The Credit Card Reform Act Becomes Law

Posted by Adam Nicholas

July 25, 2009

by Mario Beckar

Finally, the Credit Card Reform Act has been penned into law. Long awaited and equally long overdue, the card act is to be officially known as Credit CARD Act or Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009.

The reform act is supposed to bring exactly that, reform. It will change the way credit card issuers have been handling their clients and how Americans have been doing their spending.

This great reform law comes at a time when the country has been hit by one of the worst economic crisis ever which began as a credit crunch. However, the mechanics and groundwork for the law to be in operation on a full scale will be phased over the next 15 months from 20th August 2009. by the month of August this year, all credit card account holders will now get a 45 days advance notice from their card issuers before they get any major changes relating to their account this may be changes in interest rates, change of account specifics or anything else that may change the financial position of the account holder. Also, the credit card holder now will enjoy more time to make billings for their spending after their monthly bill payment dates being changed from the normal 14 days to 21 days.

February 22 of 2010 will be the specific date when most of the consumer protection shall be in full force. They include protections such as the prohibiting of double cycle billing, restricting issuance of credit cards to persons less than 21 years and limiting times when interest rates can be raised on accounts. The last part has raised a lot of controversy since a majority of persons actually expected that this change would be put into effect immediately to provide relief to people who have already been affected.

Cardholders who have been consistent in making payments and showing responsible behavior for duration of six months and whose interest rates have been raised will have a reason to celebrate come August 22nd of 2010. This is because they shall have their rates restored to what they were before being raised. This legislation will also affect gift cards as well and all must be valid for a period of no less than 5 years from the issue date. A handful of these laws are expected to overlap the Federal Reserves Credit Card Holders Bill of rights that shall go into effect in July 2010. it will be interesting to watch how customers will gain from these laws and the measure that the wily credit card issuers shall put in place to counter them.

About the Author:

If you own a lot of money be smart and work towards achieving a proper debt consolidation, also keep in mind that having a no fee credit cards and low rate credit cards may help you.

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