I think credit ratings themselves are a crock. I paid off all my credit cards and car loan in November 2006. I followed the advice and left all my cards active. I use one card for purchases and pay it off the same month. So I have no carry-over balance, in other words. I checked my credit rating and I have NONE! It's as if I've never had a card. What a hoot.

A fixed credit card rate does not mean it is fixed for all eternity. It simply means that the rate doesn't flucuate from month to month. This guy should have educated himself on how credit cards work.

So - since I'm a turnip to them (I just use the cards to avoid carrying cash and NEVER carry a balance) how does the banks "more expensive credit for consumers" actually affect ME? I mean they get "nothing" now so how would they manage to "get" anything? Banks are generally scum anyway...

A fundamental aspect of all contract law is that it is presumed that the parties (bank and consumer in this case) intend to make their agreement be fundamentally "fair".
You'd never know this by the ridiculous amount of completely unfair things that banks are sticking into agreements -- including provisions like they can change the agreement anytime they want to.

If the federal courts of this country bothered to honor this concept and void such provisions like they should, banks would be afraid to concoct schemes designed to basically screw the consumer.

And they'd actually strive to come up with agreements that actually WERE fundamentally fair.

Until the incentive for the big guys to screw the little guys with obscurity and complication is removed, they will keep doing it. People, whether big or little guys, will always respond to incentives.

It's time the federal judiciary bothered themselves with this "fundamental fairness" concept.

The little guys have been afraid they might "do the wrong thing" credit card-wise for a long time. The big guys need to be made afraid of "doing the wrong thing" too.

So, according to Julie Williams, chief counsel for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, if I enter into a contract with credit card company and agree on a rate, I fulfill my obligations by paying on time and staying below my credit limit, the company should have the right to raise my rate on existing balances. first of all, this idiot should immediately be fired, she is indicative of a corporation owned and controlled government that does nothing to protect the citizens that it collects taxes to protect. Secondly, what the hell stops other financial institutions from doing the same to your auto loan or mortgage. I sure hope we can survive the next ten months until this administration is removed from office and common sense and fairness creep back into our government. We should run all of these bastards out of office. This is complete insanity.

Go Ron Wyden! I am proud to be an Oregon Democrat and proud of Wyden for his unwavering stands against big businesses that flourish on a diet of practices that amount to little more than modern day raping and pillaging...

I am not appalled, because I expected it, but it merely strengthens my contempt for the credit card and banking industries that they defend egregious interest rates that not too long ago landed many a mobster and neighborhood loan shark in jail. And they defend those rates with a straight face and entirely without shame. Well, shame on them...

The Credit card industry needs some reform. I am a former MBNA employee and I know the dirty tricks and the highway robbery that is going on . These credit card giants are making the most money off the ones who can least afford it. They do prey on people that they know will charge up a 9.9 or 0% introductory offer. Only to raise it to 30+% in some cases without there always being a "clear" reason why. They promote you to charge your phone bill, cell bill, grocery and gas to gain points or rebates. then when you do they turn on you to say that you must be living beyond your means if you are charging daily expenses to the card .... hmmmm....now they justify a rate increase. There is serious need for some oversight!! These account just end up in collection because there is no way out at 30%!!!

cREDIT CARD COMPANIES AND BANKS HIKES UP THEIR INTERESTS AND THEY CAN DO WHATEVER THEY LIKE AND NO ONE TELLS THEM ANYTHING ABOUT IT. tHEY GET AWAY WITH IT ALL THE TIME. IT IS A DISGRACE THE WAY THEY GET AWAY WITH IT. THE CONSUMER CAN NEVER WIN. THEY ALWAYS GET RIPPED OFF AND NOTHING IS EVER DONE ABOUT IT.

What really burns my butt after reading this article is why did those witnesses allow the banks to intimidate them in the first place? They must have been the sorriest gaggle of goofballs extant to back off because the banks demanded that they sign waivers. Did they even question those banks’ “authority” to make such a demand? Did the witnesses even ask themselves what legal entity required them to surrender to such a demand? I doubt it; they more than likely just did what they were told to do without so much as a squeak of protest. For crying out loud, they are freaking BANKS, nothing more! They can’t FORCE ANYBODY TO SIGN A WAIVER OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR THAT MATTER! THEY CAN’T DEMAND THAT PEOPLE DO ANYTHNG! And to make it worse, these people reached a "compromise" that "limited the disclosure" of waivers that they had every right to refuse and that the banks could not force upon them. If I were one of those witnesses and the banks “demanded” that I sign a waiver to exercise my constitutional right to speak freely, I’d tell them to roll it up and stick it so far north that they would burp on it. No wonder our country is going to hell. If the Founding Fathers, who risked their lives and everything else they had, could see how the legacy they left for us is being trashed, they probably would have just gone back to England.

I suggest these people look at the consumer reports pages on the complaints against Capital One in particular and see all the various complaints about this company. I along with thousands of others are being riped off by these rich CEO's crying out in defense of these underhanded practices. Who do they think has supported them all these years; the same people they are sticking it to now and guess what things will change again and they eventually will run really low of people to take advantage of because there is a long live of corprate greed after the middle American dollars and we are running out of patience and cash for all the nickle and dimming that has been thrown at us over the years. I sure wish someone would investigate the entire financing industry from banks, realators, and type of financing or credit card companies. Those are the people responsible for the economic climate of today, they are toooooooooooooooooo GREEDY. When will they ever have enough money. They keep sending the jobs overseas, charging us more and more on everything how far end $12 per hour carry someone, much less an entire family? Let them boohoo all they way home with their undiserved saleries while the real works fight back - viva la middle class America!

I pay off my credit card if full each month. I no long want the reward points toward buying a new car. Your saying if I cancel this card and open a new one with different rewards, my cedit score will go down? Nothing has changed with my ability to pay bills. This sounds like a scam to gouge consumers. Maybe it time someone should start a class action law suit against the "rating companys" and let a jury of their peers deside if they have been wronged.

