|
|
'Primary Information' that should be prominently displayed in a regulated summary format on the opening page of each Credit Card Product advertisement:
* Interest rates that apply for Purchases and Cash Advances. * Number of interest-free days if applicable ie Interest Free Period and where this benefit is withdrawn for up to three months when the full amount of Purchases and Cash Advances is not paid by the Payment Due Date, whereupon the Credit Cardholders pays interest at up to 22% from the date of each Purchase for three months. * Account-keeping fees - usually the Annual Cardholder Fee. * Fees for reward programs. * Late payment charges - Late Payment Fee. * Explicit fee for drawing a Cash Advance - Cash Advance Fee. * Fees for exceeding the credit card limit - Over-the-Limit Fee. Currently, Credit Card Issuers' advertising (on the internet, radio, TV and newspaper) for most of their Credit Card Products, promote an attractive feature such as Balance Transfer Interest-Free Period Offers for an 'Introductory Period'. Yet conceal that following the 'introductory period' the interest rate is 21.84% and that an 'Order of Payments' Allocation Practice for every Credit Card contract specifies which balance(s) will be paid first. In nearly all cases payments apply to lowest-rate balances first - highest-rate last. Presently, too much advertising of Credit Card Products seeks to mislead and deceive, by hiding in 'fine print' in minute font size the real costs as explained in Labyrinth of ‘Concealed Spiders’. |
|
|
|