[Good News!!] Sen. Carl Levin seeks crackdown on credit card charges

Tuesday, May 15, 2007 | Sen. Carl Levin seeks crackdown on credit card charges | Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Seeking to rein in what he called "abusive" practices by credit card companies, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin will introduce legislation today to sharply limit late fees, penalty interest rates and other policies criticized by consumer advocates.

The legislation is the product of an investigation by a special Senate subcommittee that Levin chairs. In a March hearing, the panel heard testimony from an Ohio man who had been charged nearly $7,000 in fees and penalties after overcharging his card by about $200.

"There are a lot of abuses here which our hearing uncovered, and we're going to try to put an end to them," Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said in an interview today.
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# Card companies would be barred from charging interest on bills paid during grace periods, and from increasing interest rates by more than 7 percentage points as a penalty for late payments.

# Interest charges on penalties and fees would be banned, as would fees for paying bills on time by phone, Internet or mail.

# Companies could charge only one penalty fee for each individual late payment.

# Card firms would be required to apply payments to the portion of a customer's balance carrying the highest interest rate.