Does The Credit Card Bill Of Rights Mean More Consumer Freedom, Or Less?

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It's nearly impossible to rent a car, buy an airline ticket, make a hotel reservation, buy a snack on an airplane, or rent a $1 DVD at the supermarket without a credit card. Who wants to charge a $1? Credit Cards are required for living in American Society. Candidly, the system is rigged.
If businesses valued cash transactions as much as credit card sales, as a country we probably wouldn't have the amount of personal debt that has been accrued by many Americans. Changing our attitudes about credit is the first step to a healthier purse. Credit is not necessarily a good thing. It can lead to a frightening chain resulting in personal disaster.
The Credit Card Bill of Rights gives the consumer the opportunity to have a level playing field. Starting in February, the credit card industry has new rules in an old game. Maybe if we change our own personal rules and pay with cash as we go, the game will go into a timeout.

Susan of VA 6:33AM December 22, 2009

How do we make it work for the CC and us? Obviously, we need to work together: for us to spend and for them to make money. But it seems it is a win/lose not a win/win situation. What are some possible answers?

J. Bannister of FL 5:04PM July 26, 2009

The credit card bill of rights is a Joke. What next Wright your own loan bill of rights
This so called bill of rights is a platform to keep you enslaved the to the beckon call of the credit card company.
Unless the credit card bill of rights goes something like this
1. You have the Right to pay off your card without penalty
2. You have the Right to never use a credit card again.
3. You have the Right to STOP encroachment to use the credit card, from. Company.
4. You have the Right to live without need to, have to have a credit card. Just cut the thing up and be done with that debt.
Since your local governments don’t have the Gaul to protect you, learn to live without it. Hum, hum, you see what your Bank card is starting to do to you. So What Rights, do you really think you will get.

Oley Pub Opion of GA 1:52PM July 25, 2009

HELLO !! WORKING FOR 30 YEARS. Buy a vowel, and I'll give you a clue. the card companies has and always will, minupilate the money of this land ,that is how to kake it away from you. Its in the loopholes of the F.D.I.C. you know as well a I do, that you are just an account number, you are never late only mean that they DO NOT like you... NO FEEs,no late fee, no over limit fee, no excuse to raise your % rate. looser, you'll probably pay the thing off on time. Not a risk? you are thier biggest and worst risk. As in they ( CAN NOT MAKE ANY MONEY ON YOU.)
You see they want people like this guy, he never really had a constant job or a real work history, but he needed to live. As long as he filed for a card on as an average joe average salary with some responsibilies ( Kids,Dog ) , No Savings no assets ...Denied Denied Denied...but God forgive him he had to resort to lying this time he said average joe average salary NO RESPONSIBILITIES, medium large saving, COUPLE XLARGE MONEY MARKET CDs. Now he got hi limit pre-approve cards comming out of the yang, he picks three. Using the art of making half payment every other month for six month during the Christmas season(fees are not as high)he went from O score to 785 score in about ten years until now just like you, his rate was cute, sombody some where said he Failed to make a payment to them Of course that's a lie. not the matter though, the game is to increase my risk potiential so a claim to the F.D.I.C in order to bail the account out as a losss. you ont other hand have to go to court and prove that the account has been bailed out by The F.D.I.C but not without a cost... Bankruptcy. AMERICA IS B A N K R U P T
THE BANKS ARE THE FIRST TO BE BAILED OUT IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT from collaps.
You are not alone.. from the best of us to the worst.. Betrayal has an ugly headand you have not seen a thing yet. All the so called bail-out programs for the public , you know the ones that have not been in forced for less 100 days, from the Governor Swartz to the President Obam, have all but failed to to do anything to right the wrongs that are forced upon us. So grab your back packets, bend over and Try to smile

Oley Pub Opion of GA 1:14PM July 25, 2009

First they were ridiculous in giving everyone credit, if you could breath you could get lines of credit.
Now, they are reversed ridiculous. They are cutting lines and closing cards on people like me, who have had good credit ratings for years, comment on my credit report, "NEVER LATE". and that is for 30 years, I am still working. 2 of my credit cards were closed completely and a couple dropped my limits. What idiots, I am one of the best credit risks they could have.

Suzanne Fair of AZ 12:35PM July 21, 2009

"If they can't cover their costs on those high-risk people, then they will take fewer risks."
Yes, yes. yes. That is precisely the point.
We need credit card companies offering people less credit. Bad for the economy you say? Maybe, but I doubt it. (Maybe bad for fast food sellers and Chinese clothes makers.)
Bad for people to be less enticed to getting in debt where they can be milked to the moon with fees---then dumped on society as bankrupt? No, that's not "bad". Tell me WHY (once again) the average college student is said to have four credit cards?

Muser of NM 11:11AM July 21, 2009

Credit line reduced and accounts closed for no good reason? They do what they want, when they want to and know you won't do anything about it because you are worried about your "score". Don't pay them another dime, it's that simple. The banks got their bailout. I'll see them all in bankruptcy court!

joe of WA 6:36PM July 20, 2009

Please, I had two credit cards through Washington Mutual. Washington Mutual was taken over by Chase. Back In April of this year we had mail taken out of our mail box. This was documented by USPS and Washington Mutual. I did not receive my bank statement, went in on line to pay my bill that month and realized that my accounts, which had been due on the 11th and 12th of each month were now due on the 7th and the 8th. So when I went in on the 9th to make that months payment it was then that I realized that I was late. I contacted the folks in the department to see if the late charges would be taken off and explained the issue of the mail getting taken out of our mail box. Other than this time I have made every payment to my account on time and more than the min every time. Last week I went into and did the authorization of a new card, and the recording said it could not do that. So I called Chase and they told me that the account had been closed. All they said was there was a letter that was sent out on the 6th of July explaining their decision. When I got off the phone I took the other card that I had with Chase and tried to get it authorized and it said that it could not be done at this time.
I again called Chase and they informed me that this account had also been closed!
This was on a weekend, so that following Monday, I contacted the bank manager at our local branch, took a copy of my credit report to her and she could not see why they would have done this also. Wednesday of the same week she gave me a phone number where I could call Chase and ask for a review and speak to someone. I called, they told me it was based on that late payment. I then asked if there was a chance if the accounts could be reopened she said no. I had NOT been using these accounts for I was trying to pay them off for when chase took over Washington Mutual the interest rate went up to 29%. In essence I just wanted to get these paid off, however knowing that if I absolutely needed some available credit I could use these if I needed them. I then asked since I could not use it could I get the interest rate reduced. She said that the account was closed and it will remain frozen at the % it was when it was closed! I was speaking to some friends and they said get on line that there was surely some place with Obama's New law that comes into place in December that there surely be some help. Help!

Tracy McCormick of WA 6:24PM July 20, 2009