Ambiguity Prevails in Terms Of Credit Card Fees and Penalties

Most of the Americans are aware that they will be charged late fees and penalties if they either delay making a payment or default on the payment. However, what they do not know if how much they will have to pay to the bank.

While the new rules clearly mandate that every bank should ensure this information is transparent and easily available to customers, not all of them are adhering to it. Banks have been charging these unwitting customers high rates without their knowledge.

One of the surveys conducted by Pew Safe Credit Cards has mentioned that with the new rules of the CARD Act 2009 coming in to effect, a number of banks are now sticking to the rule book and informing the customer all the relevant details. These rules have now put an end to the various dubious tactics used by the bank to get money from their consumers.

Banks such as Capital One Financial Services and JP Morgan Chase have now disclosed all the details to the consumers. One of the major banks in the United States, Bank of America Corporation is yet to ensure the transparency of the process.

When the bank was asked about it, the spokesperson for the bank, Betty Riess mentioned that Bank of America does not have a specific rate of penalty that it charges customers. She went on to say that the credit card accounts that have not received payments for the last 60 days are flagged and marked for review.

The new regulations of the CARD Act also ensure that the customers are not rudely awakened with the sudden change in their interest rates. Instead, they have to be given a notice at least a month and a half in advance. Once the customer gets this notice, he can decide to either stop using his card until he clears off the balance or opt for closure of the card. If you opt for the latter, you need not clear off the pending outstanding amount immediately. You will be given a time frame of five years for clearing it.

Another reason for the customers to breathe a sigh of relief is that if they have been regularly paying off their dues on times for the last six months, the banks have to reconsider their interest rate and bring it down to the rates that they were offered when they got the card.

Doug Nicholas

Doug Nicholas, a financial consultant by profession with a Masters degree in International Business from Brown University, is also an ardent writer. Though he has a full time job at one of the companies listed on Wall Street, he does manage to squeeze in time to follow his passion. He puts his ideas to words in his articles related to finance and business.