DADvocate

Consumer's Union, of which I am a member, sent me an email soliciting support for credit card reform. Credit card companies lure customers in by offering easy approval and then bleed them with usurious interest rates. Many credit cards allow the company to raise the interest rate if a user is late on a payment for a different loan or credit card.

I don't understand why this industry has gotten such a free pass from outspoken criticism while the oil industry, which is much more subject to supply and demand, gets lambasted frequently. Here are the main points Consumer Union supports for credit card reform:

* late fees if my bill payment is postmarked by the due date;
* retroactive interest rates - changes that apply a higher interest rate to charges I made under the old interest rate;
* interest rate increases due to a late payment I made on some other debt;
* over-limit fees if my credit card company has pre-approved the charge;
* "elastic" contract terms that allow credit card companies to change terms for any, or no, reason.

And:
* Each bill should update me about the financial result of making a minimum payment--how long it will take to repay the balance and how much it will cost in interest;
* The pricing disclosed in the contract and in my bills must be simpler and easier to understand.

Finally, if I can't always understand my credit card contract, how can I expect my teenaged children to understand? Congress should protect young consumers from marketing practices that place them at risk of crushing debt that can ruin their financial futures.

I would, and did, add to this list that payment due dates actually be days that the company accepts payments. I noticed that all to often that my credit card due date is on a weekend or holiday. In February, the due date was Martin Luther King Day, making the effective due date three days earlier.

Click HERE to send an email to Congress supporting credit card reform.