Our Constitutional Right to be Heard

As citizens of the United States, we enjoy a democracy that provides us with a level of freedom not experienced elsewhere in the world. Written into the framework of our constitution is the idea that if we, as a people, demand a change, it must be made. The change may not be the will of Congress, but if the people call for a change in a law that they feel is unfair and detrimental to the health of our nation’s economic foundation, then it is incumbent upon our Congress to listen and to act. (read more)

Percolate:

To Gain or Regain Energy. To become lively and Active.

Citizens' Initiative

Provides a means by which registered voters can encourage their Congressional Representatives to introduce and vote on proposed changes in the law.

PERC-UP.ORG is sponsoring a Citizens' Initiative to urge our Congressional Leaders to enact Legislation that will enable the people to stimulate our economy. One Household at a Time → One Small Business at a time → One Community at a time → One State at a time → Ultimately, the benefits will PERCOLATE-UP throughout our country.

REG AA Amendments: Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices

Too Little, Too Late!

Adopted on December 18, 2008
Effective July 1, 2010
Bars banks from charging a late fee unless they have given the borrowers a ‘reasonable’ amount of time to make payment.
Requires card issuers to apply monthly payments that exceed the required minimum at least partly to higher-rate card debt.
When a credit card account is opened, the bank must disclose the annual percentage rates that will apply to each category of credit. The bank cannot raise the rate on existing debt except in certain circumstances such as when promotional rates expire or when payments are at least thirty days late.
Banks cannot “reach back” to a point in time in earlier billing cycles when calculating the amount of interest to be charged in the current cycle. Banks can, however, “reach back” in a case where a dispute is resolved in the bank’s favor, or where the consumer made a payment that was returned unpaid.

Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights Act of 2008 (H.R. 5244)

Law passed by the house and is now held up in the senate!

Protects cardholders against arbitrary interest rate increases.
Prevents cardholders who pay on time from being unfairly penalized.
Protects cardholders from due date gimmicks.
Shields cardholders from misleading terms.
Empowers cardholders to set limits on their credit.
Requires card companies to fairly credit and allocate payments.
Prohibits card companies from imposing excessive fees on cardholders.
Prevents card companies from giving subprime credit cards to people who can’t afford them.

Links

We support the following changes in Legislation:

Immediate enactment of H.R. 5244 - THE CREDIT CARD HOLDERS BILL OF RIGHTS
Consumer and Business Credit Card Account rates will be subject to an annual percentage rate limit of Prime + 5% through December 31, 2010, and an annual percentage rate limit of Prime + 7% thereafter.
A default rate may be applied to Consumer and Business Credit Card Accounts, but will not exceed a rate that is 2% higher than the statutory annual percentage rate mandated under this regulation.
A limit on the dollar amount banks can charge for a late fee (It is unconscionable that Banks can charge a $30 late fee when only a $10- $20 minimum payment is due)
On new applications for credit, Credit Card issuers must ask applicants for the amount of credit they are applying for, and limit issuance to that amount or some lower amount.
Issuers cannot unilaterally increase any credit line. Requests for line increases must be initiated by the consumer.
Eliminate all capital gains taxes on investments made in small and start-up businesses.
Reinstate the Internal Revenue Code provision that allows for interest on consumer loans, including credit card interest, to be tax-deductible.
Impose some burden on the credit reporting agencies such that a person’s credit score cannot be negatively affected if their percentage of available credit vs. their total credit lines, increases, when the bank has reduced or cancels the consumer’s line of credit.

How safe is your bank?

(Find out here!)

National Foundation for Credit Counseling

Helping Hand The NFCC promotes the national agenda for financially responsible behavior and builds capacity for its members to deliver the highest quality financial education and counseling services. (Find help here)

How is your community doing compared to the rest of the country?

See credit card default rates for your area and the rest of the country.
See mortgage default rates for your area and the rest of the country. (See interactive map)

Interagency Statement on Meeting the needs of Creditworthy Borrowers from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

“The [regulatory] agencies expect all banking organizations to fulfill their fundamental role in the economy as intermediaries of credit to businesses, consumers, and other creditworthy borrowers.” “It is essential that banking organizations provide credit in a manner consistent with prudent lending practices and continue to ensure that they consider new lending opportunities on ….. a balanced assessment of borrowers’ repayment capacities.”
(Read full text)

President Obama’s Agenda for Economic Recovery!

(Read about it here)

In this Crucial Time, It’s Important to tell our Regulators what we see, think and feel!!!!

Regulations.gov

Regulations.gov is your source for all regulations (or rulemakings) issued by U.S. government agencies. On this site, you can find:

All Federal regulations that are open for public comment (i.e., proposed rules) and closed for comment (i.e., final rules) as published in the Federal Register.
When you find a document, you can also submit comments through the web site on those documents that are open for public comment.
Many Federal agency notices published in the Federal Register.
Click around this site to see what new rules your federal regulators are proposing. And submit your comments. Use this site to help influence decisions being made by our federal regulators including the SBA, FDIC, Controller of the Currency, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of State, to name a few.