 percent on the promise that we would pay a regular amount each month. It took 36 months to pay the bill but no credit card involved and our credit rating was not hurt.

As an interesting sidelight. Usury laws are involved. The history of this may be assigned to a state not thought of as a player in finance and to it''s then Governor.

Interesting link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/interviews/janklow.html

[ibodner]

The rate will have little to do with the outcome of the economy. At this point it is not our rate, the entire country is at risk.


Sincerely,


Ilya Bodner
Small Business Owner
Initial Underwriting Group, bailoutopinion.com

[loncheneyjr]

everything the banks do is meant to keep you making your payments and meant to make them a profit...i do not trust bernanke or this administration to make any changes...perhaps obama can but these people are not "qualified" their theories a lot of garbage and they have destroyed our nation with their theories!!! I warn everyone out there that unless this Fed is replaced with people who are more conservative and more circumspect we will be facing an absolute disaster that will make this present time look like a christmas party!!! I WARN ALL OF YOU WHAT THIS FED IS DOING IS GOING TO BE DEADLY DEADLY NOT ONLY TO OUR NATION BUT TO THE WORLD!!! WE ARE BEING PRIMED FOR A MAN MADE CATACLYSM!!!

[loncheneyjr]

The Federal Reserve is going to destroy this econommy for once and for all. This Fed is doing pretty much what Greenspan was doing nothing different. They intend to keep lending until the money they lend is worth less than the paper it is printed on!!!! I urge the new president to take action as soon as possible(if bush will listen now is great) and begin to show mr Bernanke back to academia. This is nothing personal, but he is missing the point. He may mean well, I cant say that he does not, but this cannot go on....what he offers here is no solution it is yet one more convoluted step towards catastrophic collapse. We must stop the bleeding now, no matter the number of firms that go under.