Added protection for credit card users
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
By: Fit Staff
mcampbell@whyy.org
By: Aaron Moselle
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New credit card regulations took effect nationwide yesterday.
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Credit card users will be protected from sudden upticks in interst rates and excessive fees. They'll also be able to see just how long it'll take to pay off their balances if they pay only the minimum.
Josh Frank is a senior researcher with the Center for Responsible Lending. He says the law will give consumers confidence that card expenses will stay predictable in the future.
Frank: Used to be the case that your interest rate and other terms would change in ways that were often surprising and often there was little way out of it.
Under the new law, which President Obama signed into law in May, card companies must give 45 days' notice before hiking rates.
Frank says many credit card companies, fearing lost profits, will turn to new or higher fees. One possibility is an "inactivity" fee that could charge cardholders who don't use their cards.