Chase Sapphire

Posted by: uniwatching on: July 5, 2010

In: credit cards
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Maybe the banks that are receiving those Wall Street bailouts should be charged 30 percent interest when (if) they pay back the money to taxpayers, because the banks are charging credit card holders with these types of interest rates.

All you have to do is miss one credit card payment – or to have the credit card payment recorded late, in a mysteriously slow manner – and the banks will hit you up even bigger than in the past.

Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and American Express all have sent letters to credit card customers.

JPMorgan Chase isn't among the bailed out institutions, but its managers have sprung a new idea beyond interest rates. JPMorgan Chase credit card holders are assessed a $10 monthly fee if their balances are considered too large.

Banks argue that their credit card default rates are rising, which causes them to take greater risks. However, consumer advocates note that the banks also are trying to recover the money they blew on the bad mortgages that led to the Wall Street bailout in the first place.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd complained last week that the banks are “gouging” their credit card customers, who just happen to be the same people who are paying as taxpayers for the Wall Street bailout. However, Chris Dodd and other politicians seem to have little muscle to back their fighting words. It's sort of like trying to limit executive compensation.

On option for Congress is to pass the so-called Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights (H.R. 5244), introduced by Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York, chairwoman of the House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee

“A credit card agreement is supposed to be a contract, but in recent years cardholders have lost the ability to say no to unfair interest rate hikes and fees,” Maloney says.

The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights does not strive to cap rates or fees, because such a provision could be torn down in court. Insaid, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights aims to fight against unfair penalties, due date gimmicks and misleading contract language.

The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights won't help you pay the bills, but it could help prevent you from getting jacked up by unfair bank practices.

SOURCES

http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-lazarus15-2009feb15,0,6708971.column?page=2

http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1569&Itemid=61

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