The House of Representatives has voted to make the new credit laws effective immediately in the face of flagrant abuses by credit companies hoping to beat the February deadline by raising interest rates into the stratosphere.
The Senate has not yet taken up the measure, and it is uncertain what will happen there, but Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) is pressing for legislation that will freeze interest rates on existing balances until the new law takes effect.
The Federal Reserve has released a bank survey in which 50 percent of the banks responding admitted they are increasing interest rates and reducing credit lines even on credit card holders with good credit scores.
Even more disturbing is a study by the Pew charitable trusts reported by the New York Times on Nov. 9 “Concludes that the 12 largest banks issuing more than 80 percent of all credit cards, are continuing to use practices that the Fed considers ‘unfair or deceptive’ and in many cases have been outlawed by Congress.”
What can you do?
Contact your Senators and urge them to make the new credit card law effective immediately, as the House has done.
