New Credit Card Rules Give Consumers a Break – in 2010
Deceptive credit card practices that have kept consumers permanently in debt are now being reined in by Federal Regulators. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the new rules don’t go quite far enough, and they don’t take effect until 2010.
You know you should read every contract before accepting it, but credit card contracts are often 30 pages long and written in a form of “legal-eze” that even lawyers find hard to decipher. Thus, most consumers don’t even attempt it. If you’re like most people, you probably don’t even know where you put it.
In recent years, credit card companies have added a variety of clauses designed to maximize penalties and fees, while allowing them to increase interest rates to 25% - and in some cases even higher.
A common ploy to lure consumers into the debt trap has been to offer rock bottom introductory rates – some even at zero percent for the first few months. Accompanying those offers are a few checks – with a letter encouraging consumers to “take that vacation” or “purchase that new furniture” with the checks.
Once the introductory rate period ends, rates go back to “normal” – or higher.
To be fair, some companies offer those rates on balance transfers and convenience checks until the balance has been paid off. But they don’t stress the fact that if you use your credit card to make a purchase, the interest on that purchase will be at a high rate. And – your payments will be applied first to the balance transfer or check at the low rate. Thus your high-interest purchases are buried where you can’t begin chipping away at them until you’ve paid off the low rate balance.
Under the terms of “Universal default” credit card issuers are allowed to raise those introductory rates in the event you are late with a payment – and that’s fair except for one thing. The late payment doesn’t have to be on their account – it can be a late payment on any other account that is reported to the credit bureau.
The new rules won’t completely prohibit Universal default, but they will prohibit the card issuers from
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Credit Card Debt – ‘Til Death Do Us Part
There are a lot of things you can’t take with you when you die, and in the case of credit card debt, it can be a good thing. However, this can change depending on where you live and whose names the credit card is under. Of course, the simplest scenario is that the credit card was on your name alone, with no joint account holders. In this case, any debt owed on the card, after death, would belong to only you and no one would inherit it.
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Prepaid Credit Cards – The Alternative for those with Bad Credit
In today’s technological era, it seems that more and more business and personal transactions are being done over the phone or online. As opposed to the old days when things were done through the mail or you had to go in person, the electronic age makes everything quicker. You can conduct routine transactions, from the comfort of your home, during almost any time of the day. You can do almost anything within minutes from making hotel reservations, booking airline tickets, or purchasing something from across the country on EBay or Amazon.
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Credit Card Consolidation-Making Life Simpler?
When consumers have mounting debt on their hands and interest rates keep rising, some look towards finding ways to consolidate their credit card bills. If you are a consumer that falls into this category, Creditreportblog.com recommends that now is the time for you to consider transferring high-interest balances to 0% or low interest cards.
When looking towards doing balance transfers, shop for the lowest interest rate, not the lowest payment. Some companies that offer lower monthly payments are just stretching out your repayment, which ends up just costing more in the long run. Although many credit card companies offer this option to transfer balances, you should read the fine print so that you know exactly what the terms are and what costs they may incur if you choose to balance transfer.
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College Students-In Debt already?
While in college, students are constantly hounded by credit card companies enticing them to apply for their credit card. Students see applying for credit cards as a great way to start building credit. However, if you are not careful with the way you start charging things, you may end up in a whole heap of debt. With not enough income coming in, usually a part-time job, many students end up spending well above their means. If you are a student and are looking at some of the credit card offers out there, here are some things you may want to think about before signing up:
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Stop Identity Theft in its Tracks
No matter how careful you are, thieves are usually a step ahead. What do you do, when they come for you? Once you discover that you may have become a victim of identity theft, here are some MUST DO’S for you to avoid minimal damage:
· Immediately, notify police, banks, credit card companies, and any other parties that you can think of.
· Make certain that you get your copy of the police report, so that you have proof of a crime having been committed.
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