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Applying For A Credit Card With No Credit History
Oddly enough, not only will bad credit work against you when applying for a loan or a credit card, but no credit will too. Even though this doesn't seem fair, it is the way things work in the complicated world of consumer credit. Lenders are leery...
Bad Credit Personal Loan and Bad Credit Loans
Bad credit personal loans are widely available these days. These are personal loans marketed to individuals with a poor credit score or poor credit history. A bad credit personal loan can be obtained through a lender who specializes in bad credit...
Credit Repair Defaults
If you have defaults on your credit record, it is possible to have some of them removed. Defaults are non-payments recorded on your credit files. When a person is in default, they are subjected to lawsuits, liens, judgments, and other complicated...
Easing Your Financial Burdens With Credit Counselling
It is a well-publicized fact that more of us are getting ourselves into greater debt, and this may be true for you. The embarrassment of your financial situation can mean you are unlikely to seek credit counselling or other credit management...
Tips for Finding the Best Student Credit Cards
Student credit cards bombard freshman every year. Parents should be sure to discuss the issue of student credit cards with their college student before they leave home. It is an attractive idea for a student to get their own credit card, especially...
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Credit Cards – What is the “Universal Default Clause”?
Most people who carry major credit cards are well aware that the interest rates associated with them tend to be higher than for other types of lending, such as home or auto loans. Anyone who has paid their credit card bill late more than once or twice is also aware that doing so may cause the interest rate on their card to go up – sometimes by quite a lot. Many credit cards carry interest rates of as much as 20% or 25% annually, and customers who want to avoid interest rates in that range make an effort to pay their bills on time.
What many people do not realize, however, is that up to one third of all credit card issuers now include what is known as a “universal default clause” in their bills. This information, usually disclosed in the tiny print on the bill that few people bother to read, indicates that the interest rate on your credit card may be increased if you pay bills late to other lenders, even if you pay your credit card bill on time.
This means that paying any bill late that could show up on your credit report, such as an auto payment or a utility bill could cause your credit card interest rate to go up. This, in turn, could hurt your credit score. There is currently nothing in Federal law that prohibits this practice; the law only
requires that lenders disclose it in writing. Credit card companies justify this by saying that customers that make late payments to anyone increase the risk for all lenders. Nevertheless, many, if not most, credit card customers are unaware that such policies exist.
Not all credit card companies have such a policy; in fact, most do not. Customers who are not interested in having the interest rates of their credit card tied to their ability to pay their phone bill on time would be advised to read the fine print in their credit card statement. If such a policy exists, you could either complain to your credit card issuer about it or shop around for another credit card. The lesson to be learned here is a valuable one – when you receive your credit card bill or a notification that your credit card billing terms have changed, take a moment to read the fine print.
About the Author
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information regarding home equity loans.
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