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05/02/2008
Udall: Fed Plan To Act On Credit Cards An Important Step But Not Enough
Washington, DC- Today Congressman Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, released the following response to the announcement that the Federal Reserve and two other banking regulators are set to “crack down” on the credit card industry for the unfair and deceptive practices that have plagued consumers for years. The proposed new regulations would prohibit charging interest on debt that has been repaid and assessing late fees when consumers are not given a reasonable amount of time to make a payment.
“I think the Federal Reserve is doing the right thing in moving to curtail some of the unfair and abusive practices of some credit card companies. While it is an important step in the right direction, we will unfortunately also need new laws to even the playing field for consumers. No one excuses a deadbeat, but unsuspecting Americans who pay their bills on time are often victimized by suddenly escalating and exorbitant interest charges. I hear from hard-working honest Coloradans all of the time who are doing the right thing and are asking only to be treated fairly. Susan Wones is a great example. Her credit card company doubled her interest rate to 25 percent without notice and despite her record of paying bills on time. She holds a high credit score rating, pays her bills on time and doesn't exceed her credit card limit. Hearing many stories from folks like Susan led me to introduce the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights. When Susan came to Washington, DC to testify before Congress about the bill, she was subjected to blatant intimidation tactics by Chase. As a result of the poor treatment handed to her by Chase, I demanded a public apology from that company’s CEO. You can view that letter here.
“Credit card companies operate on the premise of keeping promises. But it cannot- and should not - be only consumers who are holding up their end of the bargain. Credit Card companies should not be able to abuse cardholders, and also should be forthright and honest about how they intend to conduct business so that consumers can make informed choices about where they take their business.”
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To contact the Udall press office, call Tara Trujillo at 720-333-3425 or Heather Fox at 303-725-6595.
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