Lawmakers Urge Credit Card Companies To Change

A Senate subcommittee met yesterday, December 4, to discuss predatory credit card practices. After listening to testimony from consumers and credit card companies, lawmakers seem to agree that some changes need to be made to protect consumers.

Lawmakers expressed concern that some banks use a process called Universal Default to justify sudden and sometimes sharp interest rate hikes on credit card bills.

Comments were also made about ambiguity of the credit scoring process and how it affects consumers:

"The credit scoring process is akin to a black box; no one knows exactly how it works or what lowers a score, yet it has become the primary driver of interest rate increases for tens of millions of Americans," [Carl] Levin said.

No new laws resulted from the meeting. What laws do you think should be put in place to govern credit card companies?

Read the full article: US banks urged to 'clean up' credit card practices

Related:
Universal Default | Negotiating a Lower Interest Rate | Calculating Finance Charges