Group critical of credit card rates, late fees
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Public Interest Research Group, a longtime critic of bank and credit card rates and fees, announced yesterday a new Web site designed to keep consumers informed.
The consumer group also released a survey that found credit card terms and conditions are becoming less favorable to consumers, card marketing practices are misleading and deceptive, and marketing to college students is too aggressive.
•
www.truthaboutcredit.org
The survey found an average penalty interest rate of 22.84 percent and an average late fee of $27.61. That average fee has more than doubled in ten years, while credit card companies have reduced the amount of time between mailing out bills and payment due dates, PIRG said. Nearly two-thirds of companies have eliminated leniency periods, the group said.
"Credit card companies aren't satisfied with a fair profit, so they're gouging consumers with outrageous interest rates as high as 30 percent," said Ed Mierzwinski, PIRG's consumer program director. "Credit card companies are deceiving consumers into paying unfair late fees and burying deceptive conditions in the small print."
