LIL' BUDDY'S BLOG - Got Plastic? Sure You Do! It's About to Become Fairer for You!
THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!
You dogs DO carry Plastic, don't you? You know what I'm talking about! Visa. Master Card. Discover. Am Ex.
I consider myself a responsible canine, and pay cash for most of my own purchases (in this photo, I'm counting my savings for my annual Christmas Eve Shopping Trip, at 4:30 PM, with my Human Dad, Team Leader Dean).
However, I must admit, I do have a couple of Credit Cards in my own lil' wallet.
American Express, for example. "Member since '06." Visa - both a Credit and a Debit Card. Got them both on those pre-approved mail offers so common a couple of years ago. Heck, they were so simple, even a Lil' White Dog could apply.
I put my left front paw print on the application (bet you didn't know I was a South Paw - heck, I might have even invented the phrase), and two weeks later - voilà! Plastic, delivered right to my little mail box!
Well, earlier today, Federal Regulators in the Office of Thrift Supervision, adopted new credit card rules to make things a bit fairer for us dogs - and the humans who buy things for us, too! The changes are wide-ranging, and are designed to protect credit card holders from arbitrary rate hikes or inadequate time between receipt of credit card statements and the date payments are due.
The new rules won't take effect until July, 2010. But they will allow credit card companies to increase interest rates only on new credit cards and future purchases and cash advances - not on current balances. They will also prevent common lender practices such as allocating all payments to balances with lower interest rates, leaving higher-interest-rate portions of the balance unpaid, accumulating high interest due.
Customers will need to be notified 45 days before any changes in terms will be made to their account, up from the current 15 days.
However, the consumer-favorable changes will add cost to the roughly 16,000 U.S. credit card issuers, and will likely result in higher interest rates to new customers, and tighter screening of pre-approved cardholders. Indeed, many of us little dogs may not get credit card solicitations anymore - even though we have worked hard to build and maintain high FICO Credit Scores.
Although nearly 65,000 positive public comments were received when regulators first floated the new rules last May, not everyone is happy with them.
Says American Bankers Association President and Chief Executive Edward Yingling, "While the new rules are designed to increase protections for consumers, the Fed itself has recognized that they may result in increased costs for most card users and reduced credit availability, particularly for consumers with lower credit scores or limited credit history.
"With the uncertainty facing our financial system, it's absolutely vital for policymakers to understand the full impact of these regulations on consumers and the economy before judging their success or further restricting the marketplace."
Please check out Marcy Gordon story in today's Chicago Tribune. Gordon is a Business Writer for the Associated Press. She provides extensive details highlighting the new credit card rules.
And, Happy Holidays, you dogs! Remember, though, that wave of credit card spending will generally come back to bite you in January. And we dogs hate it when WE get bit - yes?
YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,
BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
