AP: Chris Dodd and congress are naive dufuses, and YOU are going to pay the price for that.

Remember all the fanfare that went with the supposed credit card reform legislation? Well, congress in its infinite wisdom stupidity gave the banks 9 months to implement it. So what have the banks done during that nice cushy implementation zone? Why they've apparently goosed up everyone's rates and implemented harsher terms and such, etc, etc. In government terms, this is known as operating in "good faith".

...It's hardly surprising that banks and other credit-card issuers would use a grace period afforded to them by Congress to their advantage.

The changes required under the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, or CARD Act, could go a long way to stop deceptive practices in the card industry. But before that happens, card issuers are grabbing what they can from the millions of Americans who are their customers...

The card companies lobbied Congress hard for the delay. They argued they needed the time to overhaul their computer systems, craft new sales' pitches and rewrite disclosure documents to be sent to customers.

While all that may be true, the facts indicate that they are using the time for something else.

"We worked long and hard to enact the safeguards included in the Credit CARD Act," Sen. Chris Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut who had introduced the bill in 2004, 2005 and 2008 before successfully passing last spring, said in a statement. "But as soon as it was signed into law, credit card companies were looking for ways to get around the protections this Congress and the American people demanded."

His spokesman declined further comment about why Congress is being so aggressive with its actions now. Too bad they couldn't see this coming a lot earlier.

posted by Purp at 02:48 AM

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