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What Consumers Should Know About Credit Cards

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Card Insider:  News that as many as 130 million debit and credit cards may have been breached highlights the growing risk of fraud. Here is what it means for consumers. Q: How can I tell if my information has been compromised? A: In almost every state, companies that suffer a data breach will have to notify customers if their personal data may have been breached. Meantime, consumers should monitor their bank and credit-card accounts and report any unusual activity to the financial institution. Q: How do I protect myself? A: First, get copies of your credit report to make sure the information is a...

on August 18, 2009 0

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New Credit Card Rules

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Card Insider:  WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Credit card issuers, starting next week (08/17/2009), will be required to give consumers 45 days' notice before raising their interest rate or making other significant changes to a card plan's terms. Under the new rule, borrowers will have the option to decline the new rate and pay off their balance over time under the original rate. Issuers also must begin sending bills 21 days before payment is due. The new rules are the first of a number of new consumer protections to be implemented under a major credit card law enacted in May. Most of the law's changes won't t...

on August 13, 2009 0

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Credit Card Reform of 2009

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Card Insider:  Two provisions of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 take effect on Aug. 20. Most of the other rules don't apply until February. Longer bill payment period: Credit card statements will arrive earlier. Issuers must mail billing statements 21 days before the due date, up from the current requirement of 14 days. If there is a grace period (how much time you have to pay the balance in full before a finance charge incurs), it must span at least those 21 days before the due date. If you carry a balance, the grace period doesn't matter. This expan...

on August 7, 2009 0

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Credit Card Industry Enters a New Period

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Card Insider:  Consumers will get their first taste of the landmark credit card reform law this month as banks become required to give at least 45 days' notice of any significant change in their card offerings. But that's just the start. Between now and February, a whole raft of new rules will take effect aimed at leveling the playing field between card issuers and consumers, who all too often have found themselves powerless to challenge onerous and abusive lending practices. "This is the biggest credit card reform we've had in...

on August 3, 2009 0

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Credit Card Holders Gain Protection From Minnesota Settlement

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Card Insider:  If you have a credit card, cell phone or other type of consumer contract, you almost certainly have a binding arbitration agreement in the fine print. That means you have given up your right to sue; instead an arbitrator would act as judge. The arbitrator, under most contracts, is chosen by the credit card or services company. Most consumers have no idea that they have given up these rights, simply by agreeing to take a company's services. Consumer advocates have long argued that requiring consumers to use arbitration is unfair. Now a court settlement seems to bolster their arguments, an...

on July 27, 2009 0

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