Consumer Law

The Credit Cardholder?s Bill of Rights Passes

By Douglas Jacobs, California Bankruptcy Attorney

The Senate passed the Credit Cardholder?s Bill of Rights on May 20, 2009. The bill already passed the House of Representatives and will now go to President Obama for his signature.

This piece of legislation actually limits some of the credit card company?s methods of doing business. It forces them to be more honest and forthcoming in explaining their practices and to comply with some of the requirements of the Truth in Lending Act as far as full disclosure of interest rates and finance charges are concerned.

For years now the credit card industry has had a pretty free ride: raising rates and changing the terms of their contracts at any time. This new bill will, hopefully, stop some of those abuses and give consumers a better understanding of the way their credit cards work and how much they are being charged.

The Boston Globe provides a list of these changes.

Full post as published by Credit Law Network on May 23, 2009 (boomark / email).