Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District voted today to speed up the implementation of credit card reforms that Congress passed earlier this year.  The Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act, which passed by a vote of 331 to 92, moves the effective date for nearly all of the credit card reforms from February 22, 2010, to immediately following the President’s signing of the bill into law in an effort to curb abusive practices by the credit card industry.

“Congress took important steps to enact new protections for consumers, banning unfair rate increases and abusive fees and penalties by credit card companies,” Congresswoman Titus said.  “Unfortunately, credit card companies have been taking advantage of the time they were given to implement these changes by gouging their customers with last minute rate hikes and other charges.  Families are struggling to make ends meet during this tough economic time.  The last thing they need is credit card companies using deceptive tactics to charge them even more.  This legislation will speed up important reforms that will provide nedeed financial relief for Southern Nevadans.”

The original legislation, signed into law in May, included crucial measures that protect consumers from unfair interest rate hikes on existing balances, double-cycle billing, and due-date gimmicks.  Since that time, interest rates on credit cards have climbed an average of 20 percent as credit card companies have raised minimum payments, increased fees, and tightened credit limits instead of preparing to implement the new provisions.  The common-sense reforms in the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act will provide consumers with the information they need to make smart financial decisions.

To ensure the new timeline is workable, the bill keeps the original effective date of February 22, 2010, for small credit card issues with under 2 million cardholder accounts and for prepaid gift cards which are already printed and on the way to retailers.  With the six largest credit card issuers controlling over 80 percent of the credit market, this legislation will protect millions of Americans.

Support for this bill marks the Titus’ latest effort to stand up to credit card companies on behalf of consumers.  Last month, Titus joined with 18 of her colleagues in the House on a letter to credit card companies decrying their tactics.  “What makes this situation particularly troubling is the fact that the effective date for the majority of these provisions in this legislation was set for February of 2010 to give credit card companies time to implement the new federal regulations – not additional time to violate the spirit of the law by changing the terms of agreements, including raising interest rates on consumers,” the members wrote.  Click here to read the full text of the letter.

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Tags: economy