This "Catch 22" reminds me of restaurants that don't publish a price list. Apparently, if you have to ask, you can't afford it! The same goes for Credit Cards, if we use them, we have to pay the consequences.

Terry from Joliet I don't believe this administration is totally at fault. This has been going on for years through every party's administration. Besides laws are enacted by congress and we do have a Democratic controlled congress at the helm again if I recall correctly.

... the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, ...

If you've ever seen this individual testify before at any point in memorable history, you'll realize they shack up with every sleazy business interest out there.

The Comptroller of the Currency is supposed to be an office that is impartial and fair for all those tax payers out there. However, it's a buddy-assigned position, and all that special interest lobbying and nice political fundraising that gets presidents elected...

well, that buys a comptroller that works for the banking interest (or at least for the last 25+ years).

Imho, the comptroller is a complete crock of crap and should be replaced with a panel of random junkies who hang out by a putt-putt.

At least it would make a little bit more sense.

My horror story goes back a ways. I inadvertantly went slightly above my credit limit of $15,000 during the Holidays & my interest rate doubled! When arguing with the credit dept of the bank they stated that they allowed a certain amount of usage above the credit limit in order to accomodate "emergencies." I suggested that if I immediately brought the balance below the limit would they restore my previous rate? When they said no I cancelled. My credit rating has bee excellent for the last 20 years. They can program their computers to reject any charges over their limit, but that would eliminate this lucurative extra revenue source!

Revolt! Let the credit cards and banks know who keeps them in business. Its a pie in the sky dream but if the people in this country had any backbone we could organize and pick an month...any month.... where nobody in America would pay their credit card bill....regardless of the sacrifice to FICO scores and late fees and increased rates. Imagine the impact that it would have that for one month to the few holding hostage to the many when billions of dollars are withheld from their coffers. The gall of these modern day robber barons talking about providing good credit to good people when they actively pursued those they knew could not afford credit cards, mortgages, and home equity loans. But took them on anyway. And then raised the rates of everyone when the bad risks they knowingly took on defaulted. I say REVOLT!!!!

and what do you think that the goverment is going to do anything effective for individual consumer (citizen) either congress will do nothing but talk until the stink blowes over orthey will leave loopholes for the credit card isueres (banks) to weasle past any law and your intrest rate will go up again

well great i tried to post a comment and it dissapered as soon as i hit submit

You go Ron!

We all need the higher interest rates your proposal is sure to bring to protect us from ourselves...

None of this should come as a surprise. Congress via the banker's lobby (American Bankers Assn and Mr. Yingling for one) allowed this to happen. The goal of all of this is to allow banks, specifically, credit card companies to find more ways to separate YOUR hard-earned money from your wallet. The very best thing you can do is live on a budget, pay cash for purchases, and ignore your credit score. You simply don't need a FICO score if you're debt-free and paying cash, and none of us need credit cards. Use a check card. With banks having the ability to raise interest rates whenever they want, it's high time we put them in the hurt-locker. Pay off your bills and figure out a budget you can live with. Debt doesn't happen over night, nor will becoming debt-free, but life will be much more stress-free.

It is a lie that credit card companies only raise rates when consumers' risks increase. My husband and I together earn a 6 figure income at jobs we have held for many years. We own a house that cost less than the median price in our area. Our mortgage is fixed and affordable for our income level. Our 2 cars are paid off and we have no student loans. We pay off our credit cards in full each month and have thousands in savings.

Despite the fact that our credit scores are always in the mid-700s and we haven't opened or closed any accounts recently, we received a notice this week that the APR on one of my husband's cards is jumping to 30%. They are also raising the over the limit fee, late payment fee, etc. to $40, and raising the interest rate on overseas transactions. None of this has anything to do with the risk my husband or I pose to our credit companies. They are doing it because they have lost billions in bad suprime lending and are trying to recoup their loses on the backs of their credit card customers.

My husband and I are fortunate to be in a position where we can afford to pay all our bills in full each month. For all I care they could raise our interest rate to 100%, they will never make a dime off of me. But I feel sorry for my friends who are not in our financial position and who have never even owned a home, yet they will pay for the housing crunch with rising interest rates on their balances.

It makes sense for credit card companies to raise interest rates on people whose risk increases (so long as the hikes are not imposed retroactively). But there is no law that requires them to tie rate increases to a consumers behavior and right now it is their own risky behavior they are trying to recover from. A law that prevents such predatory lending would be an important step in protecting consumers, especially as we all enter a recession caused by the bad business practices of the banks and lenders.

Julie Williams, chief counsel for the Office of the Comptroller is nothing more than a mole and a mouthpiece for the credit card industry, and Terry Weaver is right on about the need to fire all those who should be watching over protections of consumers but instead choose to align with big corporate money to instead only protect profits. The fox, it seems, is watching the hen house. Contracts which can be changed at will by one party for that party's advantage aren't contracts at all ... they're called predatory SCAMS!
It's high time we insist Congress grow stones and slap down the credit card industry pup or get voted out!

Terry, I'm sure the credit card problems and all other issues will just disappear if the Dems take over....

Welcome to reality.

The banks aren't even valuing the foreclosed homes they have on their balance sheets at the price bid by someone (which they are refusing to take 97% of the time, by the way)

Why would you expect them to deal fairly here?

Oh by the way, you're paying close to $4 for gas as a result of this too, as the dollar is tanking precisely because the rest of the world is on to the scam and refusing to play along.

When does it stop? When you start making noise. No more bailouts, no "Level 3" assets, everything marked to market AND whatever contract you sign, you honor - including credit cards.

