The Credit CARD Act, signed into law in May 2009 has been a source of contention since approval. The prevailing opinion is that the financial institutions that issue credit cards have been raising rates, slashing credit limits, adding fees, removing benefits, and canceling cards outright all ahead of the February implementation date of the Act.

Is every credit card company engaging in this conduct? Having any of them started to comply with the requirements of the Credit CARD Act? Is every card available being impacted?

Two recent studies, one performed by the billshrink.com, and the other by Pew Charitable Trusts both conclude that the major companies are not compliant with the Credit CARD Act despite months to prepare and change their systems. The reports detail that throughout 2009 banks have increased the purchase APR, balance transfer rates, and the penalty APR.

The October 2009 Pew Report, which surveyed over 400 credit cards, specifically details that 100% of banks issuing credit cards used practices deemed unfair or deceptive under Federal Reserve Guidelines, 99.7% of banks allow the issuer to raise the interest rates on outstanding balances, 90% of banks had penalty interests rates that could be triggered by late payments or overlimit transactions, and 95% of banks allowed issuers to apply payments in a manner likely to cause monetary injury to consumers.

The banks surveyed in the Pew Study include American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, HSBC, Target, U.S. Bank, USAA, and Well Fargo.

The billshrink.com report, which does not appear to be publically available, surveyed 150 credit cards and found that though banks are generally increasing rates and fees that the amount of the increases have varied. At the time of the survey (January to July 2009) American Express and Bank of America had changed their rates the least, while Capital One, US Bank, Discover, and Citi had changed their rates the most. The other credit card issuers evaluated in the survey were Chase, First National Bank of Omaha, First Premier Bank, HSBC, Orchard Bank, and Wells Fargo.

The Pew Report surveyed 12 Credit Union that issue credit cards in addition to the 12 banks. The report found that Credit Unions offered significantly lower APR rates than bank credit card, lower penalty fees, and were generally more compliant with the provisions of the Credit CARD Act. The Credit Unions surveyed were America First CU, Boeing Employees CU, Digital FCU, Golden 1 CU, Navy FCU, Patelco CU, PA State Employees CU, Pentagon FCU, Schools First FCU, Suncoast Schools FCU, Vystar CU, and Wescom CU. It should be noted that the not all of the Credit Unions surveyed are available to all consumers.

In addition to its survey, billshrink.com maintains a list of the consumer protections approved by the Credit CARD Act and notes which major credit card issuers are complying with the various sections. You can also check to see if your specific credit card complies.

As you awaken to a lazy Saturday of family time, running errands, and watching college football you may want to put that all on hold as it is possible the House of Representatives -- YOUR representatives in Congress-- may be voting on a 1900-page health care reform bill that will affect your family's health and pocketbook for years to come. The bill -- HR 3962 -- picked up major endorsements from AARP and the American Medical Association (AMA) this week.

The legislation -- in its present form -- runs more than 1900 pages so if you don't have any other plans for the weekend, you might want to read through it and send your thoughts and comments to your Member of Congress. It's easy to do by e-mail. Even if the bill passes, there will be more much more to be done on the matter in Congress before passage of reform is accomplished, but it appears that some kind of national health care reform is likely to be approved before the end of the year. If you have an opinion about it, now is the time to express to those who will be voting on it.

USE THIS LINK TO EMAIL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS:

http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml

A little known credit check that telecom and utility companies do among themselves may have a significant impact on your ability to receive services and whether or not a deposit will be required. The National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange (NCTUE) is a member-owned database managed by Equifax. According to the NCTUE website, the database exchanges information on new connects and defaulted and/or fraudulent accounts among members. It also gives the companies access to consumers' current contact information on defaulted consumers, and provides treatment and collection strategies for alleged unpaid bills.

The twist here is that not only have you never heard of this company, but according to the latest issue of Privacy Times, NCTUE may be running afoul of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

According to the Privacy Times, it appears that some of the companies using the database may not be providing notices to consumers when the companies take an adverse action against a consumer based upon the information in the NCTUE database.

