SENATE APPROVES DODD’S BILL TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM ABUSIVE CREDIT CARD PRACTICES

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today hailed Senate passage of his legislation to put an end to the abusive, misleading, and deceptive practices employed by credit card companies.  Dodd’s Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act was approved by a vote of 90 to 5, and will now be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.    

 

“This is a victory for every American consumer who has ever suffered at the hands of a credit card company,” said Dodd.  “My bill that the Senate passed today will insist on consumer protections that are strong and reliable, rules that are transparent and fair, and statements that are clear and informative.  I want to thank President Obama for working with me to get this over the finish line, and I urge my colleagues in the House to act quickly to pass this bill so we can get it to his desk as soon as possible.”

 

Among other provisions, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act would:

·         Protect consumers from arbitrary interest rate, fee and finance charge increases and prohibit universal default on existing balances

·         Prohibit interest charges on paid-off balances from previous billing cycle (also known as a double-cycle billing ban)

·         Require payments to be applied first to the credit card balance with the highest interest rate

·         Protect students and other young consumers from aggressive credit card solicitations

·         Ensure that payments are fairly allocated to the account with the highest interest rate first

·         Require greater disclosure of rates, terms and billing details by credit card companies

·         Establish tougher penalties for companies that violate the law

Click here for full summary of the legislation. 

 

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