If they want to raise the price on NEW charges, fine. But the old charges must be left at the old rate, and payments must be applied FIFO against outstanding balances (which is yet another scam)

Man they just keep finding ways to gets us don't they? When I was in college (i.e. credit-UNWORTHY) I remember getting my first card. It was one of the only ones I could qualify for, and with its $400 credit limit from the very START it had a "security" balance on it of > $200. Just to GET your credit going seems to set you up for failure.

Now I have an AMEX and while I LOVE its consumer protective measures and point system, its merchant charge is HORRENDOUS to merchants compared with Visa / MC. It's like either you as the consumer gets hosed or the merchant does.

And I echo Terry W's comments - that Comptroller is a fool. I saw her testimony in the documentary "MAXED OUT" (which I recommend - instantly available to NetFlix viewers) and it was so completely obvious she's in league with the credit card companies.

I'm tired of this government condoning top-level bullying like this. Come onnnnnnnnn November...

Yet another example of what happens with Republican "no regulation of free markets at any cost" attitudes and policies.

My only regret is that my credit card limit won't allow me to put a down payment on a U.S. Senator.

Fixed means fixed. If Steve from MD has a cedit card that fluctuates month to month, he has a card that no one should consider- this is more oppressive than a variable rate.

Well one thing for sure--The bankers and credit card CEOs are not Dems--we don't make that much money.

It sure can't hurt to have the dems in power. In Regan's words--are you better off now than you were 8 years ago--Nothing in this country has improved--it has all gone down the toliet.

Look everyone. There is a super simple way to beat the credit card companies and banks at their own game. Don't sign up for credit cards! Save up for purchases and pay cash! For starters you always get a better deal when you pay for cash and you don't pay any interest. You simply pay yourself until you have the money to go purchase the item. What a concept! If your worried about your credit score, why? If you pay cash for everything you don't need a credit score. The one exception to paying cash is your home. A good mortgage company will look at your income versus debt obligations to approve you for a loan eliminating the need to have a credit score. Problem solved!

Obviously the person who anonymously posted the helpful tip that everyone should just pay off ALL of their debts and pay only cash for everything has never lived in the REAL world. Stuff happens to even the most financially conscious person in the world. Good luck trying to stay completely out of debt if you have a medical emergency or become disabled. Medical crises are the number one cause for bankruptcy in this country for crying out loud! People do the best they can, but savings can disappear over night and debts can pile up nearly as fast when you're just trying to survive! The healthcare industry in this country is running a LOT of people into the poor house, and the banks are right there to prey upon the desperate.

I don't dispute that there are millions who abuse their credit, but there are also millions who use it responsibly or as a last resort. Those fortunate enough to not run into problems that require desperate measures should consider themselves lucky, not shake their fingers at people who legitimately are doing the best they can and are being raped by banks as a result.

Oh what tangled webs they weave for us.

Contracts are two way streets. Both sides have to agree to it. Don't like the contract terms? Then don't get the card to start with. Don't get the card and all of this "problem" goes away. Forget the administration, forget federal agencies, forget Congress, forget credit card companies, forget banks. "Just say No!" (How corny, I know...) Instead buy a paper shredder for your home or office and every day shred all the credit card offers you got that day (and hope they had to pay postage to send it to you somewhere along the line.) Then imagine millions of households doing the same thing! (I saw that smile!) No cards, no debt, no interest problems!

By the way I heard a radio commercial for a loan this week. Interest rate is FIXED 2% the first year, FIXED 3% the second year, FIXED 4% the third year....HELLOOOOO, last month they called that a variable rate loan! DON'T DO IT!!!

Remember, some times a lack of interest is a good thing......

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who the Federal Reserve has to rescue next time.

I hope that all of the people who have been screwed by the banking system, remember that in November. The banks are nothing but a tool of big business and the Republican Party. Look at the oil business. The clown that inhabits the White House is from that very industry. You think he worries about the price of gas. Not Bushy. The Republican mantra is stick to the little guy and at all costs support the rich. It has always been that way. Remember November.

I hope that all of the people who have been screwed by the banking system, remember that in November. The banks are nothing but a tool of big business and the Republican Party. Look at the oil business. The clown that inhabits the White House is from that very industry. You think he worries about the price of gas. Not Bushy. The Republican mantra is stick to the little guy and at all costs support the rich. It has always been that way. Remember November.

Credit card companies should be required, by law, to send a letter to the credit card holder when the terms of their credit card account have been changed.

The letter must clearly indicate what portion of their terms have changed, and the reason for the changes. They should not be allowed to increase the interest rate on existing card balances, only on the additional credit card purchases paid.

The credit card holder should be allowed to select whether his payments should be applied to the latest of earliest credit card amounts added to his account.

The credit card holder should, by law, be given the option of paying his existing credit card balance at the existing interest rate, and having the card canceled, once full payment has been made on the existing balance.

Instead of boycotting by not paying the bill for a given month, thereby hurting your credit, and adding a late fee to your bill, which increases the credit card companies bottom line (at your expense), why not just stop using your credit and go back to using cash and checks? This would hurt their bottom line even more, because, even if you pay your balance in full every month, they make money off of every transaction.

What would be very helpful would be for our legislature to lift the restriction that prevents cash discounts.

I know that is wishful thinking, but it would be a very responsible action for congress to take.

For the people who think that banks aren't making any money off them if they pay the balance in full each month....that's not true. Banks collect "interchange" fees that are a percentage of each transaction, any where between 1%-4% depending on the type of card. That's why you see a lot of mom & pop stores offer a cash discount or a minimum purchase for credit cards (which actually they're not supposed to do per their agreement /w mastercard/visa, etc) Also, skipping payments in protest actually allows the banks to make more money because interest continues to accrue while the balance does not go down, not to mention any fees that would be applied. I agree that there needs to be more oversight. Most states have banned a lot of these practices mentioned in the article, that's why you see high concentrations of credit card banks in states such as Delaware.

