Lawmakers Want to Stop Banks from Raising Credit Card Fees

    Tougher laws to keep credit card companies from raising fees won’t be in place until next year; however, a lot of banks are coming under fire for charging more in the meantime.
    The movie is making some lawmakers consider moving up the deadline.
    Congress passed the credit card holders bill of rights last spring that puts limits on how banks can hike credit card rates.
    Banks say that they’ve needed to raise rates during the recession.
    Representative Barney Frank (D – Massachusetts) wants to see the new rules go into effect as early as December.
    “We said at the time if this time was used to bring advantage of the lag to move things up- that would be a problematic for us and in my judgment some of that has happened,“ Rep. Frank said. 
    Some banks promise to adopt customer-friendly policies on their own.
    Democrats are also pushing for a new consumer financial protection agency that would enforce financial industry regulations.