March 23, 2010 – New York, New York – The recent turn of events in the economy has forced many people to rely more on their credit card. By charging all of their expenses, many people have fallen into debt. With credit card companies starting to charge interest upon interest, new laws have been created in order to try to curb these injustices upon customers. This is why the federal government is urging the public to pay off their debt. In order to do so, the government has created a new program.
The new program that the federal government created to help people get out of debt is the credit card debt relief program, where citizens learn about credit card debt, why it happens and how to get out of debt as fast as they can. These resources can be viewed on the FTC.gov website and are free to view.
Eliminating debt is no easy feat to do on your own. The reason for this is because people do not know what are the necessary changes they need to make in their lives. At this point, everything is necessary so credit card debt will only continue. This website will help people to turn their lives around by first explaining why it is so difficult to get out of debt and the steps necessary to start pulling one out of it. One of the first pieces of advice that they offer is to list the credit cards you have and what the interest rates are.
Another tip they offer is to call the credit card company to see if they can reduce the overall interest rate which will lower the payments you will have to make over a long period of time. Some creditors will lower rates as much as 10 percent.
Brad Nifdom, Spokesperson for CreditTime says, “that the first way to get out of credit card debt is to ask for help. The resources are out there for customers. “
About CreditTime: Credit time is the leader in providing consumers the most up to date, well organized, and easy to use financial information available today. CreditTime helps customers take control of their money and their life. CreditTime’s experts are comprised of many of the most important advisors in the areas of money, loans, credit, debt, and banking. CreditTime offers its visitors you the most comprehensive and easy to understand financial information ever made available so customers can make sound financial decisions that can positively impact their lives.
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March 23, 2010 – New York, New York — The new laws passed to protect consumers from falling further into debt may not be exactly what the government boasts them to be since credit card companies will continue to impose fees and charges on their customers. Although the sanctions may be tough, receiving a credit card without having absurd fees to pay may also be equally as different.
Many credit institutions are reporting large losses which will continue as these laws are enforced. In an attempt to make up for their losses, charges and fees are used. As of January, banks and financial institutions have been tested on the fairness of the charges and fees that they have been opposing. As long as their practices are judged to be fair, then changing those particular practices will be difficult. This means credit customers are still fairly vulnerable to credit card companies.
Credit card holders are entitled to search for a new credit card institution for a better deal, yet there is not effective competition, which means none of the deals are really better then the other. Credit card companies are all charging high rates, raising their annual fees, cutting back on credit lines, creating new charges and more. Many are in agreement that financial institutions that are charging interest upon interest are taking advantage of their customers.
Brad Nifdom, Spokesperson for CreditTime says, “Hopefully in light of the new laws, meant to protect customers, there will be more competition between credit card companies which will give consumers a better rates and less fees.“
The best way to stay protected during these times of change are to research credit cards, their fees and what they have to offer. Only time will tell how credit card companies and financial institutions will react to these new laws and how they will affect customers.
About CreditTime: Credit time is the leader in providing consumers the most up to date, well organized, and easy to use financial information available today. CreditTime helps customers take control of their money and their life. CreditTime’s experts are comprised of many of the most important advisors in the areas of money, loans, credit, debt, and banking. CreditTime offers its visitors you the most comprehensive and easy to understand financial information ever made available so customers can make sound financial decisions that can positively impact their lives.
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February 28, 2010 – New York, New York– With the commencement of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, credit customers can look forward to a whole slew of new advantageous benefits that were set in place to protect them. No longer will lenders have the right to take advantage of their clients by introducing arbitrary interest rates, retroactively increase the interest rate and issuing double cycle billing. However, you will still need to pay particular attention to the fine print for additional credit fees and be aware that not even the CARD act can protect customers from their irresponsibility of paying off their debt.
The billing practices of credit institutions will be improved making all of the information on your billing statement crystal clear for the most novice credit users. Statements will be delivered at the same time each month in a new adaptable format. You will notice that the font is larger on your statement in addition to how long it will be until you are able to pay off your balance by making the minimum payment every month on time and then assessing how long it will take to become debt free over a period of three years. Payment dates will no longer be on the weekend or on holidays to avoid any confusion to the customer.
These new changes will be extremely helpful to credit borrowers but there are still some rules that apply to the lenders that may not make customers content. After the first year of opening a credit card account, the annual interest can be raised and after a period of 45 days, lenders can also lower your credit limit or close without the say of the cardholder in the matter. The CARD act has not placed any restrictions on the fees that lenders can charge so there may be fees for dormant accounts, annual fees, receiving paper statements or for retrieving your reward points so make sure that you thoroughly read the Terms and Conditions section of your contract for no surprises.