I use a debit card which has the word "Visa" stamped on it -- the difference is that I loan myself the money instead of relying on "the man." Create a budget, get rid of credit cards, and spend less than you make. Oh, and by the way, save and pay cash for a used car, and credit ratings are meaningless. You can get a home loan as long as it is affordable (oh, and by the way, save for a down payment so the mortgage company has reasonable guarantee -- it's better for both of you).

These are common sense values our grandparents knew about. It's really hard to feel sorry for people who make decisions to get into debt.

Until the banking industry ound that they could get rich by upping the interest rates indiscriminating and charge late fees without any negative actions by government, they were decent about sending the bills out in time to have several weeks in order to get your payment in. They didn't charge late fees nor harass you with telephone calls if you were late a couple of days. Now, with no backbone in congress, we the consumers just need to tell them to take their credit and shove it when it don't shine! I for one, will never have another credit card! I am paying them off and no more! They are nothing but a bunch of thugs with the legal system backing them as they rob the consumers!

I have had some of my credit cards for 30 years and will not charge anything on them. I WILL close all the accounts and the credit rate jerks can take a hike! The credit ratings are controlled by the same people who screw the consumer with their credit cards!

If I wanted to pay high interest rates, I would jsut take to Vito down on the corner! His terms are looking better all of the time. At least you know what to expect, a broken limb or two!

Enough said......

What puzzles me is, if you can't afford to pay a 10% interest rate, what makes a credit card company think you can afford a 29% rate. These banks are no more then Loan Sharks and our (so called congress men) are their strong arms.

Hey Jake - If I recall correctly, it is the Dems that are investigating now that they are in power. So stop talking unless you have something intelligent to say.

It's legalized loan-sharking. You sign an agreement that really isn't an agreement because it's open-ended on their side. You basically agree to let them do whatever they want. In no other industry does a company raise the monthly bill merely because they are afraid that you can't pay. Why is this? Because it is illegal!! They are lenders, not insurance companies that raise a premium for any reason they feel like using. Why are the crooks that run the banks exempt from extortion laws?

"You want to pay off and cancel your account? We will damage your credit!" -Extortion

"You don't handle your finances the way we think you should, you pay more! ..Retroactively!!" -Extortion

"You signed the agreement, we own you now, do what we say, and fork over what we want" -Beelzebub

If the bank says I'm at risk of paying my credit card bill at current rate, then how will raising the interest rate on my card improve my chances of paying? Why are the banks judging me according to how others pay their debts rather than how I pay mine on time each month? Why is that when the federal fund rate drops as well as the discount rate the credit card rates doesn't drop as well. After all those rates(federal fund,discount) are the cost of borrowing money from the federal gov't and other federal banks. Why is it that credit cards debts are supposively so risky yet banks will buy your credit debt from another bank? I am sure that is to set rules that will make you a risk so they can increase your rate and lower the limit amount you can borrow which increases you as a risk. Why should congress care when they are immune to the economic whoas of this country after they have served X amount of time in office? They get nice salaries, pensions, free health care not to mention other kick backs from lobbyist, special interest groups and who ever else can stick their nasty fingers under the table. We need to stop fighting as political parties, ethnic backgrounds, religious groups for fair practices and fight as CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The companies that offer credit have been doing the same thing for years, except now they need to raise more money to cover loses. If you close a credit card account you risk loosing years of credit history, so you don't close your oldest card unless you've got more than 10 years of credit history someplace else, store cards don't count. If you open a credit account your score only takes a 2-5 point hit that only lasts about 3-6 months. If a credit card company raises your rate a lot you should run a credit check on yourself to see if there is any negative things reported on you. Your credit score is important not only for credit but other things like car insurance. If the credit card company increases your rate and you have a balance on it try to get it paid off quickly. One way that I did that in the past was take one of those cash advance checks with introductory low rate and low transaction fee (watch that transaction fee, lately they have just a min. but no max up to 4%) that doesn't have a balance on it and pay off the company that jacked up my rate. Then threaten to close the card unless they drop the rate back to the normal level. It usually works, if not you don't need that card anymore. This tactic also works on the cable company to get the cheaper rate for 3-6 months. But any government hearings are just for show, the credit companies already legally bought the politicians through campaign contributions so nothing will change.

I just paid Equifax $15.95 to get them to allow me access to the credit score they have assigned to me using their secret credit scoring formula. A score that does not consider my debt to income ratio, and one that does not care that I pay all of my bills on time. What it does care about is how much of my available credit that I have used at the split second that it is reported to them. Per Equifax’s own score simulator, carrying a credit card balance at the time it is reported to them of more than 10% of the available credit limit hurts my credit score.
Stating this, it is extremely clear that current credit scoring practices fail to accurately indicate a person’s credit worthiness. My case and point: If I have a credit card with a limit of $1000.00, and the balance is $500.00 when it is reported, my score is adversely affected because it is over 10% of the available credit on the card. If on the other hand my limit was $10,000.00 with the same balance of $500.00 when it is reported, my score is not adversely affected because it is only 5% of the available credit on the card. Clearly the score has nothing to do with my ability to pay the debt, and can therefore server no other purpose than providing the banks and insurance companies with a reason to charge me higher interest rates.
This method of credit scoring can only be targeting those with lower incomes and people who are just starting out in life who qualify for lower credit limits. It is just a way a rigging the system to provide a rational for the banking in insurance industry to gouge them.
My recommendation to our government would be to force the credit score companies to update their programs ignore the balance to limit ratio. If a bank, who knows the person’s income, grants a person a $300.00 credit line then that person should not be penalized by the credit scoring companies for using all of it as long as he or she pays the bills on time.

What I find troubling is that if your payment is due on a weekend and your bank(rightly so)does not pay until the next business day, you will be charge a late fee.

