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Suze Orman Money Matters

Suze Orman, Money Matters

Is Washington Finally Serious about Credit Card Reform?

by Suze Orman

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Posted on Monday, May 19, 2008, 12:00AM

In early May, the Federal Reserve issued a series of new proposals designed to curtail some of the more egregious credit card industry practices, while also requiring card companies to better disclose their rules to customers.

As Fed chairman Ben Bernanke stated, the proposed new regulations are "intended to establish a new baseline for fairness in how credit card plans operate. Consumers relying on credit cards should be better able to predict how their decisions and actions will affect their costs."

Amen to that.

Better Late Than Never

Of course, the Fed's new proposed regs would've been a lot more helpful if they came long before we got to our current national credit card crunch. Currently in the United States, there's more than $900 billion in outstanding card debt, much of it accruing interest at rates well above 15 percent and susceptible to arcane rules and practices that generate major fee revenue for the card companies.

But I suppose we'll have to be grateful for this better-late-than-never approach. And the Fed's proposed rule changes do indeed offer some solid consumer protections:

• Credit card issuers wouldn't be able to arbitrarily increase the interest rate on your card.

There would have to be a concrete reason for raising the rate, such as you not making the minimum payment by the due date, or a change in the underlying index that's used to set the interest rate.

• Speaking of due dates, statements would have to be mailed at least 21 days before payment is due rather than the current 14-day minimum.

This is designed to make it less likely that credit card issuers can catch cardholders off-guard by moving up a due date so the cardholder ends up making a late payment. At an average $39 per late fee, it's easy to see why card companies have been happy to push customers into being late.

• Card issuers would be prohibited from using your payments to only pay down your balances with the lowest interest rate.

This practice has been a credit card company favorite: Lure new customers in with a low intro rate for a balance transfer, then impose a high interest rate on new charges or cash advances. Then, when the cardholder makes a payment, it's credited to the low-rate balance rather than the higher-rate debt.

In other words, the card company just keeps charging you more and more on your growing high-rate debt. The new regulations would require that at least a portion of every payment be credited to your high-rate debt.

• The two-cycle billing system would be abolished.

This practice, used by many card issuers, creates a higher balance due for cardholders who only have an unpaid balance from time to time.

Give the Fed Your Two Cents

Not surprisingly, the financial services industry is rather annoyed with the Fed's action. We're now in the midst of a 75-day comment period -- due to expire in mid-July -- before the regulations will be finalized. You'd better believe the financial services lobbyists are going to work overtime to chip away at these consumer protections, which will mean less revenue for their clients (i.e., the card companies).

That's why I encourage every one of you to make sure the Fed hears from consumers. Don't think your voice matters in Washington? Well, in the official statements that accompanied the release of these proposed new regulations, the Fed specifically referred to the input they received from more than 2,000 individuals (not lobbyists, consumers!) who let the Fed know what they considered the most egregious of credit card practices.

Consumers were definitely heard at the Fed. And now you need to weigh in one more time to make sure the regulations don't get watered down. Deliver your comments online here.

Congress Takes on Card Problems

More action on credit card disclosure and practices may come from Capitol Hill, where two bills in the House and Senate are focused on boosting consumer protections. Granted, this is just the sort of topic that scores well in an election year, but let's cross our fingers and hope it's more than just vote-pandering.

I was beginning to give up on Congress. A year ago it held hearings to learn more about credit card billing practices. No legislation ever came out of those hearings. The only small victory was that a few of the major credit card issuers hauled up to the Hill to testify tried to play nice by voluntarily rescinding their use of Universal Default. That's the system whereby you can pay your credit card bill on time, yet still see your interest rate skyrocket if the card issuer happens to notice you didn't pay any of your other bills -- completely unrelated to your credit card -- on time.

It looked like the credit card industry had succeeded in throwing this one bone to Congress and consumers to avert any more substantive changes to how it's allowed to operate. Then, this past February, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2008. And then at the end of April, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) introduced the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act. These bills include some provisions that are echoed in the proposed Fed regulations. Consumer advocates believe it's important to build on the Fed's regulations by having an actual law in place that mandates consumer protections. (Laws are harder to change than regulations.)

Unaddressed Issues

I was especially interested in a few new items in Sen. Dodd's bill that the Fed didn't address:

• Require card companies to show account holders the total time and total expense they'll incur if they choose to only pay the minimum balance due each month.

