Credit Card Debt Law

Suze Orman weighed in this weekend on the proposed credit card reforms of Congress and the Federal Reserve, calling them “better late than never.” Orman explains some of the key measures in both the Federal Reserve protections and the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, as well as makes a few additional suggestions. [...]

A senior attorney from Consumers Union has a 4 minute interview/video segment online laying out the relevant details of credit card reform proposals.  I haven’t yet checked out the segment (available here), but I thought I would pass it on and bookmark it to view later.

Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law Professor and an author at Credit Slips, has proposed that the federal government create a commission to oversee lending practices and transactions between lenders and consumers.  It’s received some traction as it is on Hillary Clinton’s agenda.  Read Warren’s CNN Money interview here.

Although I haven’t alterations of the credit card reward system under consideration by Congress or the Federal Reserve, a Consumer Reports survey released today (June 2, 2008) found that credit card rewards were more trouble than they are worth because of confusing rules and restrictions on when rewards are accumulated and how to redeem them.  [...]

A Boston Globe editorial over the weekend pretty effectively advances the case for credit card reform by Congress and the Federal Reserve.  It argues that we shouldn’t wait for the credit card industry, with record credit delinquencies, to stumble the way the mortgage market did.  And in response to credit card industry concerns that it [...]

Retailers are currently lobbying Congress to decrease interchange fees - the money paid by the retailer to Visa / MasterCard to process the credit card transaction by the consumer. Their bill is known as the Credit Card Fair Fee Act. Consumers are also lobbying for credit card reform. Does it make sense for [...]

Business Week has put together a video with the basics about the credit card industry practices, why the credit crisis has escalated the problem of increasing interest rates, and a brief discussion of the credit card reforms in Congress. Here is the video:

The Associated Press reported last week that the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission announced its consideration of regulations requiring credit card companies and others making loans to disclose to consumers when the lender is using the borrower’s poor credit history to justify an increase in interest rates.
The notice would not be [...]

Congress and the Federal Reserve are currently considering legislation and regulation to alter potentially deceptive and misleading practices in the credit card and banking industry. If you haven’t seen the proposals already, and would like more information, then you can get find it at the Federal Reserve’s press release here and the subsequent press [...]

CNN reports that the inability of individuals to access other types of credit - such as home equity loans - is forcing an increase in credit card debt during today’s tough economic times as people use credit cards to pay the day to day bills.  The article talks about the problem with concern only about the debt [...]