Do you really think the incumberant represenatives will vote against their own interest. From what I understand MaCain who promissed not to take from lobbist was willing to take a fight in a corporate jet from coast to coast for free. We are to understand that was not graf.
I have watch my interest rates grow even while I paid as agree. Our government has changed from a Government for the people and by the people to an undeclared dictatorship. It has to allow the money handlers to control the people/citizens. It has an agenda for a one world government paid for by the People. Recherch shows that Bush's biggest contribiture was the banking industry

Fact 1: The American Bankers Association is one the most wealthy and powerful lobbies in the USA. Every employee of every bank is hounded to donate "to protect their industry and their jobs."

Fact 2: The Head of the OCC is a politial appointee, see Fact 1.

Opinion 1: To the poster at 7:22:04, "the credit card problems and all other issues will just disappear if the Dems take over....", you are in a dream world - see Fact 1. No political party is immune from lobbyist influence.

Opinion 2: Until lobbyists are outlawed, the power of the people is a mirage. How is the voice of the voter heard when the lobbies can prevent what is on our ballots.

Opinion 3: There are small odds that the credit card industry will have to change, credit card companies have very powerful lobbies behind them and the consumer does not.

Everyone seems to blaming the Bushs' for what's wrong with our economy.............deregualtion folks. And it started when that movie actor (who was a lousy actor by the way)deregulated every thing. There is not one service industry that hasn't profited by deregulation. The citizens of this country have been paying through the nose ever since......you name the industry; utilites, telephone, television, checking accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, department store credit cards...........take a good long look at the charges on your next utility bill, be it electricity, gas or telephone.........all those charges they are "allowed" to assess because the federal government allows them to. All those charges, all those taxes.....we even pay the postage. Something needs to give, and soon.

Paying cash is not a viable option for a large number of transactions: car rental, airline tickets, and so forth. What I would dearly like is a credit card issuer (Master/Visa, because of their worldwide acceptance) that adheres to all of the best practices of card issuers PRE-deregulation - not authorizing overlimit charges automatically, no added international exchange charge, a twenty-five day grace period on new charges, ninety-day notice of changes to my account terms, clear reasons for decreases to my credit limit, interest rate hikes, etc., crediting payments as soon as they are received, no application of interest rate changes to balances prior to the rate change, and an interest rate at or below my state's old usury limit of 18%. I would be willing to pay an issuer a reasonable annual fee for such a card, as I likely would not run significant balances. If a credit card issuer cannot make a decent return on such a card and needs to add 'gotcha' charges all over the place as all the nationals seem to, it is neither a good place to do business with nor a solid investment. A company that offered all of the above could get a large customer base from just good old fashioned banking practices.

When I hear credit card companies say they need to "protect themselves from risk" it usually means an increase of a consumer's interest rate. How does this even remotely make sense? A consumer borrows debt at a particular rate. That consumer, if they become more 'risky' must now pay more money for the same amount of debt. Obviously if you add on additional debt to an existing agreement, that consumer is going to be LESS likely to pay off the debt. So which way is really more "risky"?

Borrow debt at a particular interest rate, pay it back at that rate. If you're late, ok raise the rate, but make it progressive or reduce it when the consumer has caught back up with payments, and/or charge late fees (there has to be some consequence). But let's be fair here! Everything else is nothing more than relabeled EXTORTION!

I have no idea why anyone would want to give anyone free cash.
Seesh.
Credit cards are a sham.Talk about fleecing America.

Yeah, Americans are losing good middleclass jobs to overseas workers, and Americans will still want to live like Americans do. And I am all for it in lots of ways, but goodness me! Just look at that opprotunity.... to make some free cash off of the people!

Ok. Funny thing about credit. In the 'old days' companies looked at your credit ratings to see if you could afford a loan. Now they look at it to see how much money they can make off of you.

I'm not exactly sure when this happened, but I have to wonder what would happen if the general population really understood the true reasons for credit scores. Banks don't care if you can afford to pay your debt back. They want to make money, and lots of it.

That's the bottom line. Start taking responsibility for your own decisions people.

Makes me so mad that people get themselves into so much trouble because they are spending more than they make, and then expect the government to bail them out. Why are we all ok with our legislators and government leaders spending so much time and money having to come up with laws to protect us-FROM OURSELVES.

It's called common sense people. DON'T SPEND WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE. It's not the bank's fault, it's ours. They are a business looking to make money. They are not our friends. How can we stop the banks/credit companies from taking advantage of us?? It's quite simple really. It takes no laws and it's FREE... stop using the cards.

Just so you know I'm not a hypocrite... my family is debt-free except for our mortgage, which will be paid off soon after only 14 years. We are saving for retirement and college for our two kids, and own two cars. In addition, we only have one income. It can be done! Hard work, self control, and a whole lot of faith.

As a side note... the emphasis on Obama doing legislation on this... don't forget forget that McCain was doing this while Obama was still in college.

Want to make CCC suffer big time..........
DON'T USE CREDIT CARDS FOR ANYTHING!
Lets go back to the days when cash did the trick.

Be careful about keeping a card open with no balance. Some credit card companies are now charging a fee for "no balance" accounts. If you don't want to close the account, charge a very small amount each month and pay it off that month.

STOP BLAMING THE REPUBLICANS OR THE DEMOCRATS.
Don't you realize that everytime you blame one party or the other you have blinders on? They are equally involved in screwing the Citizens of the United States. Just because you may support one party over the other, does not make your party of choice the better party when they are equally at fault for the problems that are not being resolved.

Both Parties have forgotten they ultimately work of the US.

Julie Williams, chief counsel for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said banks should be able to "reprice" rates. Would she let her bank reprice her home mortgage when she loses her job, which she is not qualified to do? And she's the "chief counsel"? Where did she get her law degree - she cooked it up in her kitchen? No wonder credit card companies are on the loose to gouge consumers.