I think putting those figures front and center would wake up a fair number of people. But I would've liked it if this proposal went one step further: Show by how much both the time and total payment would decrease if the cardholder paid 1 percent, 2 percent, and 3 percent more than the minimum amount due each month. Showing those figures side by side with what happens if you pay just the minimum is motivation for paying more each month.

• Curtail credit card companies from proactively pushing credit card offers on consumers under the age of 21.

Under the new bill, these young adults would have to initiate contact with the card company to apply for a card.

Stay in Touch

Again, I encourage anyone who wants better disclosure of credit card fees and a more level playing field to contact your Washington representatives and tell them what you think of both these bills.

This isn't just a matter of telling your representatives you're annoyed with something; you have specific bills you can refer to and ask their position on. Wouldn't you like to know where your state representative and senators stand on credit card reform?

To contact your senators about the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, go here. To contact your representative about the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2008 (H.R. 5244), go here.

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31 Comments

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  • Yahoo! Finance User - Friday, May 23, 2008, 2:52PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    You know I didn't even read this I just went staight to post because I know it's not so good.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, May 22, 2008, 7:55PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    No No No! A few years ago I got enough money to invest. Recognizing that credit card companies were effective at getting interest, late fees, etc out of people, I invested in a couple of them. Don't take away the gravy train now that I'm starting to get on it.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, May 22, 2008, 2:23PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    The biggest part of this problem that requires government intervention is information asymmetry. The idea of publishing the total time/expense associated with the minimum payoff is excellent (kudos Sen. Dodd!). I would even like to see a standardized list of terms and conditions for ALL credit card forms that resembles the standardized nutritional information on U.S. food products. Ah, how easy it would be to judge and compare credit forms if the terms and conditions were laid out, front and center, in a standardized format, instead of being vaguely worded and buried in fine print! If this measure were taken, the result would be two-fold - 1) predatory credit practices would be easily detected by even the financially illiterate, and (hopefully) driven to extinction, and 2) those who STILL sign into such agreements would have nobody but themselves to blame when they are up to their eyeballs in debt.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, May 22, 2008, 1:05PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    For the people that blame liberals for more rules, go on back to your porcelain statue of Rush and bow. For the rest... Generally, I'm not a big supporter of enacting legislation to address problems because those entities with the most money are in better position to be heard and, by extension, get their points across. All that the rest of us have are links. As such, legislation is sure to get watered down or, worse yet, give the card companies explicit license and authority to put your head in a vise. The real issue here is that corporations (and related entities) have more rights than do people. The MBNA-supported bankrupcy law is one example, where corporations have a greater legal right to declare bankrupcy than citizens (it is easy for the cynic to point out that the bankrupcy law is evidence, however circumstantial, that the banks saw this mess coming). Another example is that banks can "export" interest rates across states more easily than people can (legally) transport guns across state lines. Finally, the credit card companies have the right to alter your credit card agreement at any time and for any reason. Nominally, we have no negotiating rights; any attempt to alter those terms, it typically states, would result in closure of the account. Imagine that you had the right to tell the card company that sending unnecessary materials or literature (and you have the right to determine that qualifies as unnecessary) gives people the right to impose up to a $50 fee (for each item) on the banks, payable by a reduction in the account balance (at the accountholder's option, of course). In practice, of course, we do have negotiating powers, subject to our leverage and credit scores. Unless you have a credit score- which has dubious underlying logic and serious underlying reporting issues- of 760 or above, you're figting uphill.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, May 22, 2008, 9:52AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    I agree with you 100% "thearb". Great comments!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 7:45PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    There seems to be a ton of liberals on this site that want more government regulations to determine what’s good for the citizenry of this country. I believe that the government should stay out of the business of regulating prices and let the consumer decide. Sure, there should be regulations on the books that do not allow for the small print and people should be informed, but beyond that Laze faire economics can and will work, given the chance. The biggest problem is that not enough of you give it a chance. You want the government to fix everything for you so that you don't have to think for yourself. The problem with that is that the government becomes so overburdened with regulations and enforcing those regulations that the costs of doing business goes up and everyone pays for it. Look at Sarbanes Oxley for example, there have been so many companies that have decided to go public on foreign markets because of the burdensome costs associated with regulations here in the U.S. I'm a patriot and I love this country, but I don't need the government to tell anyone what to do when it comes to loaning me money. I believe that full and useful