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Published: September 2008
Protect credit cardholders in bailout legislation
Coalition: Credit Card
Consumer Action joined in a letter asking the Senate to make sure credit card consumers aren't gouged by the same banks being financially rescued by the federal government.
Below is a summary excerpt from the letter:
As you may have heard, the House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation to rein in abusive credit card lending practices by a large bipartisan margin. The undersigned consumer, civil rights, small business and labor organizations strongly urge you to protect credit card consumers as a part of the legislation to rescue lending firms you are now considering.
Abuses in the credit card market are intimately related to the mortgage crisis. Unaffordable credit card debt induced many American to refinance their homes, but the home equity escape valve can no longer mask abusive lending practices that contributed to this run up in debt. Rising mortgage costs have also pushed families to pay for necessities on their credit cards, such as food and medical care.
We would urge you to propose including in rescue legislation protections for credit card consumers similiar to those in Senator Dodd's bill, the Credit Card Act of 2008 (S. 3252). Among other things, this strong and comprehensive legislation would eliminate unjustified interest rate charges, limit excessive penalty fees, eliminate hidden finance charges and stop irresponsible lending to young consumers.
Lead Organization
Consumer Federation of America
Other Organizations
Campus Progress | Consumer Federation of America | Consumers Union | Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action | Legal Assistance Resource Center of Connecticut, Inc. | Mid Minnesota Legal Assistance | Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF) | National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) | National Association of Consumer Advocates | National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients) | National Community Reinvestment Coalition | National Council of La Raza | National Small Business Association | Public Citizen | Public Justice Center | Service Employees International Union | U.S. Public Interest Research Group
More Information
http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/thomas
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