March 6, 2009
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News: Ah, Yes…the Fine Print.
The part that everybody hates – doubly. First, everyone hates to sort through it. Secondly, because so many of us get bit for not doing it. By and large, it's generally provable that the credit card industry does warn us in advance before taking measures that we hate. Sometimes it's by careful design of an unscrupulous credit card lender. But, all-to-often, it's because they make it so boring that we, credit card consumers, give up on following it.
As far as the lenders, new federal regulations have come out to allow credit card consumers to be warned well in advance without all the work involved. But, these regs won't take effect until July of 2010. Until then, it would be helpful if we all knew right where to look and what to look for at a glance. Most of us are inundated every month (or week) with, what appears to be, ‘junk mail' because the credit card legalese almost always holds no importance to us. These are the ‘decoys'. Unfortunately, they look strikingly similar to the real thing. It's all babble. If you had Superman's x-ray vision though, you would notice that the real thing will say things like "…1/24th of the over-limit amount…in 1(b)(i) of the first paragraph…Lines (2), (3) and (4) are replaced with "(2) any over-limit…; and (3) any late fees…". Right straight out of your favorite book.
So, here's what to do: Wait ‘til it comes out in the movie. Well, sort of. If you have a few minutes, just call Customer Service and pester them for the short version. Cut to the chase. Get their name first, so they take you seriously. Note the time and date. Have them give you a quick rundown of the way it was. Have them list all the changes of your credit card agreement since your last statement. Then have them explain the way it was to make sure they're not just blowing you off. They're required to provide you with a legal explanation. If enough credit card consumers would perform this one little task, it's almost guaranteed the lender would begin placing the changes in simple, large, and bold print on the front cover. They can't afford to have customer service tied up all day on legal questions. Still, they're obligated to, if the people call in (It's toll-free for the consumer.)