disclosure is the plain and simple answer and that's what works, plain and simple, not overly cumbersome regulations imposed by a government to protect its people from themselves (unless it’s a foreign owned bank)- that’s for another column. So, why not let the credit card companies charge whatever they want to, but make sure that it is front and center and get rid of all of the nonsense small print. Don't allow for it, instead work on legislation that takes away the nonsense small print and replaces it with the meaningful information, APR, Late Fees, Cycle Changes etc.. and then let the people decide for themselves who to borrow money from. You will get better results with an informed public than you will from the costs associated with the government having to protect every contract that you or I enter into. Set a minimum font size for anything having to do with charges and let the banks compete for the business. Instead, what we have is a bunch or regulations that make the banks print 10-20 page fine print nonsense which just raises the cost of doing business. That hasn't worked up until now and by adding more rules governing the free markets and what they can charge, you are hurting the free marketplace. Sometimes you have to stop and think about the problem and the consequences and not have knee jerk reactions looking to punish those that take advantage of the ridiculous amount of government intervention in business today. If everyone just had to disclose anything doing with cost in a minimum 14 point font and was not allowed to fill 10 pages of nonsense, an educated public would not pay as much for credit unless they had bad credit scores. Then the credit card companies should be allowed to charge the higher rates to cover for the defaults. Again, the credit card companies could fight that battle between each other in competition, not dumb down society even further by having more rules imposed and more fine print allowed.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 3:18PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Credit card companies should be made to STOP those interest rates from going out of control!!!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 12:49PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Greed kills. Not long ago, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed graduates of our best business schools convinced conservative bankers and financial investors that they could make more money if usury laws were eviscerated and the ability of consumers to obtain a fresh start in bankruptcy was made difficult. This was done by incorporating credit card companies in South Dakota, which has no usury law, and by spending millions to lobby Congress. They should have had more foresight. Just because contracts are written and laws are passed that require people to pay more money doesn't mean that credit sales will be more profitable or that people will be able to pay. People can pay only what they can pay. It is for this reason that it is both unconscionable and, over the long run, self-defeating, for credit card companies to charge punitive interest rates of 30% and 40% in consequence of a late payment or an increase in a credit balance. Such rates have no relation to the harm a late payment or an increase in debt causes a lender. Punitive interest rates make it virtually impossible for the ordinary borrower to pay what they owe. The removal of statutory restrictions on the collection of debt, such as allowing collection calls to be made on Sunday, coupled with impeding the ability of individuals to get a fresh start from the bankruptcy courts, are tactics which have contributed to the creation of an underclass of hopeless, debt-ridden Americans whose only protection from non-stop collection calls is the answering machine. As this underclass of debtors grows, the strength of our credit driven economy suffers. The American economy needs people to buy on credit, but people cannot look forward to replacing worn out products or buying Christmas gifts if they are trying to pay 30 or 40 percent interest on past purchases. Nor, as current circumstances demonstrate, are they able to pay their mortgages. The credit industry's usurious interest rates, whether legalized or not, reflect a disconnect between greed and reality, a disconnect that, over the long term, will hurt credit providers as much as it hurts consumers. Remedies are straightforward: 1. Impose a federal usury law so that the states such as South Dakota, where many credit card companies are now headquartered, can no longer enable credit card companies to impose uncontrolled interest on the borrowing public, 2. Enable individuals to deduct credit card interest, and 3 Amend the Bankruptcy Code to enable those facing bankruptcy to pay back the fair market value of their homes at a reasonable interest rate, rather than requiring them to repay the entire mortgage debt, which, through no fault of the homeowner, now often exceeds the fair market value of the property by tens of thousands of dollars. The vast majority of Americans in financial trouble want to pay back their debts. They must be given a fair opportunity to do so.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 11:27AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    This is an important topic, and does deal with the GREEDY (STUPID) BANKER. We always referred to them as such, since most of them can't read a financial statement, but they can (based on a mindless FICO score) lend millions of dollars! The creativity of late fees, overline fees, and other BS fees is almost as enterprising as my fellow Tennesseeans who started the "Check Into Cash" payday lending, and made billions! It's hard for Congress who has their pockets lined by these companies to create a bill that would substantially hurt them.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 10:15AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    The credit card toadies must be the ones posting that the credit card user is the one resposible for the problems if this industry. I pay my card bill in full every month electronically 3 days before the due date. The credit card company (citiBank) ocassionally would charge me a late fee. When I protested they removed the late charge but the point is they received the payment the next business day. I found out that they have 5 business days to post the payment even if the funds are in their account. How can you toadies lay that on the credit card user????

