US congressman Mark Udall has just presented legislation to the U.S. Senate that outlines his version of a “Credit Card Bill of Rights.” The objective of the bill is to force credit card companies to send notice of a rate increase prior to raising your rates.

In addition, should congressman Udall get his version through the Senate as planned it will wipe out a lot of the small print on statements and applications. For instance, the bill will freeze rates and terms on cards that are canceled by the issuer. This is so that the company that revokes the card from the user will be unable to raise rates and fees on the outstanding balances. The legislation also asks to revoke the issuer’s rights to raise rates for credit activities unrelated to their account; as well as the over-the-limit fees on approved transactions.  Udall is very optimistic about the passage of his bill, citing support on both sides of the aisle.

Certainly, the bill will face fierce resistance from the card companies. The argument is, “that without these fees many people will have to do without credit cards or pay higher rates.” Also, some in Congress are wondering if now is the right time to be passing financial legislation that could further injure the financial sector.

The TRUTH is I’m sure most of you believe this is a good thing. This is not a political blog but anytime the government gets involved you need to be aware of how these new laws can affect you and your wallet. Are you willing to pay higher rates?

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