People this is the USA; it is a capitalist country; ALL business will attempt to screw the last dime out of you,restaurants who add a "service charge" but still expect a tip, is a classic, car dealers who advertise thousands in discount on one stripped car on the lot,the only difference with banks is you do not have a choice,we have to have a bank account, and if you travel you have to have a credit card, (try a charge card rather than a credit card) learn to live with it (and when or if ever you get the chance, screw them back)

My way of "getting" to Capital one: I charge EVERYTHING on my Capital One card and then pay the balance in full each month. I have had my card for 4 years and have NEVER paid a penny in intrest or an annual fee. The way I figure it, Capital One has spent money on ME every month, processing all those charges, compiling the bill, mailing it off to me. They spend money on me, I don't pay a time to them. I win HA HA.

The last thing we need here is more laws. If the liberal Congress regulates the banks too heavily, then the banks will have no reason to continue to offer this valuable service.

Rich D: I don't know about you, but I live in America, where we pay for the services provided to us. People like you are the reason these banks have to charge extra fees.

I just have to second JB's advice. REVOLT against credit cards by NOT USING CREDIT CARDS.
If you have medical debt-work out a repayment plan with the doctor's office or hospital. I've been there, done that. $6K Orthodontist bill-paid off over 2 years, no interest charges, no late fees. Hospital bill for $2K-paid off over 18 months, no interest, late fees only applied if payment more than 30 DAYS late. If you need a loan, get one through a bank or credit union. Have a contract that protects YOU from predatory credit card lending.

There should be better disclosure. I had an HSBC are that went from 9.9 to 23 in a month. They told me something "had changed, it's on your credit report" Nothing had changed. In fact my score got better. I cancelled the card. (By the way none of the people I spoke with new english that well) They should have clear agenda's with what your score should be, and how much debt to income ratio you can have BEFORE they raise your rates. It's all so hidden and corrupt. The OCC is a fraud. They are just out for the banks, since THEY could not manage THEIR money and loaned it out to dead beats trying the make themselves rich. Wonder if their credit got hurt? Nope the Fed is bailing them all out. It's lose-lose for the consumer. Don't complain HERE. Jam your answers to this crisis at ussenate.gov. Tell them.

Oh I just thought of something. If you have a credit card, you ARE a risk, because you can't afford to pay cash. (The only reason to negate this statement is for car rentals) I see so many people writing how rich they are, and why you deserve better, so why can't you pay cash? I never use a credit card for ANYTHING except car rentals, and purchases on line, to protect against fraud. I pay cash.

All costs of not only doing business but losses in business are now passed on, disgracefully, to the American consumer, everything except the profits. And who is giving us money to pay their losses, fees and changes to their policies? Your job? Not my job, they are cutting our hours and increasing our income annually by pennies (no, I'm NOT kidding). The government? No, sorry, any money given out is going to the rich and large corporations who are helping themselves to obscene record-breaking profits and shameful tax breaks and loopholes. The wealthy and political elite in America has disgraced not only themselves, but our entire country. They are no longer entitled to call themselves members of the "human race" as humans have feelings, and these less than animal creatures do not. May they burn you-know-where.

Rich D, ignore michael from oswego - you've got it right, and michael, banks don't NEED any excuse to charge higher fees! It's called gouging the consumer. Obviously you work for a financial institution.

Hey Rich, get a clue. They make money off each transaction you make with that card. They are profiting off the the merchant whom you solicit.

Congrats "winner". If only we were all so clever... Captital One and all others just love people like you. You pose no risk, while dutifully protecting the interests of the company, whether you realize it or not. (obviously the later)

Some posters have suggested always using a debit card instead of credit. There is a difference in consumer protection between the two. With a credit card if you dispute a charge you do not have to pay it while it is in dispute. With a debit card they will take the money out of your account and you must prove that it was a fraudulent charge before you get your money back.

With the credit card the burden of proof is on the credit card company, with the debit card the burden is on you.

You should never use a debit card for a purchase over the internet.

Even with reputable merchants there can be problems. On two occasions I have had my debit card charges run twice because the merchants were having computer problems. Fry's had run the entire days receipts twice and they were quick to refund the money. Wal-Mart took months and I was out the money for the whole time.

Checks have many more errors and banks do not validate signatures unless the amount is really huge. If your checks are stolen,the banks will hold you responsible for the fraud because you did not protect your checks.

As high as the interest rates are ... most banks make more money from fees than interest.

I was really upset by CEO Edward Yingling's statement. “Many of the credit card practices Congress is attempting to curtail through legislation allow credit card issuers to provide worthy borrowers with low-interest rates, no annual fees and broad access to credit.”

In other words poor people should subsidize the rich. It is like the special taxes that poor indians had too pay in central America because they were poor indians.

Even tho I was a banker (senior level) for over 20 years, I could never quite understand the logic of raising the rates on borrowers that appeared to have potential problems. Only makes it worse. These are the folks that might benefit from a reduction in rate, rather than an increase to what used to be usureous rates, only charged by loan sharks. They put the borrowers in a hole they can never get out of, and often force them into bankruuptcy, in which case everybody loses. The whole industry is ultimately going to pay a price for loose credit (already is in the mortgage sector) and everybody gets share in the cost.

Okay so your credit rating becomes a little iffy with the credit card companies ie: so you start to struggle?! So the answer to the BIG CREDIT CARD COMPANIES is to jack up your interest rate you have no possible way of paying down this debt! How does jacking up ones interest rate protect them the BIG BANK????? It will only lead to more people having to file bankruptcy because their payments go up and up and out of sight. This line of defense is a mockery how does this compute? Credit Cards are legalized mafia with the law and the government backing them. Bring back the debtors prison at least people would have an option!!

