( – promoted by odum)
Needless to say, we’re not there yet. But by sending the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights to President Obama’s desk for signature today, we’ve made real progress – progress in limiting the arbitrary and capricious tactics credit card companies use against consumers and progress in making clear to the industry that it is on thin ice.
GMD readers know as well as anybody that credit card companies have been taking us to the cleaners for too long. They’ve fought every reform we’ve proposed tooth and nail. And until President Obama took office, they’ve had a regulator who looked the other way. Today we made it very clear that those days are over.
My only regret about today’s vote is that Sen. Sanders and I weren’t able to amend the bill to cap interest rates at a reasonable level. As I wrote in the Free Press last month, the 30 percent rates these companies charge would make the Mafia blush. Though we weren’t able to cap interest rates in this bill, believe me, we’re going to keep pushing for it.
Credit card companies can consider this a shot across the bow.
I can’t think of a more reprehensible industry. I am reminded of the biblical admonitions against usury.
Thank you for pursuing this. I hope there is much more to come.
Thanks for pushing on this one Representative Welch, look forward to seeing those interest rate caps come through the House as well.
Bernie was on VPR today talking about this same thing. He made it very clear that this is just the first step.
One statistic that was shocking was how much this industry spent on lobbying in the last ten years. Sitting in the car my first guess was a billion, then I thought I should downgrade that to $500 million.
Five Billion Dollars.
No wonder they’re used to getting what they want.
Thanks for fighting for us.
hopefully more to come
Peter, what is your position on the repeal of the ban of guns in National Parks that is being tacked on to this bill? Regardless of the pros and cons of that particular issue, it’s completely inappropriate in regards to this bill (no, I’m not surprised, as it’s part of the game, I am a bit offput as to how brazen it is).
We must not give up on the effort to outlaw usery in the credit card industry. It is a public shame what some card issuers are charging the working poor as credit card interest.
Lots of people today are in need of financial assistance. That’s why payday loan industry has been in demand through the years. At last, the CRL takes a stance with what resembles a common sense approach; a call to action regarding something to do with the problem. (Now we have to deal with the horsemen, the rain of fire, and the end of days.) The CRL, or Center for Responsible Lending, has taken aim at credit cards by sponsoring HR 627, or the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. The Credit CARD Act, as it’s called, could ensure more fairness in how card companies deal with customers, and limit things like hidden fees and retroactive interest rate increases. President Obama is on board. The CRL not going after installment loans and targeting an actual predatory lender – it’s about time.
Universal default because of a mystery “late payment” we never had that showed up on our credit report one month and disappeared the next, I’m now one of those paying 29% on a substantial amount of debt (funny how you build that up when both adults are unemployed at the same time).
The lack of a cap on the interest rates is killing us.
We were paying the debt down before we got slammed last November, but not anymore. Now we’re treading water, and paying thousands of extra dollars per year just for the interest. Because of this, there was no Christmas in our household this year.
These rates are no [f-ing] joke for a lot of us. I’m glad you were able to pass something, but from a practical, real-life stand-point, I’m sorely disappointed in the end result, and my anger at some of your colleagues is substantial.
The other features of the bill will help people who aren’t already hurting, assuming their rates aren’t jacked before the bill takes effect. The rest of us are simply screwed. There are times I just want to cry…