President Obama signed new credit card laws into law this May 22nd. The people that elected Obama rejoiced that finally someone was taking action to protect them and make their lives better and more affordable. (sound of car skidding) But wait! You are NOT getting what you think.

Yes, the new law prohibits credit card companies from bumping up rates for no reason. Yes, credit card companies cannot increase your rates for one single day late payment. Yes, credit card companies will be required to reduce your interest rate back to the old rate once you have paid on your card for a period of time. So what's the problem?

The problem is that when you or the millions of people that need those credit cards to buy things apply for credit cards, you might not be approved for that high interest rate card, or any card for that matter. To offset the loss of revenue, credit card companies will be forced to raise interest rates for ALL card users--EVEN PEOPLE WHO PAY THEIR BILLS ON TIME AND HAVE GOOD CREDIT. If you have bad credit, you might get a letter soon from your credit card company that tells you that they have DROPPED YOU. ANNUAL FEES will most likely become the norm again to help defray the loss of profit for these credit card companies. VARIABLE INTEREST RATES will replace the low fix rates to keep up with the cost of borrowing money for these card companies. No-interest balance transfers will become a thing of the past. SAY GOOD BYE TO THOSE AIRLINE TICKETS as rewards programs will be reduced or eliminated.

Probably the biggest impact will be the vanishing of the grace period. No longer will you be able to charge something and simply pay it off when you get the monthly statement to avoid interest rates as credit card companies will charge you interest from the date of purchase to the end of the billing cycle.

“So what?” you say. Shouldn’t people not use credit cards anyway? Tell that to the tens of millions of people that work in the retail sector. Most people use credit cards for everyday living. Most of us live paycheck to paycheck and need our credit cards to float some debt for a few days, a few weeks, a few months or longer. Is it great? No. Are we happy about it? No. In a perfect world we would all have the money to pay cash for all of our transactions. But a single mom trying to raise 2 kids without the father being timely on his child support, or the young person starting out or anyone of us that had an unexpected flat tire, dental bill, high utility bill or such, needs that credit card to put food on the table. Gone are the days when credit cards were just used by frivolous people for frivolous items. We use our credit cards to survive today. And until our wages catch up to the increase in everyday prices of goods, credit cards and easy access to them is what keeps this economy afloat. After all is said and done, if you are still struggling to make end meet under the weight of your debt, our qualified bankruptcy attorneys can help Wisconsin residents find relief under chapter 7 , chapter 13 , or chapter 128 bankruptcy laws.

If you have too much credit card debt, Credit Solutions S.C. bankruptcy lawyers can help you get out of debt in Green Bay, Appleton, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Madison and everywhere in between.
Call 866-872-8363 for your Wisconsin credit solution today!