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Most consumers were not aware of how credit card companies figured interest and finance charges prior to the credit card act of 2009.  Many credit card companies would do what is called Double-Cycle billing which means that any purchases you made in the previous billing cycle would be charged during the current billing cycle even if the the previous balance was paid in full.

This was just another way credit card companies would take advantage of the card holders.  This practice was outlawed in the Credit Card Act of 2009 along with other marketing tactics credit card companies used.

The Credit Card Act of 2009

The Credit Card Act of 2009 was signed into law earlier in the year and has roll-outs which started in August of 2009. The new credit card laws are aimed at limiting the power that creditors have over their debtors. The new rules set forth in the Credit Card Act of 2009 are part of a new legislation in which the United States government is trying to help consumers reduce their debt and give them more control over how their debt is managed.

Here are some of the new credit laws enacted by the Credit Card Act of 2009:

New Age Restrictions on Credit
The Credit Card Act of 2009 lays out strict regulations on issuing credit to youths under the age of 21, while also restricting the marketing capabilities of credit card companies to these youths. A research study done by the Credit Research Center in 2002 indicated that young adults that were not attending college carried roughly $3,500 in credit card debt; while the average older adult carried roughly $7,500 of credit card debt.

The new credit card laws indicate that anyone under the age of 21 is not eligible to obtain a credit card in their own name unless they have a co-signer or can provide sufficient proof of income making them eligible to carry such debt. The age restrictions set forth by the Credit Card Act of 2009 are meant with the intention of detering young adults from accumulating excessive amounts of debt until they are financially capable of managing credit card debt.    –more