Thanks for voting!Congress is dealing consumers and credit card companies a new hand to eliminate confusing credit card fees and unexpected interest rate changes. A new bill passed in the House and Senate this week will provide much-needed clarity, openness and fairness to credit card practices. CNN breaks it down in plain terms.
Our take? Tighter credit card regulations are long overdue. Still, you should continue wearing your poker face. As always, make smart financial decisions. If you’re a credit card holder, even if you make on-time payments and pay off your balance each month, you should play these 5 cards: 1) Spend only the money you have and decide if you really need to use your credit card. 2) If you have to borrow, educate yourself first and read the teeny tiny print on your credit card application. 3) Decide how much credit you need without getting in over your head. 4) Only do business with reputable, trustworthy lenders. 5) Keep an eye on those pesky annual fees and reward programs, which can change in the blink of an eye. Follow these tips and you’ll have a better chance of winning this hand (and saving).
Tags: Credit
Loading ...
Part of the probem with the credit card industry that i have heard no one address is the need to reform credit reporting bureaus. As example: a credit score ranges from 350 - 850, as most people know.
However, there are 5 sub-ranges defined as:
350-450, 450-550, 550-650, 650-750, and 750-850.
There are also 5 categories:
Very weak, weak, Fair, Good, & Excellent.
It would seem obvious that these should directly correlate, so that a score of 658 would be in the Good category, just as in school where a score of 83 is a B. While the system started out that way, lenders have skewed this, so that now a score of 658 is in the “Weak” category! This is outrageous! It is like a school telling a student that they scored 83 on an exam, and recieved a “D” !
We would not accept that from a school, so why are we accepting it from lenders?!?
It is important to get copies of your credit report. I didn’t until I was denied credit. I was astonished since I thought my credit was EXCELLENT. My credit report showed a small unpaid bill which I knew nothing about. Upon further research, I found out that the bill had been sent to a completely incorrect address. I am still fighting to have this blemish removed from my report. It is a frustrating experience since it must be done by mail and the Dispute Dept. has 60 to 90 days to reply. I have never had a problem like this and it is scary how out of control it feels.