Senate passes credit card overhaul bill

[techs]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_congress_credit_cards

Senate passes credit card overhaul bill

WASHINGTON ? The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to rein in credit card rate increases and excessive fees, hoping to give voters some breathing room amid a recession that has left hundreds of thousands of Americans jobless or facing foreclosure.

The House was on track to pass the measure as early as Wednesday, paving the way for President Barack Obama to see the bill on his desk by week's end.

"This is a victory for every American consumer who has ever suffered at the hands of a credit card company," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Banking Committee. The bill passed the Senate 90-5.

If enacted into law as expected, the credit card industry would have nine months to change the way it does business: Lenders would have to post their credit card agreements on the Internet and let customers pay their bills online or by phone without an added fee. They'd also have to give consumers a chance to spare themselves from over-the-limit fees and provide 45 days notice and an explanation before interest rates are increased.



While almost every religion has in it's doctrine some form of anti-usury prohibitions, it seems Christianity has some very strong views against usury, what with "Jesus and the moneychangers"
I was wondering if usury was still an important issue amongst Christians, and will their religious beliefs affect their opinion of this law?

 

[LTC8K6]

Sounds like much ado about nothing.

 

[spacejamz]

Heard about this on the drive into work this morning...The credit card companies are just gonna find different ways to make up any lost revenues...

Some possibities include:

charging annual fees again
reducing credit card benefits
charging interest immediately instead of offering a grace period

Guess we will wait and see what happens...

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: spacejamz
Heard about this on the drive into work this morning...The credit card companies are just gonna find different ways to make up any lost revenues...

Some possibities include:

charging annual fees again
reducing credit card benefits
charging interest immediately instead of offering a grace period

Guess we will wait and see what happens...

all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

 

[alchemize]

I wonder about a guy who's first thought on seeing this article is "I wonder what christians feel about this".

I personally think it will hurt my app-o-rama's, going to miss the zero percent arbitrage. Hard to do nowadays with deflated interest rates.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: techs
-snip-
While almost every religion has in it's doctrine some form of anti-usury prohibitions, it seems Christianity has some very strong views against usury, what with "Jesus and the moneychangers"

I was wondering if usury was still an important issue amongst Christians, and will their religious beliefs affect their opinion of this law?

"Moneychangers" are NOT lenders, and accordingly have nothing to do with usury or this CC article:

In the episode, Jesus is stated to have visited the Temple in Jerusalem, Herod's Temple, at which the courtyard is described as being filled with livestock and the tables of the money changers, who changed the standard Greek and Roman money for Jewish and Tyrian money, which were the only coinage that could be used in Temple ceremonies. According to the Gospels, Jesus took offense to this (extorting profit from the people to hear the word of God), and so, creating a whip from some cords, drives out the money changers, and turns over their tables, and those of the people selling doves Matthew[21:13]

I'm unaware of any rule on ususry in the New Testiment. (IIRC both Jews and Muslims have 'biblical' rules about this.)

So, I don't see how the one (CC law) has anything to do with the other (Christians), nor how Christians as a group care about this new law.

Fern

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: techs
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_congress_credit_cards

Senate passes credit card overhaul bill

WASHINGTON ? The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to rein in credit card rate increases and excessive fees, hoping to give voters some breathing room amid a recession that has left hundreds of thousands of Americans jobless or facing foreclosure.

The House was on track to pass the measure as early as Wednesday, paving the way for President Barack Obama to see the bill on his desk by week's end.

"This is a victory for every American consumer who has ever suffered at the hands of a credit card company," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Banking Committee. The bill passed the Senate 90-5.

If enacted into law as expected, the credit card industry would have nine months to change the way it does business: Lenders would have to post their credit card agreements on the Internet and let customers pay their bills online or by phone without an added fee. They'd also have to give consumers a chance to spare themselves from over-the-limit fees and provide 45 days notice and an explanation before interest rates are increased.



While almost every religion has in it's doctrine some form of anti-usury prohibitions, it seems Christianity has some very strong views against usury, what with "Jesus and the moneychangers"
I was wondering if usury was still an important issue amongst Christians, and will their religious beliefs affect their opinion of this law?

I don't think they had credit cards back in Jesus's day. Troll.
Plus moneychanger = foreign currency exchange services

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: spacejamz
Heard about this on the drive into work this morning...The credit card companies are just gonna find different ways to make up any lost revenues...

Some possibities include:

charging annual fees again
reducing credit card benefits
charging interest immediately instead of offering a grace period

Guess we will wait and see what happens...

all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

that was the general consensus of the story as well...forgot to include that...

 

[Slew Foot]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: spacejamz
Heard about this on the drive into work this morning...The credit card companies are just gonna find different ways to make up any lost revenues...