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 8:05AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    To the first comment: This is not about "evil" this and evil that - it's about corporate greed that is getting out of hand, and that REALLY cause most of economic and social problems in the US. When greed goes hand in hand with stupidity this tandem is particularly damaging. Credit card co's preditory practices are not only bad for consumers and the society in general but in a long run it's counterproductive for their own bottom line. Try to think for a second: ripping consumers off by imposing unreasonable rates, penalties, fees, etc. stretches card holders's budget to the max, and causes significant percentage of them to give up entirely by declaring bankruptcy or simply forces them to stop paying. And the number of those who can't pay is constantly growing. To compensate for these losses, corps charge remaining customers more and more thus pushing more people into the "loss" category. If they charged reasonable rates, abandonded extortion practices, and overall made the entire relationship with the cardholders what any economic relationship is supposed to be: MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL, they would've made more money by more evenly distributing payments among a larger number of people PLUS would've avoided social and economic consequences that is about to bring the entire system down. As far as "liberal professors" go, it you had a chance (and ability) to think, you'd come to a conclusion that it's not professors that set tuition prices but just another corporation that own/runs the college. Professors get paid a bare minimum - a good friend of mine was making $42K a year as a full-time professor at Yale!!! To make it short, quit affixing labels, and take your time to think. Start with just a couple of minutes a day, and gradually increase until you qualify as homo sapience. Good luck with that!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 9:45PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Evil credit card companies, Evil oil companies, Evil Mortgage lenders, Evil whole foods, Evil businesses out there. Everybody loves to point the finger at somebody else yet they live life financially ignorant. College kids today have to pass anthropolgy classes on tribes in the asian pacific that have NOTHING to do with their lives, they have to pass swimming classes, dance classes, but most of them have never taken econ 101, know anything about a credit card, or how to balance a checkbook. GREAT. How come the liberal college professors so quick to openly speak out about the evils of capitalism never see, to mention the soaring cost of education? Big college isn't bashed as much as Big Oil or Big business huh?

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 7:14PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    To the user complaining about Americans being too stupid and lazy for their own good, the tricks and traps set up by the credit card companies to extort money can catch even the most creditworthy customers. I can count the times that I haven't paid my bill in full on one hand. I have a credit score over 800. One month I didn't pay the full balance due and fully expected to pay the interest charge for that month. The next month I paid the entire balance, including the interest from the previous month. The next month, I got a bill for "finance or other charges" although I didn't charge anything the previous month and paid my bill in full. When I called to find out what was going on I was hit with the double-cycle billing trick where I was charged interest for the amount that I didn't pay in the original month although it had already been paid. It was only after I raised hell, screamed and hollered and threatened to close checking accounts and kid's savings accounts that the SOB's reversed the charge. The other problem is universal default which isn't as simple as you didn't pay one bill on time. If your credit score changes for any reason whatsoever then they can jack the interest rate up to 30% or more. That is outrageous, abusive and shouldn't be allowed. Furthermore, there should be some kind of grace period before the late fees kick in. Back in the old days if a payment was postmarked by the due date then there was no late fee. For someone who doesn't charge much the late fee can be more than the balance owed. It's nothing but greed to the nth degree and one doesn't have to be an irresponsible slacker to get hit with this garbage.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 5:29PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Oy Vey!! Reeeeelly dalhling... not bad advice from someone who only owns one pair of earrings.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 3:46PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    This is only for those among us who care. I am very sorry that credit card companies have insisted on forcing legislation with their short sighted business practices. Guess they're counting on the profit they can make while they wait. We could have encouraged a self-imposed, responsible behavior policy in much of this industry by simply not using credit until the companies made it attractive to the honorable consumer. The fraudulent consumer created these corporate games and they like these rules. They have their own "something for nothing" mentality. That is who the rules are for. Thanks to my father (RIP, dad) and validation from Suze Orman, I have tried as an individual to avoid these rules at all costs (pun intended) because I am not smart enough to understand them and my vision is not good enough to read the fine print. I am happy to report that alot of these tricks just don't apply to my little world. We have to stay educated on our credit card reponsibility in order to avoid these responses to our own mis-behavior. 1.Use your credit responsibly. If you can't pay for it, don't buy it! and Pay as you Play! This prevents you from having to understand the APR sentences because you never pay interest. Note: FICO score people don't like this consumer behavior. BUT You have enough (credible) tangible evidence to make you loan worthy. 3. "Zero out" your credit cards once a year. I don't know why, but it feels good. 4. Create an interest-bearing credit cushion before making one more unnecessary expense. Good practice goal for exercising your savings muscle. Emergencies happen. 5. Do not expect something for nothing. Please understand, this is not for everyone. You don't get alot of stuff, you deny yourself the satisfaction that comes from fulfilling your personal desires and keeping up with the Joneses is completely out of the question... but if you need to feel "free" from the inside out....now is a good time.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 3:36PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    As long as this doesn't further impact the credit market. Further drying of the money supply to consumers will not help us out of the struggle.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 3:14PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    stsarret - in the matter of increased fees for merchants, take heart; Visa and MC are being sued (with backing from merchant's associations) for colluding to keep these fees at monopoly levels.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 3:09PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Good job Suze. Keep up the good work. It is too bad most Americas are too stupid and lazy for their own good. They have to have government regulations to show them what they should know already. It is just absurd to have to have government regualtions to tell them borrowing money at 17% is bad for them. If this does go through, the people that need to pay attention and learn this stuff won't even look at the information. Hey along with showing how paying the minimum payment affects them it should also show how much they will owe for the federal debt! We are so screwed!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 12:22PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    Personal responsibility goes a long way-- if you don't have the discipline to check your credit card bill when it arrives and don't make a habit of checking online, don't be surprised by the CC co moving the due date on you (although that IS a dirty trick). Just don't use your credit card. Credit card use without personal discipline is a recipe for disaster. (Disclosure-- USB shareholder)

