The predictions of a difficult passage for the new Credit Card Legislation proved to be wrong. Congress, both the House and the Senate, fought back attempts by the finance industry to kill the Bill that will vastly alter the landscape of Credit Card issuance and cost to borrowers/users.
The formal name of the new law is the "Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009"or the "Credit CARD Act of 2009" (note - the capitalized "CARD" is part of the actual name) Perhaps another, equally appropriate name would be the "Consumers Attempt at Revenge by Dodd Act of 2009". (Senator Christopher Dodd (D. CT) was the Senate’s primary sponsor and "pusher" of the bill.)
The details of the new law, known as Public Law No. 111-24, are yet to be finalized, as regulations have to be promulgated by various Federal agencies, but the main provisions are truly sweeping. Before briefly discussing each change or addition to the existing laws/rules, it must be noted that the Credit Card industry won one major battle. The original bills in the Senate and the House set an interest rate cap of 15% on any credit card. That provision never made it to a final vote. The industry Lobby made it clear to Congress that it would not permit such a cap on interest rates. In a compromise to get the rest of the improvements in the law passed and signed by the President (which he did on May 22, 2009), Congress dropped a cap on rates altogether.
Here are the primary provisions of the CARD Act of 2009: (Most of the "new" law is a change to the Truth In Lending Act")
1. There cannot be any more interest increases because your payment is received a day or two after the due date. Further, the increase in rate can only apply to FUTURE uses of the card - new purchases, advances etc. The balance owed at the time of the increase in the rate can only be charged the rate in effect before the change.
2. If there will be an increase for being late, you must be 60 days late, unless there are other issues involved. (The law gives the credit card issuer the right to raise a rate for future use of the card because of factors such as increased risk etc.) Even here however, the change applies to new balances only and there must be the new notice given.
3. Rate increases, in general, must be preceded by a 45 day notice and can apply only to FUTURE balances. It is important to note that the non-retroactivity of increases in rates applies here also.
4. If there is going to be a rate change, other than a change due to your card having a variable interest rate that goes up or down based on an index like the prime interest rate, or the U.S. Treasury rate etc, you MUST receive at least 45 days notice.
5. One major change is that if you or the credit card issuer terminates the card account, you MUST be given an amortization period of at least five (5) year to pay the outstanding balance OR you cannot be charged more than twice the regular minimum monthly payment. You cannot be forced to pay off the balance in a lump sum.
6. Unless you get a low introductory rate (teaser rate), there can be no interest rate increase for the first year. The exception is if you pay more than 60 days late.
7. The monthly interest/finance charge can not be calculated using the prior month’s balance if there has been a payment on that balance before the new statement date. That is a major change as many companies computed interest against balances that had been paid-off during the month.
8. No fee can be charged for going over your credit limit unless you specifically, and in writing, permit the card company to allow charges over your limit. Further, if there is a fee, you can only be charged once in the current billing cycle. So, if you go over limit 4 times during the month, you can only be charged one over-limit penalty fee.
9. If you pay by telephone or over the internet, you cannot be charged a service fee unless the company expedites the payment for you. So, if the payment is normally credited the next day if received after 2pm, but if you pay by a check by phone at 4pm and get the payment credited to your account that day, you can be charged a reasonable service fee.
10. When you make a payment more than the minimum amount due, all amounts over the minimum must be applied to the highest interest rate items in your balance. A simple example: you owe $1,500 for purchases which has an interest rate of 10%, and you owe $1,000 for a cash advance with an interest rate of 15%. You have a minimum payment due of $50, but you pay $200. After applying the $50 minimum payment amount in whatever way the company and you "agreed to" in the "contract", the rest of the payment, the remaining $150, goes to pay down the cash advance because the interest rate being charged is higher than for the purchases.
11 Your statements will be different. Every statement must show the current balance and the interest rate being charged for each type of card use (cash advance, purchase etc). Further an most important, the statement must illustrate how long it will take to payoff your actual balance assuming you make only the minimum payments and what the total cost in interest will be. The same document only also show how much interest you would pay in total if you pay off the card in 36 months (both assume no further card use)
12. Any one under age 21 must have a parent, guardian etc co-sign for him/her unless the under-age person can demonstrate with proper financial disclosures, that he/she has the ability to pay the debt that may be incurred by him/her-self.
As with all laws, the devil is in the details. Here, the details will be set by the Federal Reserve Board which will enact regulations to "fill in the holes", provide definitions like what is the proper financial statements for under 21 borrowers, and what the new statement should look like, and what rules have to be in place for the "reasonableness" of all fees etc.
Finally, certain provisions take effect on 90 days, some in 9 months and some 9 months after the rules are made which has to be done within 15 months. In general ALL of the provisions requiring new notices become effective at the end of August 2009. The others ... hopefully we will have firm dates in the near future.
Author's Copyright by Richard I. Isacoff, Esq., June, 2009
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