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SAN FRANCISCO - If you've ever complained about an unexpected interest-rate hike on your credit card, now's your chance to have your gripe heard. But you don't have much time.

The Federal Reserve is accepting comments through Aug. 4 on credit card reform rules it proposed in May. The deadline for comments regarding related proposals, mainly to do with credit card disclosures, is sooner: next Friday.

Already, more than 9,300 people have commented on the sweeping set of proposed changes that, among other things, would prohibit credit card companies in some instances from hitting you with a higher interest rate on debt you've already incurred.

Or, if you've ever accepted a balance-transfer offer with a low interest rate only to find that your payments go first to that cheaper debt, rather than to the higher-rate purchases you've made, that situation would change too.

Under the Fed's proposal, credit card issuers would need to apply at least a portion of your monthly payment to higher-rate debt, in most cases.

The proposed rules also would prohibit two-cycle billing, in which banks compute interest on debt on days preceding the most recent billing cycle, a practice that can result in borrowers paying interest on debt paid off during the previous month's grace period.

The Fed's proposed rules are much better than expected, said Lauren Saunders, managing attorney of the National Consumer Law Center's Washington office...

Source : http://readingeagle.com