When it comes to credit cards, many consumers have been getting shafted. All of the major banks providing credit cards have gotten away with reaping profits, and they have no problem lobbying and distributing the money to any Washington lawmaker that get in their way. Washington lawmakers are getting this dirty money from these banks to keep their regulatory laws and their profits in tact so it will not affect the credit card industry if it becomes law in a few years. During George W. Bush’s presidential terms, if anyone attempted to change any provision regarding the credit card regulatory laws, the changes were usually fizzled out and swept under the rug. The credit card industry was fine and there were more choices for the consumers and there was no reason to amend anything. There was no credit card reform in sight.

On the other hand, the United States has been in a recession and we have a new president and an administration in Washington, and they have made credit card reform one of their top priorities. The credit card industry is directly linked to consumer debt and as a result, the industry must be reformed. In May of 2009, the Credit CARD Act of 2009 was implemented. However, the bill’s first provisions were not in effect until just recently.

Things you should consider if you are a credit cardholder.

1. There must be a written notice forty-five days in advance by the credit cardholder if your interest rate of your credit card has increased.
   This will eliminate the unethical practice of allowing lenders to raise your interest rates on your account that is outstanding, delinquent, or unrelated to other credit card companies.
2. Credit card companies are prohibited from changing terms of your original contract. They can no longer charge you at any time or for any reason.
   You will no longer get an automatic late fee on your credit card because the payment due date fell on a non-business day or non-work day at your bank. If your due date falls on a holiday or a weekend, the due date will fall on the next business day and this is now required by law.
3. Credit cardholders are allowed twenty-one days to pay their credit card balances instead of the minimum fourteen day period.
   Credit cardholders are now given three billing cycles to pay off their balances via existing terms if the interest rate has skyrocketed.
4. It is required that all payments are allocated in portions of the credit card balance with the highest interest rate descending the lowest interest rate.
   Your highest rates are paid first, which was not always the case before.
5. Limitations on the limit fees that are now three per credit card account.
   Unlimited limit fees are very common; many lenders had this practice in place for credit cardholders that exceeded over their credit limit.

The credit card companies do not want you to read the Credit CARD Act of 2009.

There are more provisions in the Credit Card Act of 2009; this is just the tip of the iceberg. Credit card companies could not care less about consumers; they have no trouble raising interest rates, limit fees, and other restrictions that have not even reached the full level of potential in regards to regulation. The thing that is most shocking about these new regulations mentioned above is that banks and credit card companies would not agree to any of these provisions if they were not enforced by the law.

Credit card companies and banks will not stop their unethical practices for the sake of the consumers.

Several banks are still spending large amounts of lobbying money trying to halt this legislation, despite public outrage about the bailout money fiasco several months ago. These banks are attempting to make it easier on the credit card industry by watering down the Credit CARD Act’s provisions. This is an indicator that the credit card companies and the banks have abused their credit card practices and screwing the American people in the process for the past two decades.

For more information about the provisions of the Credit CARD Act of 2009:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-627

Related Video:

Getting out of debt is very challenging for many people. Many people are conflicted with getting out of debt as quickly as possible, but they do not know which options are right for them at the moment. There are many companies advertising their services claiming that they offer the perfect solutions for handling your debt, but how do you know if this is factual if you have not tried their services? It is very important that you find the most effective method that works with your current financial situation. Here are some tips that might help you in your financial situation to get you out of debt faster.

Build a financial portfolio of your current balances.

If you want to reduce your debts quickly, you must find a way to lower all of our current balances in a short period of time. You will need to build a portfolio of all of your current balances to formulate a plan of action. Once you have all of your bills current and organized, you can then reduce your debts in an orderly manner.

Reduce your current balances quickly.

Many people do not know that their credit cards’ balances are charged interest daily, but the total amount of interest that is on your account is not shown until the end of the month. What does this all mean? This means that you can take out small amounts of cash from each paycheck to pay off your debts during the month and this will reduce your current balances quicker. This method of clearing your debt will decrease the interest rates you are charged with monthly. Divide your monthly payments by four and pay the same amount you have on the same day every single week. Your current balances will quickly decrease when you apply this method.

Less is more.

Would you agree to put $1.00 down weekly out of your current paychecks towards your new goal to get out of debt faster? Dollars are chump change, but think about this; that one dollar can have a major effect on reducing your debts. You are already making payments weekly, so all you have to do now is add the dollar amount to your new total. For instance, you might have a monthly payment of $250.00. Divide this amount by four and you will pay the new amount weekly. You are adding the dollar to your weekly payments and you have to round the amount to the nearest number e.g. $50.00. Using this technique will decrease your interest rate you are paying overall, and you are reducing your debts consistently.

Think about the “domino effect” when it comes to resolve your debts.

You have just paid off one of your credit card accounts; you will add the exact amount you were paying your first debt with to the other debt payment that you have next. This will increase the amount you are currently paying and the next balance will be paid off in less time than your first debt payments.

Patience is a virtue.

Your debts will not go away overnight; you must have patience to achieve your goals. If you are really serious about getting out of debt faster, you have to remember a few things. It took you a considerable amount of time to get yourself into debt and it will take time to get out of debt also.