That, in the opinion of the House, the government should take action to protect consumers who are particularly vulnerable in tough economic times; and therefore, this House calls on the government to introduce, within 6 months, comprehensive legislation, similar to the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 introduced by the Obama Administration in the United States, that would: ( a) protect consumers from “any time, any reason” interest rate increases and account changes; (b) prohibit unfair application of card payments; (c) protect cardholders who pay on time; (d) limit abusive fees and penalties; (e) prohibit issuers from using a consumer’s card history with another creditor to raise interest rates (“universal default” ban); (f) prohibit issuers from charging interest on debt that has already been repaid; (g) ensure that cardholders are informed of the terms of their account; and (h) protect young consumers from aggressive credit card solicitations.
