Consumer Protection

One of Congresswoman Lowey’s top priorities in Congress is ensuring consumers are protected against unsafe or dishonest financial practices and consumer products.

Abusive Credit Card Practices

Congresswoman Lowey is a leader in ensuring individuals and small businesses are protected against unfair, arbitrary, and anti-competitive credit card practices. As a proud cosponsor of the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, Lowey supported important new consumer protections implemented on February 22, 2010, including:

  • Requiring credit card companies must notify consumers before raising interest rates;
     
  • Eliminating unnecessary fees and interest charged on debt paid on time;
     
  • Eliminating “universal default” penalties;
     
  • Requiring credit card companies to apply a payment over the minimum to the balance with the highest interest rate; and
     
  • Prohibiting interest rate changes in the first year of the account.

Lowey also fought successfully to force credit card companies to disclose the true cost of making minimum monthly payments; the amount of time necessary to repay the debt if only making the minimum payment; and the amounts of payment required if the debt is to be repaid in three years.

Because small businesses rely on credit cards to meet capital needs, they are also hurt by deceptive credit card practices. Lowey introduced the Small Business Credit Card Act, which would extend the important consumer protections to small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Small businesses should be creating jobs and rejuvenating our economy, not be subject to unfair interest rate changes, deceptive practices, and unnecessary fees.

Protecting Children from Unsafe Products

Congresswoman Lowey successfully passed legislation requiring choking hazard warning labels are clearly listed on online retail sites and in catalogs, helping to reduce the more than 70,000 toy-related emergency room visits reported every year. 

Lowey also cosponsored legislation banning lead beyond minute amounts in children's products; requiring mandatory third-party testing for children's products; requiring tracking labels to aid in recalls; and increasing penalties for safety violations.

Protecting Your Identity and Personal and Financial Information

The theft of identity or financial or other personal information is a significant and growing danger, and Americans deserve protections when opening bank accounts, obtaining a driver’s license, or going to the doctor.  That is why Congresswoman Lowey has worked to:

  • Expand consumer access to free credit reports and fraud identification tools;
     
  • Help consumers limit prescreened offers of credit and insurance and place alerts on credit histories if identity theft is suspected; and
     
  • Require secure disposal of consumer information.

For more information about deterring and detecting identity theft, please click here.

If you believe that someone else is using your Social Security number, call the Social Security Fraud Hotline at (800) 269-0271.

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