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WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives today approved a Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights bill by a vote of 361 - 64. Passed yesterday in the Senate, the legislation next goes to the President for his signature. Included are proposals advocated by Rep. Tom Petri to provide information to students with credit cards.
"This legislation is necessary to get fairer treatment for consumers," said Petri, who voted for the bill. "Most of us have been hit by unfair credit card rate hikes, late fees and the like. You shouldn't have to hire a lawyer to go over all the small type before you sign up for a card."
Under H.R. 627, credit card companies would stop:
* "Double Cycle Billing" by which a card issuer assesses finance charges on balances other than that for the current billing cycle;
* Interest rate increases except under specified circumstance, thus eliminating increases resulting from a cardholder's experience with other creditors;
* Hiking interest rates without 45 days advance notice;
* Applying interest rate hikes retroactively to balances incurred under the old rate;
* Piling on debt that consumers owe by requiring them to pay off balances with lower interest rates before those with higher rates;
* Charging late fees even though consumers mail their payments seven days in advance of the due date; and
* Charging excessive upfront fees to subprime cards targeted at consumers with blemished credit histories.
During negotiations with the Senate, student credit card provisions were added to the bill which had previously been advocated by Petri and endorsed by the Senate.
In line with the Student Credit Card Transparency Act, H.R. 2217, which was introduced last month by Petri and Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights provides greater transparency by requiring credit card companies to report on their arrangements with colleges and alumni associations when receiving the assistance of those institutions to solicit students for credit cards.
"I am pleased the Senate agreed with the importance of greater transparency and included the policy of H.R. 2217 in its credit card bill," said Petri.
"The question is, are the colleges and alumni groups operating in the interests of the students or simply for the benefit of themselves," said Petri. "We need to know more about who benefits and by how much, and parents and students need to know that too."
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