Fed Rejects Request to Help Credit Card Holders

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News/Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve rejected a request to force credit card companies to immediately halt retroactive interest-rate increases on existing balances, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said Tuesday.

Schumer and Christopher Dodd, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, asked the Fed last month to use its emergency powers for rescuing banks to also help credit card consumers being slapped with unexpected rate increases.

"The Federal Reserve's failure to protect consumers from these outrageous rate increases is unconscionable," Schumer said.

"The Fed has acted swiftly to use its emergency powers to steady teetering financial institutions. It is fair to ask why they won't use the same powers to aid American families who are at just as great a risk."

A Fed spokeswoman did not have an immediate comment.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=7509366&page=1

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Screw The Fed & Credit Card Companies!

[villager]

1. When will the "payment strike" commence? Consumers could easily bring

...these companies to their knees, with a modicum of intestinal fortitude...

[the other one]

6. two billing cycles ago

at least for me

[JenGatherer]

14. There's only so much they can squeeze us

before we walk away from the whole thing. It's unsecured debt, meaning the most they can do to me is cut off my supply if I stop paying. The tax burden the bailout has put on the average citizen now makes it completely counter productive to work (in theory). Everything about this is unsustainable. And why should banks treat the very people they just raped with courtesy? What authority compels them to do so?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Schumer and Dodd.

Now that's rich.

[No Elephants]

3. Dodd is REALLY worried about re-election.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. Dodd is set for life.

nt

[dmr]

28. Maybe, but he said the other day his polling dropped 30%

I forget what show he was on, but that's what he said. So, I think he feels a bit antsy. Time will tell, though.

:shrug:

[underpants]

17. The Fed is just letting the credit cardcompanies run out the string

if there are changes those will be in 6 months or so

they are letting the credit card companies-whose business model seems to be set on this kind of activity- keep its current situation in place for a little more longer

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. The beauty of it is that Schumer and Dodd get to sound

so pro-consumer, so self -rightous, knowing full well the Fed, which is totally unelected, can and will say No.
Yet we do not notice Schumer and Dodd actually introducing any legislation to hekp us out.

It is all a big game. All talk, no walk.

[Speciesamused]

5. Imagine that. This should have been a requirement for the checks.

[TheCoxwain]

7. she is looking at the wrong snake

[Blue_Tires]

24. lol at that!

[DollyM]

8. my citibank card went from 9 to 14 percent overnight!

Even though we have good credit and have never been late or over. I haven't been impressed with citibank much lately anyway. We changed banks recently and I paid my last bill out of a different bank account that ususual. Citibank took it out of my bank account but sat on the payment for seven days, without giving us any notice or warning. I just happened to check online and saw that our account had not been credited for the payment even though it had cleared our bank. What if we had been out of town or at a restuarant and the payment would not clear because we didn't know CB was holding our money? I wonder if we paid additional interest on those days that they did not credit our account for the money even though they had it in their hot little hands. I called them but their excuse was that someone could have been trying to commit fraud by making a payment on our account. I told them the next time someones wants to make a payment on our account, please let them!!!!

[Captain Hilts]

12. Banks can even sit on wire transfers for six days if they're over $2K. It's legal check kiting! nt

[L0oniX]

9. "a request" ...geeze ...did they say "please with sugar on it?"

The mutha f*ckas (congress/senate) only care about where they are going to get money for their next election campaign and that's really why they don't give a flying f*ck about us, they only pretend to care about us.

[wroberts189]

25. Yes with whipped cream and a cherry ..they still said no

kabuki theater

[Flora]

10. This makes me so angry!

Once again, our government has let the people down. x( Banks continue to get federal money in order to loan shark the working man to death, yet the working man gets nothing to help in the cycle. It's maddening...

[Vidar]

11. Screw the consumers. Full speed ahead.

[Captain Hilts]

13. Why should banks receiving bailouts have the right to say 'no' here? nt

[Mari333]

15. exactly.

the politicians are whores for the banks, thats why.

[bob4460]

16. I think everyone shou do themselves a favor and read up on

This wholly privately owned corporation THAT PASSES OFF AS A GOVERNMENT AGENCY !!!And get this they pay about $23 for a million, then sell it back to us for a million AND CHARGE INTEREST

[sarcasmo]

18. Government officials bought and paid for by the Credit Cards companies.

[downindixie]

19. Fuck them all

I've a good mind to run up my card to the limit and stop paying.

[Phred42]

20. Just more reason to take the FED back. - NATIONALIZE

Nationalize now - before it's too late.

[quakerboy]

26. What good will that do

Government(legislative) efforts haven't done any better on this issue.

Not that I disagree with you that we should nationalize it. I just think that the benifits will come in areas other than this particular issue.

[harun]

29. Banks own Congress even more than they own the Fed. Which is why I think

Schumer tried to go to the Fed.

[tbyg52]

21. Government of the banks, by the banks, for the banks. nt

[w4rma]

23. Who owns the Fed? The biggest banks in America. (nt)

[mbperrin]

27. But $45 billion for Bank of America? Sure. $34 billion more? Sure.

Can't write at all what I'd like to see happen.

[Joanne98]

30. *&^%$*#