Good News! House votes to speed up credit card reforms

Although it’s unlikely that the Senate will follow suit, the House voted 331 to 92 to speed up the reforms passed in the Credit CARD Act.

Among other things, the Credit CARD Act will prevent companies from raising interest rates on old debt unless a borrower pays more than 60 days late.  Currently, this change won’t go into effect until February, but the House voted to force lenders to comply with the new rules immediately unless they agree to freeze interest rates and fees.

USA Today reports that although the Senate will likely not pass companion legislation, the House vote is intended as a warning shot to lenders to stop price gouging.  AFFIL members and consumers across the country have attested that credit card companies have been raising rates across the board to bring in extra money before they have to clean up their behavior in February.

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