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Once they get a view of their statements, consumers may consider debt consolidation for help
By Oscar Monfort on Mar 2nd, 2010
One of the goals of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act is to make it more apparent to consumers how much it will cost them to keep debt on their credit cards.
Through the act, credit card lenders have to add new information to credit card statements, including how long it would take a consumer to pay down credit card if they made only minimum payments. The statement must also show the account holder the amount of interest they would end up paying in that time.
However, a recent report from the Associated Press notes that people who check out their credit card accounts may not be getting the same protections as consumers who rely on paper statements. That's because in order to see the new information provided because of the Credit CARD Act, account holders may need to download a scanned version of their bill.
"There’s no telling how many cardholders click past the account summary page, which typically provides the essentials - the current balance, minimum payment due, and recent transaction activity," the AP said.
Those consumers who do get a copy of their statement may find a rude awakening awaiting them, especially if they only make minimum payments. It could take years for some of these consumers to pay off the debt, assuming they can at all.
People having trouble doing so may consider debt consolidation, which can help through lower interest rates on credit card debts.
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