If you are angry at how the banking industry has responded to the recession and your tax dollar bailout now is the time to act.  Credit card executives are meeting with President Obama today in an effort to try and persuade him not to support the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights currently in route to the Senate.   

As thanks to taxpayers for the billions of dollars in bailout funds, the banking/credit card industry has continued to engage in the unscrupulous practice of arbitrary interest rate hikes and increased fees without justification as well as other abusive practices.  The industry is heavily lobbying to kill the consumer protection bill or at least weaken it substantially.  The Washington Post is reporting that credit card companies have used $10 million dollars of the bailout/TARP money to lobby Congress and the White House.  This is a consumer protection bill that prevents the credit card industry from engaging in unfair practices simply because they can. The bill will in essence set guidelines that regulate the industry and protect the consumers.

The House Financial Services Committee has passed the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights and it’s on its way to the Senate.  If you are tired of being held hostage by credit card companies that consistently and unjustifiably raise interest rates in addition to other deceptive practices call both your Senator and Congressman today and let them know that you support this bill in its current form or a stronger version of it.

The following reforms are listed in the bill:

• Ends Unfair, Arbitrary Interest Rates increases
• Lets Consumers Set Hard Credit limits ” Stops excessive “over-the-limit” fees
• Ends Unfair Penalties for Cardholders Who pay on time
• Requires Fair allocation of Consumer Payments between Low interest Rate balances and High interest rate balances
• Protects Cardholders from Due Date Gimmicks
• Prevents Companies from using Misleading Terms and damaging Consumers’ Credit Ratings
• Protects Vulnerable Consumers from High-Fee subprime Credit Cards
• Bars issuing Credit cards from Vulnerable minors
• Swift Implementation of Provisions 
• Get more details about this Bill here

The author of bill H.R. 627, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), released the following statements yesterday:

“This landmark legislation helps level the playing field between cardholders and card companies. For too long the relationship has been one-sided; but markets function best when all sides know what they’re getting into– and these deceptive practices need to be stopped. The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights brings more transparency to the contractual relationship and give consumers the tools they need to responsibly manage their own credit,” Maloney said.

“While today’s vote clears a major hurdle, credit card reformers are not out of the woods yet. With the continued support of Speaker Pelosi, I’m certain the House will pass the bill again– as it did last fall– and then we will work with Senator Dodd and other Senate supporters to get the 60 votes needed to overcome resistance in the Senate to helping consumers and get these provisions to the President’s desk before the summer.

The following statement was released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday:

“The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights protects Americans against the unfair and often abusive practices of credit card companies. Americans should never be subject to excessive credit card fees, sky-high interest rates, and unfair, incomprehensible agreements that credit card companies revise at will. But during a recession, with so many families in economic peril, these practices can be devastating.

“This legislation is a departure from an era of government indifference to anti-consumer practices. I commend Congresswoman

Carolyn Maloney for her tenacious work on this legislation in the face of continued opposition from corporate interests. I look forward to a strong, bipartisan vote in favor of the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights and to working with the Senate to send this critical pro-consumer legislation to President Obama for his signature into law.”