New credit-debit laws now in affect
The first reform of the Credit Card Act of 2009 is now in affect with more laws to follow in August. The new laws are meant to protect consumers from unexpected, and perhaps unethical, fees and changes in loan terms.
Some of the new changes include limits on fees and regulations on interest charges. Now interest rates cannot be raised within the first year of an account and customers must be more than 60 days late on payments before interest rates can be raised. If the customer makes on time payments for 6 consecutive months the interest rate will be lowered to the initial rate. Accounts with multiple interest rates must have payments applied to the balance with the highest interest rate first.
Credit and debit card issuers may no longer impose a processing fee for online or phone payments. Issuers also may not charge fees for overdraft purchases made without prior customer authorization.