In 2002, lost my job 2 weeks before my daughters wedding. Had charged about $20,000 on the MBNA, Chase, etc. Had great credit with high limits. I was still paying all the debts with savings. 6 months later my interest went from 0, and 6% to 30%. The reason, I had a bad debt that was 6 - SIX years old on credit report. Funny thing about that one - I got the cards 2 years before - so the bad debt had been there when they APPROVED me! Needless to say, I just stopped paying! One more year and my credit will be back to normal. Yippee! NO MORE CARDS for this lady! Oh, and thanks to GEORGE W BUSH who has lots of credit cards in his pocket, nobody can file bankruptcy so easily anymore - so - just don't pay them! Learn the collection laws and do what I did - file suit against the nasty bill collectors and win money! Easy to do actually!

I like the way revolt thinks if we would not buy gas or pay our credit cards maybe someone would notice that the backbone of this country is in trouble and we can no longer afford to keep everyone's profit margin in the billions

It's our fault for not reading the fine print or doing our research. We are lazy and dont want to pick up a book on credit cards or finances, or research one of the hundreds of sites online on credit. The information is out there people.

ps to those who think you are carefree if it falls off your credit reports. Have you researched various states statutes of limitations? Two of them can come after you for 15 years. A number of states for 10 years. Lets stop being lemmings and listening to our 'friends' who spread advice. Are they lawyers?

Stop playing the "it's all the big bad credit card companies fault' game. Yes they are at fault and have some unfair practices but take some personal responsiblities for your actions. If your credit card company raises its APR then pay the debt off - simple. Don't charge more than you can afford to pay off.

How many of you that posted a comment have emailed your Congressperson about this issue? If we just sit on our apathetic behinds crying and complaining nothing will get accomplished. Call your neighbors, email your friends, include the link to email your senators & congressman. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!!!

...REVOLT!! I'm with you. Hit them were it really hurts...in the pocket. Shame on those lousey GREEDY coporations. Haven't we paid for enough! All they want is MORE $$$, - they are out of control! and nobody gives a damn.

They NEED US to survive. They souldn't bite the hand that feeds them.

Folks, all I can say is that it is politics as usual. The buddy-buddy system and money talks will always be there. How many of our current elected officials do you think can even get a credit card; not very many. ... and these are the people running our country.
There are two things that would help our current government sitution. (1)Have term limits on all government elected offices. This would keep the career politician out of office. (2) Ban lobbyist completely. Problem is, either or both of these have to be approved by the Congress and the Senate.
Think that's gonna happen? Not a chance!!!

I have lived and worked in three countries and I cant express enough how off track America is. Million and billionaires from all of the world, to include communist governments, invest money in America and American companies are expected to earn large profit margins equating to billions of dollars. It use to be that corporations worked middle class Americans to death but then when unions and human rights, etc came along, the rich and powerful has to invest other ways to take advantage of us such as credit card traps, sub prime mortgages, etc. and there is no one left in the government willing to fight for middle class Americans.

I have lived and worked in three countries and I cant express enough how off track America is. Million and billionaires from all of the world, to include communist governments, invest money in America and American companies are expected to earn large profit margins equating to billions of dollars. It use to be that corporations worked middle class Americans to death but then when unions and human rights, etc came along, the rich and powerful has to invest other ways to take advantage of us such as credit card traps, sub prime mortgages, etc. and there is no one left in the government willing to fight for middle class Americans.

To the person who said:
"What I find troubling is that if your payment is due on a weekend and your bank(rightly so)does not pay until the next business day, you will be charge a late fee."
I can certainly agree why you feel that way, however, what you must understand, and clearly don't, is that the due date is the LAST day you have to pay your bill. It is not the ONLY day you have. Too many people in this country/world wait until the last minute to pay your bills. Obviously you have internet access, check your balance online, don't wait for the crappy postal system to deliver your mail. When you see your statement has cycled, make a payment, even if its just the minimum. Better yet, sign up for some form of autopayment, virtually all credit card companies offer this service. Surprise, no more late fees.

I get the impression there are a lot of Dave Ramsey people here! Live on a budget! Pay cash! If you have to charge it, you can't afford it!
If you play with snakes (credit card companies), you will get bitten. I strongly disagree with the person who posted that it is impossible to afford to pay cash in America today. Discipline and patience are two key words here! GET A BUDGET, stop living beyond your means! Cut up your credit cards.

Autopayments - The next bane of the consumer. Suprise! We jacked up your interest rate by 10%, now your minimum payment is $100 more per month, and we're going to just help ourselves to your bank account to take it. Did that make something else bounce? We don't care... we got ours. Oh yhea, that bounce was for another credit card, and you just allowed 'Universal Default' to start. All our interest rates across all your accounts with all banks will now be increased. Thanks, have a nice day, your credit card co.

Here's an idea! Don't use credit cards! Stop borrowing money! Using credit cards typically means you are buying something you can't afford at the time because if you could afford it you should pay cash. It's a sad state when the obvious isn't so obvious.

I think most of the credit card companies are out to distroy the low income person. They get a card, then the company raises the interest rate and the monthly payment until the card holder finally defaults, or has to go to a credit counselling agency to try to get out of debt or file bankruptcy. It seem to be a never ending circle.

want more info

The banking and credit card crooks are gouging the public because we have a government of the politicians, by the politicians, for the banks and corporations.