Some possibities include:

charging annual fees again
reducing credit card benefits
charging interest immediately instead of offering a grace period

Guess we will wait and see what happens...

all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

that was the general consensus of the story as well...forgot to include that...

Damn straight, once again the smart and responsible get to pay for the idiots that fucked everything up

 

[dphantom]

Originally posted by: techs
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_congress_credit_cards

Senate passes credit card overhaul bill

WASHINGTON ? The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to rein in credit card rate increases and excessive fees, hoping to give voters some breathing room amid a recession that has left hundreds of thousands of Americans jobless or facing foreclosure.

The House was on track to pass the measure as early as Wednesday, paving the way for President Barack Obama to see the bill on his desk by week's end.

"This is a victory for every American consumer who has ever suffered at the hands of a credit card company," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Banking Committee. The bill passed the Senate 90-5.

If enacted into law as expected, the credit card industry would have nine months to change the way it does business: Lenders would have to post their credit card agreements on the Internet and let customers pay their bills online or by phone without an added fee. They'd also have to give consumers a chance to spare themselves from over-the-limit fees and provide 45 days notice and an explanation before interest rates are increased.



While almost every religion has in it's doctrine some form of anti-usury prohibitions, it seems Christianity has some very strong views against usury, what with "Jesus and the moneychangers"
I was wondering if usury was still an important issue amongst Christians, and will their religious beliefs affect their opinion of this law?

Thanks for quickly making what could be a good discussion to a troll thread.

 

[PokerGuy]

Fern pwned techs as usual, no surprise there.

This law is a step in the right direction. The whole "one side can change the agreement on a whim and change it retro-actively" is BS. The CC brought this on themselves. Had they not gone over the top and abused the consumer in so many ways, there would be these kinds of new laws.

 

[Stunt]

Originally posted by: techs
While almost every religion has in it's doctrine some form of anti-usury prohibitions, it seems Christianity has some very strong views against usury, what with "Jesus and the moneychangers"
I was wondering if usury was still an important issue amongst Christians, and will their religious beliefs affect their opinion of this law?

You are the reason why the Democrats will never be the natural governing party...

 

[randalee]

One thing that I am not liking about the bill. I am pro-gun, and pro national park concealed carry. However, they slipped the National Park Carry thing into this bill. While I am for the provision, I am VEHEMENTLY AGAINST them slipping it into a bill like this. Garbage like this happens all the time, and it drives me nuts.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: Slew Foot

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: spacejamz
Heard about this on the drive into work this morning...The credit card companies are just gonna find different ways to make up any lost revenues...

Some possibities include:

charging annual fees again
reducing credit card benefits
charging interest immediately instead of offering a grace period

Guess we will wait and see what happens...

all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

that was the general consensus of the story as well...forgot to include that...

Damn straight, once again the smart and responsible get to pay for the idiots that fucked everything up

You would think you'd be grateful.

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: techs
-snip-
While almost every religion has in it's doctrine some form of anti-usury prohibitions, it seems Christianity has some very strong views against usury, what with "Jesus and the moneychangers"

I was wondering if usury was still an important issue amongst Christians, and will their religious beliefs affect their opinion of this law?

"Moneychangers" are NOT lenders, and accordingly have nothing to do with usury or this CC article:

In the episode, Jesus is stated to have visited the Temple in Jerusalem, Herod's Temple, at which the courtyard is described as being filled with livestock and the tables of the money changers, who changed the standard Greek and Roman money for Jewish and Tyrian money, which were the only coinage that could be used in Temple ceremonies. According to the Gospels, Jesus took offense to this (extorting profit from the people to hear the word of God), and so, creating a whip from some cords, drives out the money changers, and turns over their tables, and those of the people selling doves Matthew[21:13]

I'm unaware of any rule on ususry in the New Testiment. (IIRC both Jews and Muslims have 'biblical' rules about this.)

So, I don't see how the one (CC law) has anything to do with the other (Christians), nor how Christians as a group care about this new law.

Fern

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury
Have a read for yourself.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: loki8481
all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

What specific provisions in this bill do you disagree with?

 

[GTKeeper]

This is a good bill. CC companies can go suck it, and if they don't like it and raise my rates, I will use cash and I will tell them to go f themselves.

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: loki8481
all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

What specific provisions in this bill do you disagree with?

Reform may mean good card users pay more

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Slew Foot

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: spacejamz
Heard about this on the drive into work this morning...The credit card companies are just gonna find different ways to make up any lost revenues...

Some possibities include:

charging annual fees again
reducing credit card benefits
charging interest immediately instead of offering a grace period

Guess we will wait and see what happens...

all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

that was the general consensus of the story as well...forgot to include that...

Damn straight, once again the smart and responsible get to pay for the idiots that fucked everything up

I suspect that the smart and responsible people will drop the cards that raise fees and such and go to a competitor or just use cash. The card companies will then be stuck with the idiots as their core users with few good users left. I'll be one that goes to cash if they try to charge me fees, interest or even if the retailers have a higher price for using a credit card.

