by Marc Kovac
Capital Bureau chief
Columbus -- Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and state Treasurer Richard Cordray announced their support this week for federal legislation that would protect consumers from unscrupulous tactics used by some credit card companies.
The announcement, made Sept. 10 during a telephone conference between the two Democratic office-holders and the media, came a little more than a month after Cordray collected 5,300-plus comments from Ohio citizens in support of proposed rules being considered by federal officials.
Those rules would prohibit certain practices, including unreasonable payment dating and raising interest rates on pre-existing balances.
According to Brown's office, the pending legislation, called the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, has comparable provisions, including:
* Preventing a change in contract terms during the term of the card agreement.
* Allowing consumers to close accounts and pay off debts under the terms in effect.
* Prohibiting interest charges on debt paid on time.
* Requiring bills to be mailed 21 days ahead of due dates, instead of 14.
* Prohibitions against credit card solicitations to individuals younger than 21 without their prior consent.
"Credit card terms should not be buried in the fine print or cloaked in legal jargon," Brown said in a release. "Too many Ohioans have been hit in the wallet by arbitrary interest rate increases and outrageous penalty fees. It's time that we demand real accountability from credit card companies and stop dodgy marketing and disclosure practices."
Cordray added, "People on Main Street feel they're being financially battered and bruised by the tactics of credit card issuers. Thousands of Ohioans wrote to us and said that even when they work diligently to manage their finances, they live in fear of devious credit card practices which trap them in a cycle of unreasonable fees."
The legislation is pending the U.S. House.
It comes at a time when Ohioans are increasingly turning to credit cards to deal with financial struggles, according to a survey conducted by Cordray's office and released earlier this month.
Of the 900-plus women who participated in the survey, 47 percent owed more than $2,000 on credit cards, while 25 percent said they owed more than $8,000.
Marc Kovac is the Dix Newspapers Capital Bureau chief. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com.