Brad Nifdom, Spokesperson for CreditTime says, “It is about time that credit card companies take responsibility for their actions as customers have been trying to do during this difficult economic period.“
About CreditTime: Credit time is the leader in providing consumers the most up to date, well organized, and easy to use financial information available today. CreditTime helps customers take control of their money and their life. CreditTime’s experts are comprised of many of the most important advisors in the areas of money, loans, credit, debt, and banking. CreditTime offers its visitors the most comprehensive and easy to understand financial information ever made available so customers can make sound financial decisions that can positively impact their lives.
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February 28, 2010 – New York, New York– In light of the new credit card act that has been enacted, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, there are still numerous traps that credit card institutions are hoping to tie down their customers with. The CARD act was created to protect costumers from unfair lending practices such as raising interest rates at any time and double cycling billing. Nevertheless, these lenders realize the great loss that they will be facing in the near future and are trying to find any solution that will lessen the blow, including a new series of arbitrary fees and tricks to make up their losses.
Many clients will now be facing new and higher fees. One example is Discover Financial Services who will begin charging a 2 percent fee on any purchases that are made internationally. Rolling over credit balances at JPMorgan Chase will now be a 5 percent charge, up 2 percent. Lending institutions are quite aware of what the new laws permits and has omitted. One of the omissions is the fees that they are allowed to charge.
Since no restrictions have been made to the fees that Credit companies are allowed to place on cardholders, these cardholders must comb through the fine print to make sure they know exactly what to expect from their credit card through the Terms and Conditions section of their contract. Receiving a credit line may also be in jeopardy for people with mediocre credit histories as credit card companies have been severely limiting their application acceptance.
Lenders have also cut down on rewards cards. Those who have not cut down, have been increasing the annual rates to make up for losses. Brad Nifdom, Spokesperson for CreditTime says, “Since the implementation of this act, it is clear that credit card companies must find new and unique ways to make up for their losses. However, the customer should be aware that they will still have to pay back these lenders regardless of the laws that have been set in motion to protect them.“
About CreditTime: Credit time is the leader in providing consumers the most up to date, well organized, and easy to use financial information available today. CreditTime helps customers take control of their money and their life. CreditTime’s experts are comprised of many of the most important advisors in the areas of money, loans, credit, debt, and banking. CreditTime offers its visitors the most comprehensive and easy to understand financial information ever made available so customers can make sound financial decisions that can positively impact their lives.
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February 28, 2010 – New York, New York– A new shattering era is coming for credit card institutions and banks. With the recent enactment of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 last Monday, these institutions are gearing up for major losses to be seen in the next few years. JPMorgan Chase predicted that it would lose up to $750 million in 2010 alone because of the CARD act. Other lenders have also reported estimated losses to be between 400 to 600 million dollars and more than $50 billion in the next five years. There is no doubt that these institutions will have rough times ahead of them.
These losses are increased by the fact that credit companies can no longer determine when they can raise the interest rate of the cardholder. In the past, lenders were able to raise rates whenever they wanted. Now, they are not allowed to raise interest rates on previous balances and must wait 2 months before they are able to raise the rates on late payers.
After predicting tremendous losses, lenders are scrounging to find new opportunities to make up for losses. Some lenders are targeting their wealthier clients to pay for higher annual rate Rewards cards while other lenders are tagging on additional new fees that have not been seen before. Fifth Third Bank is now issuing a dormant fee for $19 for those accounts that have not been active for 12 months.
The future still looks unsure for many lending institutions. They are trying desperately to remain relevant during these hard times. The economy has slowly been improving while the unemployment rate has decreased creating some sort of stimulation that has helped lenders to remain in the public eye.
Brad Nifdom, Spokesperson for CreditTime says, “Lender’s efforts to on top of their game may work on a limited scale but they will still have a rocky road to travel on for the next couple of years.“
About CreditTime: Credit time is the leader in providing consumers the most up to date, well organized, and easy to use financial information available today. CreditTime helps customers take control of their money and their life. CreditTime’s experts are comprised of many of the most important advisors in the areas of money, loans, credit, debt, and banking. CreditTime offers its visitors the most comprehensive and easy to understand financial information ever made available so customers can make sound financial decisions that can positively impact their lives.
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