Credit Card Companies Continue Abusive Practices

It's been almost two months since President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act) into law. Unfortunately, this hasn't been much of a deterrent for the credit card industry. According to a recent survey conducted by Credit.com, a third (33 percent) of consumers have recently experienced one or more of the following changes in their credit card terms:   

• Increased their interest rate by 19 percent (up from 15 percent in the February survey)
• Increased their fees by 14 percent
• Lowered their credit limit by 14 percent (up from 8 percent in the February survey)
• Increased their minimum payment due by 12 percent
• Reduced their rewards program by 9 percent

With credit card default rates rising over 10 percent, credit card companies will most likely continue these practices in an attempt to offset their losses — at least for the next seven months.  In February 2010, the bulk of the credit card reforms will go into effect and consumers will finally be able to breathe a small sigh of relief. Until then, batten down the hatches and keep a close eye on your credit card terms. 

Has your credit card issuer recently changed the terms on your account? If so, we want to hear from you! Share your story in our credit card forum or post your comments below.

Tagged as: Credit Card Accountability, Credit CARD Act, credit card industry, credit card laws, credit card practices, credit card reform, credit cards, Responsibility and Disclosure Act

Deanna Templeton Director of Consumer Education for Credit.com, Deanna has more than 15 years in the banking and consumer credit industries and her focus is on financial literacy and educating consumers on the importance of healthy credit management. Email Deanna at dtempleton@credit.com.