Obama's Credit Card Relief Bill Taking Effect

As you may remember, back in May, Obama signed a bill to help Americans deal with one of our nation's dirtiest dilemmas: credit card debt. (See Ben Corbett's Banking on Trust.)

Obama saw the country struggling economically, and was smart enough to spot one of the problems: “part of it is the practices of the credit card companies" (see May 22 video here). "We’re not going to give people a free pass, and we expect consumers to live within their means and pay what they owe,” Obama said, “but we also expect financial institutions to act with the same sense of responsibility that the American people aspire to in their own lives."

The bill he signed that day is going into effect on February 22, as it gave the CC companies 9 months to plan — you're likely to be hearing from your credit institutions soon. My letter from Chase came yesterday. Here's what it said (actual letter shown):

In case that's a little hard to read, here are the important points:

Payments above "minimum payment due" will be applied to your higher rate balances (sometimes you're paying different interest rates on transferred balances and purchase balances, for example).Payment due dates will be a minimum of 21 days after the close of a billing cycle.If you make a late payment and get a "Penalty APR," the penalty will be removed after you make your next six on-time payments.The Cardmember Agreement has been revised "to make it easier to understand," and the Arbitration section has been removed."You will not be charged a fee for spending over your credit limit unless you agree to allow us to do so."

Can you believe it? It sounds too good to be true, but the president's watchdogs are committed to keeping companies like Chase honest. Finally, the credit card companies are stepping up to the plate with clear information and making getting out of debt easier.

Hey Obama, can you please help us with the phone companies next?

 

Photo and scan by Annie Scott.

 

 

Photo by Annie Scott.