Washington, D.C. — As family bills continue to pile up at a record pace, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation, H.R. 627, The Credit Cardholders
Bill of Rights, to rein in unfair credit card practices by eliminating sudden rate hikes, late fees, and other practices that have tied the hands of millions of American consumers.

“I’ve heard horror stories from constituents about unwarranted rate increases, deceitful billing practices, excessive fees and other unscrupulous acts,” said Congressman Davis. “Credit card companies offer an extremely useful product, but their services should not come at the expense of deceiving customers by changing the terms of their service on a whim, without just cause, or with no notification to the customer. I am pleased this bill will begin to level the playing field for
consumers.”

Today’s legislation is of particular importance to Congressman Davis, who has worked to bring accountability and fairness to the credit industry since coming to Congress. As a member of the House Financial Services Committee in the 110th Congress, Davis introduced legislation, H.R. 5280, the “Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act of 2007,” that worked to reform the credit card industry. Several of those reform measures have been incorporated into The Credit Cardholders Bill of
Rights.

The House-passed bill requires many pro-consumer reforms, including:

* Requiring credit card companies to give 45 days notice of all interest rate increases or significant contract changes, which would go into effect 90 days after enactment of the legislation.

* Preventing credit card companies from arbitrarily increasing interest rates on existing card balances expect for cases when a promotional rate expires, the rate adjusts as part of a variable rate, or if the cardholder fails to comply with a
workout agreement.

* Protecting cardholders from due date gimmicks by requiring card companies to mail billing statements 21 calendar days before the due date (up from the current 14 days), and to credit as “on time” payments made before 5 p.m. local time on the due date. It also extends due date to next business day for mailed payments when the due date falls on a day a card company does not accept or receive mail.

* Protecting companies from using misleading terms and damaging consumers’ credit ratings by establishing standard definitions of terms like “fixed rate” and “prime rate” so companies can’t mislead or deceive consumers in marketing and advertising.

* Barring card companies from charging to process payments. For instance, credit card issuers would not be able to charge extra if a consumer wants to pay by phone
rather than by mail.

With the exception of the 45 day notice requirement for interest rate increases, all provisions in the bill would take effect 12 months after enactment or by July 1,
2010, whichever comes first.

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