Neither Equifax nor NCTUE specifically responded to the Privacy Times inquiry as to whether it believed NCTUE was subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act or whether consumers have access to the information in their files and the ability to dispute and have corrected inaccurate or incorrect information.

What seems clear though is that the NCTUE should be subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act because it appears to be providing a consumer report within the statutory definition.

UCAN, therefore wants to know about your experiences.

Have you ever been denied service or charged a deposit based on your NCTUE file?

Has a telecom or utility ever sent you a notice that adverse action has been taken based upon your file in this database?

Have you ever requested to see your file from NCTUE or Equifax and did they give you access?

Having an accurate credit profile is a necessity today and any database that affects your ability to receive essential services such water, gas, electricity, and phone should be available to you.

The Privacy TImes is edited by Evan Hendricks. The referenced article "Is Little Known Database Subject to FCRA? Equifax, NCTUE won't say," is available in Vol. 29 No. 19 October 23, 2009 of the Privacy Times.

President Obama has proposed sending a tax-free check of $250 to Social Security recipients in the early part of 2010. The president wants the checks to replace the annual COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) that Social Security beneficiaries normally receive but won't next year because of the current state of the economy. This payment would be in addition to the one-time payment made to seniors as part of last year's economic stimulus legislation. That payment was taxed.

The one-time check proposed by the president would cost $13 billion over a 10-year period, the White House estimates, and it would add to the nation's ballooning deficit.

The first thought that popped into my mind was: Gee, $250...that might pay for a few prescriptions or a utility bill, and while that's helpful, what happens after that?

There is no doubt that seniors have been hit hard by this recession in many ways: lower interest rates on their savings plans; reduced or lost pension plans and health benefits; rising medical costs;investments that have been depleted--or stolen--by scammers such as Madoff and his ilk. Then add inflated prices for gasoline, groceries and insurance and, of course, utilities -- especially in San Diego. Also. many seniors have had to come to the aid of their children and grandchildren who are also being affected by the economic meltdown as well--lending them money and even having them move in with them.

Then add in the State of Califonia's budget crisis that has resulted in many programs that assist seniors being cut. The safety net has been shredded by the state's economic problems.

Of course, if we look at the President's proposal through cynical eyes, giving senior citizens a tax-free check in an election year isn't a bad move either. Even Republicans might jump on that band wagon with amazing speed but hold on -- adding $13 billion to the deficit for a one-time shot in the arm? I am not so sure.

If I was going to place a Vegas bet on this, I'd put my money on the payment being approved by Congress, but there are other things that could be done that will help America's seniors and disbaled in the long run.

Instead of sendng a $250 check, I'd suggest that greater priority needs to be given to see that the nation is restored as soon as possible to economic well-being to protect and stablize the retirement dreams and benefits of so many. We need to put real teeth in the regulation of banks and other financial agencies responsible for this economic meltdown,and take steps to assure the solvency of Medicare and Social Security for current and future generations of seniors. Why not put more funding into quality programs that help seniors on the local level because those funds will go to seniors who really need assistance, and let's not forget about the current debate on health care reform.

This nation is aging fast, and our government has done little to prepare for that reality. That fact is a recipe for the next huge national crisis (see below).
Maybe investing that $13 billion in expanded health care and assistance
on the local level for our seniors is the better way to go.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta gives a clear picture in a report on Healthy Aging:

"The United States is on the brink of a longevity revolution. By 2030, the proportion of the U.S. population aged 65 and older will double to about 71 million older adults, or one in every five Americans. The far-reaching implications of the increasing number of older Americans and their growing diversity will include unprecedented demands on public health, aging services, and the nation's health care system.

"Chronic diseases exact a particularly heavy health and economic burden on older adults due to associated long-term illness, diminished quality of life, and greatly increased health care costs. Although the risk of disease and disability clearly increases with advancing age, poor health is not an inevitable consequence of aging.

"Much of the illness, disability, and death associated with chronic disease is avoidable through known prevention measures."