Card Issuers' Novel Ways Outflank Law

[Anonymous]

U.S. banks are finding new ways to levy credit-card fees and raise interest rates in the wake of a one-year-old law that was designed to limit such charges.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704515704575282890099634622.html

[92235]

This link only gave me two paragraphs. Then they want me to pay. Here is the link I found to the whole article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704515704575282890099634622.html?mod=WSJ_Markets_MIDDL...

Great Excerpt:

"Among the offers from First Premier Bank is a credit card featuring a $300 credit limit and $75 annual fee. The credit-card law limits fees to no more than 25% of a card's credit line in the first year. As a result, its Centennial card added a $95 processing fee, to be paid before using the card. A spokeswoman for First Premier Bank, of Sioux Falls, S.D., maintained that the 25% fee limit under the law "only applies to fees charged after the account is opened."

[MattH]

That link also wants payment.

I am not surprised the banks have found ways around the new rules, they always do find ways around such rules.  It is nearly impossible to define "Copernican Revolution in attitude towards customers" with sufficient specificity to be legally enforceable.

[92235]

Fine here is the Google Cached version:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:hWDEjmB_kxwJnline.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052...

[marty56]

To paraphrase that great Kevin Spacey movie line, the CCC's greatest trick was to make us think that they have stoped playing non-PIF games.  I wonder how many people have actually charged more on their CCs since the law thinking that can't be messed with like they used to be.

PIF and BML still rules.