As the provisions of the Credit Card Act of 2009 begin to take effect this February, be sure to monitor your financial accounts closely as you can bet your last dollar that the banks are going to try to “make up for the losses.”
The Credit Card Act of 2009 was intended to clamp down on certain practices, such as charging over-limit fees to customers who prefer to have the transaction declined or raising interest rates on current balances even while the account is in good standing, however, we are already seeing the unintended consequences of the government’s new “effective” law. What is happening is the Act could result in more than $50 billion in lost profits. What do you think is going to happen? Of course… the banks are going to look for new loopholes to make up for these lost profits, the only way to avoid being taken advantage of is to closely monitor your accounts.
Everyone knows that the interest rates of every American’s credit cards have already gone up and we have talked in previous posts that Bank of America is “testing” new annual fees. What we don’t know is what may be around the corner. This is why it is critical to monitor your accounts closely, especially, during the next 12 months.
The thing to remember is that once the law does take effect, expect even more changes. For example, new annual fees and other processing fees may be imposed, as these are ways for creditors to make money. Some banks may even eliminate free checking and start charging fees on accounts that do not maintain minimum balances.
Once again, be sure read everything you receive from your financial institutions, including the small print. And now more than ever, maintain balances you can afford to pay off, which you might need to do if you want to walk away from unfavorable terms. With these thoughts in mind, closely monitor all of your financial accounts as banks seek to make up profits lost in the wake of the Credit Card Act of 2009.
If you have any Credit Card horror stories, please share them below. The more details the better as this is the only way we can show our elected officials that this is not fair.
