Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) knows he can't trust those pesky credit card companies, which is why he's pushing to move the new credit card law's effective date up from Feb. 2010. He hopes to get the date moved to Dec. 1, 2009, stopping companies from any attempts to shuck the system before they're legally entitled to do the right thing.
The New Credit Card Law
If you're not familiar with the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, it's time to get up to speed. Among a host of adjustments to the credit card industry, the act is set to do the following:
- Ban unfair fee traps: The act will ban unfair fee traps, including weekend deadlines, alternative due dates, and deadlines that fall in the middle of the day.
- Instill fair interest calculation: Interest rates will no longer be calculated based on a previous month's balance (double-bill cycling).
- Require plain language communication: Companies will be required to write information in language that is easy for consumers to understand.
- Protect college students: Colleges and universities must protect students from campus-wide credit card marketing schemes.
The Law's December Effective Date
Schumer cited a Pew Charitable Trust study that found that credit card companies increased interest rates by 20 percent in the first six months of 2009 to gouge consumers before the law takes place. He believes they want to maximize their profits before the new act prohibits it from happening. To stop them from further gouging, he's pushing for the date to take effect as soon as possible.
What You Can Do in the Meantime
Until the law takes effect, credit card companies can pretty much do what they want. However, you can still protect yourself by learning how to survive default, teaching your college student credit card responsibility, and learning more about the new credit card regulations.
Between Schumer's push to move the law's effective date and your push to manage your cards responsibly, you could protect yourself from whatever these credit card companies want to throw your way.
Do you think moving the new credit card law's effective date is a good idea?