Edit: and I guarantee that I'll be spending much less than I do now (as I won't have as much cash), will be writing more checks (don't you hate waiting for someone to write one of those in line?) and I would bet that I won't be the only one! 😛

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: loki8481
all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

What specific provisions in this bill do you disagree with?

Reform may mean good card users pay more

What specific provisions in this bill do you disagree with?

 

[Thump553]

Originally posted by: loki8481
all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

Nonsense. The credit card industry is replete with abuse. Two examples: (1) I have NEVER done a bankruptcy for anyone that is still not receiving unsolicited credit card pre-approved applications right up until they file bankruptcy. My point-the credit card companies make so much off these suckers that absolutely no risk analysis is done.

Second point-I use my credit card for almost all purchases but pay it off in full each month (I have it for the convenience and the bonus program). Last year I miscalendered a due date and sent in my payment late once. The credit card company called me in default and jacked up my interest rate. Since it takes at least two cycles to catch up again, they got an added uptick in their interest rates, plus the late charge fees, etc.

I'm not crying any tears over the poor credit card companies, and their talk of this bill causing a slow down in the economy is BS fear mongering.

The only thing I ask is why it took so long-but the answer is probably related to how many members of Congress are owned by the banking industry.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: Thump553

The only thing I ask is why it took so long-but the answer is probably related to how many members of Congress are owned by the banking industry.

Like Joe Biden... his constituency used to be credit card companies.

 

[Exterous]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: Slew Foot

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: spacejamz
Heard about this on the drive into work this morning...The credit card companies are just gonna find different ways to make up any lost revenues...

Some possibities include:

charging annual fees again
reducing credit card benefits
charging interest immediately instead of offering a grace period

Guess we will wait and see what happens...

all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

that was the general consensus of the story as well...forgot to include that...

Damn straight, once again the smart and responsible get to pay for the idiots that fucked everything up

I suspect that the smart and responsible people will drop the cards that raise fees and such and go to a competitor or just use cash. The card companies will then be stuck with the idiots as their core users with few good users left. I'll be one that goes to cash if they try to charge me fees, interest or even if the retailers have a higher price for using a credit card.

Edit: and I guarantee that I'll be spending much less than I do now (as I won't have as much cash), will be writing more checks (don't you hate waiting for someone to write one of those in line?) and I would bet that I won't be the only one! 😛

My wife and I have never had any problems with CC companies but maybe thats because we always pay our bills on time. Sure we can stop using them but now we have to miss out on benefits because some people aren't responsible.

Last Christmas we were able to pay for presents using nearly $300 in rewards gift cards we got from Discover even though we never had an interest rate above 0%. Once the promotional period was over we got a Mastercard, canceled the Discover and are looking forward to yet another year of 0% interest

 

[Exterous]

Originally posted by: Thump553

Originally posted by: loki8481
all it seems to amount to is people with good credit who pay their bills on time getting screwed to subsidize people with bad credit.

Nonsense. The credit card industry is replete with abuse. Two examples: (1) I have NEVER done a bankruptcy for anyone that is still not receiving unsolicited credit card pre-approved applications right up until they file bankruptcy. My point-the credit card companies make so much off these suckers that absolutely no risk analysis is done.

Second point-I use my credit card for almost all purchases but pay it off in full each month (I have it for the convenience and the bonus program). Last year I miscalendered a due date and sent in my payment late once. The credit card company called me in default and jacked up my interest rate. Since it takes at least two cycles to catch up again, they got an added uptick in their interest rates, plus the late charge fees, etc.

I'm not crying any tears over the poor credit card companies, and their talk of this bill causing a slow down in the economy is BS fear mongering.

The only thing I ask is why it took so long-but the answer is probably related to how many members of Congress are owned by the banking industry.

Personally I don't think its the governments job to protect non-mentally challenged people from themselves. No one is forcing them to sign the agreement. No one is forcing them to not read the fine print. No one is forcing them to buy that new big screen tv.

As for your second point I guess it depends on the CC company or the person you are dealing with for that day. We have accidentally made a couple of late payments and in those cases we were able to get them to drop the fees and restore the original interest rate (Although once I had to tell them to cancel the card and informed them I would be doing a balance transfer before they relented)

 

[MovingTarget]

The CC companies can suck it. They tried to pull a fast one on their customers, and we, through our representatives, put our collective foot down. Thier response thus far is mostly bellyaching and thinly-veiled threats to try to swing congress' opinons the other way. It didn't work.

Sure, some benefits such as airline miles/cashback will be scaled back. However, most would consider it a fair trade off in order to scale back the collective raping of well-meaning consumers of credit.

Next up: Payday loans.....stay tuned....