Credit Cards
  Visa credit cardsMasterCard credit cardsAmerican Express credit cardsDiscover credit cards
Credit Cards Menu
Low Interest Credit Cards
Balance Transfer Cards
Instant Approval Cards
Reward Credit Cards
Cash Back Credit Cards
Airline Credit Cards
Business Credit Cards
Student Credit Cards
Prepaid & Debit Cards
Credit Card Specials
Search by Credit Quality
Excellent Credit
Good Credit
Fair Credit
Bad Credit
No Credit History
Bank Credit Cards
Advanta
American Express®
Bank of America®
Capital One®
Chase
Citi® Credit Cards
Discover®
First National Bank of Omaha
First Premier Bank
HSBC Bank
MasterCard®
Orchard Bank®
Visa®
Credit Card News and Advice
News About Credit Cards
Credit Card News Archive
Credit Card Blogs
RSS News Feeds
Credit Card Newsletter
Credit Card Tools
Credit Card Calculators
Credit Card Terms & Glossary
PrivacyWise™
Credit Card Site Map
Accept Credit Cards
Merchant Account Providers
Merchant Account Articles
Online Credit Card Applications



 

Credit Cards > Stories > Regulation Z amendments would require changes in credit card terms


 Print 
 Email 

New rules considered for changes in credit card terms

Credit card reform: The fine print of proposed changes to Regulation Z

By Connie Prater

As with the account opening disclosures, there currently are few format requirements for change-in-terms disclosures. Thus consumers generally discover them in notices, amendments or pamphlets seemingly written by a legal whiz but undecipherable to average readers. That will end under the proposals.  If the change in terms is one that must be provided in a table in the account-opening summary, it must be provided in a table in any notice of a change in terms. Creditors can also give notice of change-in-terms on your periodic or monthly billing statements, but again, in a table. 





45 days' notice
Fixed rates
APR disclosures

Fee disclosures
Account opening disclosures
Periodic statement disclosures
Changes in credit card terms
Minimum payments
Subprime credit cards

Says Ann McElligott and Bruce Braunstein of Portland, Ore.: "They changed the due date on our credit card. We did not realize this as we always paid online. As a result, we 'paid late.' " Read more

Citigroup says it announced the end of "any time, any reason" changes in terms for Citi-branded consumer accounts in March 2007: "We are going the extra mile to protect our customers against surprise changes in the rates, fees and other terms of their credit card accounts. We hope others in the industry follow our example ... " Read more (Page 2)

Citigroup proposed the Fed prohibit changes in terms for at least one year after a new account is opened. "We believe that changes in terms in the early stages of the account cycle surprise the consumer unfairly ... " Read more (Page 14)

To comment on this story, write to editors@CreditCards.com.

Published: December 26, 2007

Comments or questions, Story archive

Three most recent All credit card news stories:



USA (English)   |   USA (Español)   |   UK   |   Australia   |   Canada