Consumers are complaining less about the way credit card companies treat them following the 2010 implementation of the Credit Card Accountability, Disclosure and Responsibility Act, new survey data from Consumer Reports suggest.
The Yonkers, N.Y.-based organization conducted its telephone survey of 1,258 adults between July 1 and July 10.
Some 12% of respondents said their credit card companies had treated them unfairly this year, down from 15% who said so last year and from 22% who said so in 2009, the nonprofit’s research unit said in a Nov. 1 press release.
Credit card approval rates also improved, with only 14% of respondents reporting they were denied when applying for a credit card within the past year compared with 24% who said so in 2010.
Consumers are also carrying less debt. Respondents said their average credit card balance this year was $3,414, down 10% from $3,793 in 2010.
“Things are looking rosier for credit cardholders,” Noreen Perrotta, Consumer Reports finance editor, said in the release. “Consumers are paying down balances and facing fewer punitive actions by credit card companies such as higher rates, late-payment fees and canceled cards. But average interest rates on new cards are still up, and you have to read the fine print of rewards programs,” she added.
Problems persist, however. Some 35% of survey respondents said they had experienced at least one problem with their credit card company within the past year, and only 51% said they were “highly satisfied” with their credit cards.
“Credit cards remain one of the lowest-rated services Consumer Reports has ever analyzed,” the organization said in its release.
