WASHINGTON – Two dozen Democratic members of the House Financial Institutions Committee yesterday introduced a bill that would set new limits on rates and fees credit issuers can charge.
The bill would: require card issuers to give consumers 45 days notice of any rate increases; give cardholders to right to pay off their debt at the existing rate and cancel their cards in the face of a rate hike; bar issuers from retroactively raising rates on existing balance; and bar any-time, any-reason repricing.
It also would bar issuers from charging interest on debt paid during a grace period; increase the billing cycle by giving cardholders 25 days to pay from billing (they current have 14 days).
Introduction of the bill comes as several large banks are notifying cardholders of large rate increases, some as much as double. Bank of America, for example, notified some of its cardholders this week it is raising its rates on some accounts to 28%.
The bill is a long shot for this year because there are no Republican co-sponsors on it.