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 9:09AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Suze is the best!!! Take her advice and you will be on the fast track to financial independence----however, those that criticize through arrogance and ignorance are doomed to financial failure. After all, she is right, and she delivers the message with an enthusiastic and empathetic approach. She has been a wonderful addition to my financial planning, and I will continue to value her common sense suggestions. Thanks Suze- you rock!!!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, May 19, 2008, 11:19PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    More regulations. Credit card companies will find all kind of ways to profit more by charging merchant additional percentage or charging stupid fees on consumers.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, May 19, 2008, 8:37PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Banks can go the Fed discount window when they need help and the average joe cannot. It is time congress did something to protect the average citizen from predatory credit card practices. I am not so sure why this congress is doing it.. they never have done anything worthwhile for their citizens. There must be some catch.. Nowadays, if you default on one payment .. all the other cards can increase their rates to the maximium! Was it not the same congress that let the banks get away with that?

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, May 19, 2008, 5:36PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    When will be become responsible for their own actions. It is unbelievable to me that the simple basics of interest calculation is such a mystery to everyone. $3,000 X 9% is $270 per year. If your minimum payments is $11 a month your not even getting close to paying the interest. Guess what the next month your paying interest on the additional interest earned and added to the balance. A simple exercise of calculating interest could save people money. Maybe we need to have a people take a test before they are given credit cards to see if they understand what can happen if they don't pay there bills when due.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, May 19, 2008, 4:49PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    This is the single biggest problem in America today as it relates to lower income and middle class. I can not see why people who have the greatest need for credit ends up paying the highest rates.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, May 19, 2008, 3:43PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Credit Card companies Absolutely need strong regulation. After my spouse left, I was stuck with large credit card bills.I diligently tried to keep up with the payments but it was impossible. Chase arbitrarily raised my interest rate to 29%, but could not tell me why. They changed the due date once, which made my automatic payment late. Their bills showed a minimum payment that did not cover their interest & fees. It took several months of calls to their representatives, who had a difficult time telling me how much my minimum payment should be to cover the interest & fees. It was a financial nightmare for 6 years. Chase was the worst offender. Fortunately, I bought a house with a friend which increased substantially in value. After several years, I refinanced and was able to pay off $35,000 in bills. Credit companies are worse than low life loan sharks. Also, they should never offer credit to minors or make deceptive offers to people with bad credit. I know several people who have become entangled with companies that charge outrageous fees, such as $150 on a credit line of only $300.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, May 19, 2008, 12:24PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Credit card reform is huge issue with me. I have used my good credit to pay off lots of debt and am credit card debt free, but I know how hard it is to get there. Amen to this legislation and to Suze's desire for 1.Require card companies to show account holders the total time and total expense they'll incur if they choose to only pay the minimum balance due each month.. as well as her other desired feature.

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