Credit Card Abuse: Customer Beware

Credit card abuse on the part of a credit card company can occur in many forms. These abuses can include creating major changes in the terms of your account in tiny print that most people fail to read, adding more fees, such as inactivity fees, statement fees, foreign currency fees, and other various fees, opt-in offers which entail covering your account should you go over your limit which adds additional penalties, and other additional products like identity theft protection which may ultimately be useless and which cost you more fees.

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (Credit CARD) was passed in 2009 and made sweeping changes to how credit card companies can act. The law prohibited raising interest rates within the first year of an account, made credit card companies give consumers 45 days notice of any key terms, such as rate hikes, put a restriction on overlimit fees, restricted the issuance of credit cards to those under the age of 21 without their own income, prohibited double-cycle billing on one's previous and current balance, and made other mandatory changes. Since then, credit card companies have found new ways to extract money from their customers, as listed above. This has led to lawsuits in the recent years. In 2010, Discover Financial Services was sued by customers in Minnesota who were signed up for identity theft protection and payment protection services without their permission and charged fees on their accounts. An additional lawsuit against the company was filed in New Jersey alleging similar abuses.

Bankruptcy Law Firm in Chicago, Illinois

The abuse of credit cards can lead to severe financial circumstances for consumers. In some cases, consumers may be taken advantage of by the credit card company or they may find themselves in over their heads due to financial mismanagement, job loss, investment failures, costly medical expenses or a divorce. Whatever the reasons, if you are facing a situation where there is little hope of getting out from under crushing debt, you should get the information and guidance you need to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

The Glanzer & Associates, P.C. is dedicated to helping consumers with effective debt relief solutions in the greater Chicago area. Attorney Glanzer can evaluate your financial scene and help you find a debt relief solution that suits your needs, whether it is a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing or other alternatives. His firm offers a free case evaluation to help you get started in an effective debt relief plan. Contact the firm to begin your free case review; find out if bankruptcy is right for you and what other options may be available.