<\/p>\n
As a young man working for the Secretary of Defense in
\nWashington D.C., I applied for a MasterCard and was declined because I didn’t
\nhave enough credit history. So, I got an American Express card, paid off
\nmy balance every month as required, waited a few years to build up credit,
\napplied again, and was approved. The way our credit system used to work,
\ncredit card companies took into account a variety of financial factors to lower
\ntheir risk and ensure that people weren’t approved for loans that they couldn’t
\nafford to pay back.<\/p>\n
Now the credit card industry
\nseems to be aimed at taking advantage of working families. Banks are
\nmarketing cards on college campuses in an effort to hook our young people on
\ncredit. Instead of helping keep people out of debt, they’ll approve almost
\nanyone for a card – even small children or the family dog.<\/p>\n
Extra charges for late payments, ridiculous overdraft fees,
\nand fees for paying your bill by check or online are all tactics that credit
\ncard companies use to strip wealth from Americans in bits and pieces.<\/p>\n
One of the worst of these schemes is “universal default,”
\nthrough which credit card companies can alter your interest rates at any time,
\nfor any reason. If your credit score changes at all, which happens to all
\nof us for a variety of reason, they can hike up your interest rate to 29
\npercent or more, even if you are current on your credit card. In a bait
\nand switch move, the companies offer a low introductory rate they can – and do
\n– change whenever they want.<\/p>\n
To restore rights to American consumers and rein in these
\nirresponsible lending practices, I’ve co-sponsored the Credit Card
\nAccountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (Credit CARD Act). This
\nbill will end these abusive practices, crackdown on marketing to young people,
\nand ensure that the terms of credit card agreements are fully disclosed instead
\nof hidden in fine print.<\/p>\n
This week, the Credit CARD Act will be up for debate on the
\nSenate floor. I’ll be working hard to generate support for this important
\nbill and restore fairness for American consumers. <\/p>\n
If you have a credit card story about outrageous fees or
\ndeceptive practices, please consider sharing it. You can share your story
\nby visiting my website at merkley.senate.gov or calling my office in Portland
\nat (503) 326-3386 or Washington D.C. at (202) 224-3753.<\/p>\n
I’m encouraged by President Obama’s strong statement of
\nsupport for credit card reform and it is my hope that there will be a bill on
\nhis desk in the coming weeks. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a young man working for the Secretary of Defense in Washington D.C., I applied for a MasterCard and was declined because I didn’t have enough credit history. So, I got an American Express card, paid off my balance every month as required, waited a few years to build up credit, applied again, and was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsroom"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n