New Report: Credit Cards and Debt

Posted by on October 21, 2005

Credit Card Terms and Conditions Have a Highly Deceptive Effect but Credit Union Issued Cards are Fairer than Bank Issued Cards, Says New Woodstock Institute Report

The Chicago-based Woodstock Institute has just released a report describing the fees, rates, and terms of the largest credit card providers in the U.S. titled ?Blindfolded Into Debt: A Comparison of Credit Card Costs and Conditions at Banks and Credit Union.? The report documents the highly confusing terms and conditions now used in the credit card industry. It suggests that the deceptive effect of these complexities massively raises the cost of using credit cards and contributes to rising levels of consumer debt.

The report also shows that credit cards issued by credit unions have similar purchase interest rates but come with fewer fees, lower fees, lower default rates, and conditions that are much clearer. The details of the credit union card show how credit card lending can be done sustainably without exorbitant penalties and misleading terms and conditions.

The complete report is available at http://www.woodstockinst.org.