I actually caught a bit of the testimony on CSPAN last week. The excerpt I caught ran for about 3 hours and I think might have been their second session? Here's my synopsis on the 3 customers. There was one businessman and two individual consumers - one man, one woman. I think, for the most part, the 3 that testified were fairly on the ball. Although I do wonder about the woman who claimed to have 3 different cards from Chase. If I had a problem like she described having with that company I would NOT have opened additional cards with them. She expressed concern about moving her credit to other companies. I think it's all about playing these companies' game against them. I have no qualms about calling these companies on a regular basis to obtain more favorable interest rates. If they refuse, call up another company and move your balance to them. I had Capital One for a number of years, always paid my bills on time. I asked them for a credit limit increase and a lower interest rate. No go on the credit limit increase and they would only lower my interest rate 1%. I moved my entire balance over to BofA for a year, interest free. Capital One has been BEGGING me to do business with them for a year now. I just moved my remaining balance back to them, again interest free for 18 months. Meanwhile, I'm getting to pay down my balance interest free. My other cards I try to pay off the entire balance every month. NEVER get above 50% of your credit limit on any card used. It hits your FICO negatively. Don't close accounts as it removes history from your credit report. Do yourselves a favor and use a service like paytrust (now owned by intuit), where your bill gets scanned in and you can pay your bills online. Excellent audit trail by doing this. And you don't have to store a bunch of statements as they're available online. You get notifications via email. I wish I knew some of these things years ago, but I am learning and using it to my advantage. You should too! :-)

A SOLUTION:
Banks have a captive market, and they know it. In order to function in our modern-day society, you are essentially required to use platic. My solution, use a foreign bank for banking and credit needs to the greatest extent possible, I use ING (Dutch) for all my deposit accounts. If US banks are going to use obfuscation and confusion to make a buck (with assistance from industry lobbyists and congressmen), let's take our business elsewhere! We have choices!!!!

Oh, I would also like to add that, while these days I consider the Democrats and Republicans to be equivalent, there was a clear rift during these testimonies. The Republicans came off completely condescending and insulting. The first question out of one's mouth was why didn't you just switch companies? So, if this is common practice with ALL credit companies, what good would switching companies do? It was very clear they were looking out for the banking industry. The one exception on the republican side was Spencer Bachus. And, I just kept waiting for him to formulate his questions better. He was the only one who admitted that the banking industry needed reform. Maxine Waters did a great job, by the way. Very direct and to the point and practical.

The current "credit scoring system" is a leagal way for companies to rob the citizens of our country. It used to be called racketeering and the people running these kinds of scams were put in prison. Why is it that people that report bad credit aren't required to report how much or how long you have paid or been paying on these "bad" loans ? Why is car insurance now being based on your credit score instead of your driving record? when you make a system that the companies cannot be held responsible for what they are posting on the report why would they care what they are posting? They make their money even if the information is correct or not. You can't sue them if it is wrong and anyone can turn in anything they want. It is up to the consumer to find it, prove it wrong , and even then it usually isn't removed Even the people that are paying thier bills can have their credit destroyed by any number of things.(closing credit cards, opening credit cards, etc.) Is there anything that doesn't cause your score to drop? Opps !!! I guess that is the plan !! Unless we throw out EVERYONE that is in office and demand that the people get their rights back we are going to keep being destoyed and robbed by our goverment officals and big business.

They really mess up with that law, giving the bank not a way to protect but giving the bank a way to STEAL. Credit Risk have been managed by the score system not with a interest rate. At the end what is going to happen is that the banks will lost more with the system they are using now and the banks will have to write off as losses for that big mess. People will not support that present system and the system is going to fall together with the mortgage industry.

These things usually have a way of sorting themselves out. For example, the subprime mortgage fiasco, look at the huge writedowns the banks have had to take on the values of those mortgages, and I can see the same thing happening with cc debt. Difference is, cc debt is not secured, so they can't take any of your assets to cover their losses. What happens when the masses can no longer afford to pay their made up, inflated obligations?

Chickens, welcome home to your roost.

I have been smacked hard in the past few months by Providian/Washington Mutual.
They hiked my interest rate to 21 percent. even tho I am nowhere near my credit limit, have no late payments, and no missed payments. When I called to ask why, they gave me no clear reason, and it appears when this happens there isn't a damn thing you can do.
Someone needs to stop these companies and fast.

I have been through a roller coaster with credit ratings. Closing accounts dropped my rating. Inquiries dropped my ratings. Why exactly should shopping around for better rates or credit limits decrease a credit rating? This is by far not the worst though. The worst is that if you accidentally pay late (say like you sent the check in the mail it did not manage to get there in time) you get late fees and credit rate increases on ALL your credit cards not just that one. Balances being too high decrease your credit rating and give you high interest rates that can and will put you in a never ending battle to try and pay the cards down. My advice once you get your credit cards paid off close all but one. It may reduce your credit score a bit (someone needs to fix that), but there is also identity theft to think about.

People need to live in their means. pay with cash!! this means cash check or check card. if you use a check card you can use it for any reservation, air fair, meal, or gas. it can be used for anything. their is only one trick you can't spend it if you don't have it. That is the way it is supposed to be. we are a one income family have 4 cars one boat(all paid for cash). have a house and started with a $64,000 mortgage 2 more years to pay off. this is all done on a $40,000 income all of these items were used and you save thousands by doing this. If you want to buy new go ahead if you can afford it and pay cash for everything but your mortgage. and if you get a mortgage get it for as long as you can and pay the extra to the principal instead of having a higher payment it will get paid off faster. We figured our loan for 15 year to what we could afford and then financed it for 30 year. the monthly payment was almost half we take the extra and put on principal it will be paid off in 8 year 7 months instead of the original 15 years. when ever we needed the extra money that month we had it (ie christmas). the banks will not teach you this they will figure your loan for 30 yr. at as much or more than you can pay. Do yourself a favor pay cash for all things when possible if you can't pay for it you don't need it. and medical bills can be paid off with the provider at a no interest rate they can not make you use your credit card if you do not have one.

"Fixed," as defined by InvestorWords.com, "The Biggest, Best Investing Glossary on the Web," means: "unchanging, set, not variable." Therefore, the term "fixed rate" is misleading. The company should choose another term if it is not, in fact, a fixed rate.

I have an idea - DON'T CARRY A BALANCE! I don't care if my interest rate is 100% because I pay my bill when it comes. If you have to carry a balance, then you can't afford what you are buying.