Citizens Reform Center

Posts Tagged ‘credit card’

We all know that joblessness has hit double digits. We know the official rate is far below the actual jobless rate when you take into account people who have stopped filing for unemployment benefits. Just as significant, if people are able to find work, the jobs will almost definitely pay less than what was available in the past. However, the cost of living continues to go in the opposite direction — higher. No wonder people with jobs are working more hours than ever and barely staying afloat. A high percentage of college students were enticed by credit card’s lure of easy money can’t find work and are unable to keep up with payments. This all translates into record levels in credit card and mortgage defaults.

Just do a Google search on “credit card default rate 2009″ and 4,710,000 pages turn up. You’ll learn points like the following:

• Advanta’s default rate more than doubled in June from May to 56.95 percent, and they’ve shut down lamost 1 million accounts after posting three quarterly losses. In Nov. Advanta filed for bankruptcy. This came just after another lender to small business, CIT, filed for bankruptcy.
• We know credit card companies have jacked up their interest rates sky-high to 32% and more. Since the new Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights Act takes effect in Feb. 2010, banks have done all they can to pre-emptively gouge the consumer.
• In August it was reported that Canadian credit card default rates hit record levels. Obviously, this economic strain has hit almost all “first-world” countries.
• In August it was reported that banks were cutting credit limits for 58 million card holders.
  According to the LA Times, in August mortgage default rates soared to 13%.
• The third-largest issuer of Visa credit cards, Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) stated a rise in its net annual charge-off rate to 9.60% in Nov 2009 from 9.04% in Oct 2009. See more figures in this Reuters article.

Throughout the spring and summer articles report that default rates by major lenders increased. This is all the more reason to learn what CRC has to teach about the true nature of banking and debt, as well as what you can do if faced with debt collection actions or foreclosure. Learn how members are being successful in stopping these collections and foreclosures. Also, being part of an excellent support network is key. Having the right knowledge and connecting with the right people will make all the difference.

If you’re in search of knowledge and support, find out how you can become part of CRC’s Legal Club.

The credit card companies simply have no shame. Regardless of the political pressure and public backlash they’re likely to experience from raising interest rates before the new law takes effect, they’re raising them anyway.

What can you do? Call and complain. Threaten to take your business elsewhere. Get a card through a credit union. According to a news report on Channel 10 in central Ohio…

“Consumer Reports says you can often find better credit cards from professional organizations, such as teachers’ associations, from credit unions, and from community and regional banks.

“There are now often one-time fees on balance transfers, so before you switch to a new card make sure you check that,” Kleman said.

Also check if the new card carries an annual fee. The kind of charge is making an unwelcome comeback. Credit unions can be a good place to get a credit card. These days it’s easier to join a credit union than it used to be.”

Read about the entire report here.

Have you read the fine print on a credit card agreements? Have you seen the part saying that disputes could be decided by arbitration? Most would think that this would be an equitable way of resolving differences through an impartial process that would save both sides money, time and effort. Nothing could be further from the truth. To underscore how serious the problems have been, the Obama Administration is proposing an end to arbitration clauses altogether. In actuality, the The National Arbitration Forum (NAF), which has been the arbitrator of choice by the powerful credit card industry has been working in collusion to overwhelmingly overpower the consumer.

Due to the high level of consumer complaints and lawsuits, the Minnesota Attorney General, was forced to take action and sue NAF for “violating state consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices and false advertising laws by hiding financial ties to collection agencies and credit card companies”. With this heat from the AG combined with mounting legal costs, NAF has decided to withdraw from the arbitration business in which it had decided against the public 94% of the time, which has been revealed in a study by Public Citizen. According to a recent AP article by Personal Finance writer Candice Choi, would only list arbitrators who decided in their favor, paying them $400 or more per hour.

This further reveals that the multi-billion dollar debt collection industry has violated laws, not to mention moral standards, that has resulted in the financial ruin of countless Americans who have been victimized due to their lack of knowledge of money, credit, and law.

CRC urges anyone being harassed by debt collectors to learn the principles of money creation, learn their civil rules of procedure, and become part of the movement to create true financial reform.

If you were forced into arbitration with NAF and received a judgment against you, contact us at CRC to vacate the judgment and take part in a class action suit.

For more detail, see this article at Counterpunch.com.

If you were forced into arbitration with NAF and received a judgment against you, contact us at CRC to vacate the judgment and take part in a class action suit.

If you have received a judgment against you from a NAF arbitration, contact us at CRC to pursue vacating the judgment. Call us at 212-631-5886 and leave your information..