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Credit cards featuring interest rates of maximum 16 percent may sound too good to be true, but if a number of congressional Democrats have their way, this could be coming soon to a credit card near you.

Last Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport said she planned to introduce legislation next week which, if passed, would cap credit card interest rates across the board at 16 percent APR. The bill, referred to as the Renewing America’s Commitment to Consumers Act, would also limit credit card fees, including late fees, to a maximum of $15.

“Watching how credit card companies have exploited people by increasing rates up to 30 percent and more is criminal, and this bill will allow us to put an end to this,” Representative Slaughter said in a statement announcing the bill. “Thin

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Tags: 16 Percent, Interest Rates, Percent

When you close a credit card account, you can still leave yourself open for fraudulently activity by not properly destroying the actual card and other pieces of account information. The age-old visual of taking a pair of scissors to your plastic is a start but the process for protecting your finances goes far beyond.

Here are some additional tips and advice on how to get rid of your credit cards that you need to know:

Get It In Writing

When you elect to close a credit card account, you should always contact the company directly and ask for a confirmation letter that confirms the closure. Do not assume it has been done until you get that letter.

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Tags: Credit, Credit Cards

JPMorgan Chase, the largest issuer of credit cards, will stop using arbitration to settle disputes, a long standing practice that some legal experts considered biased against cardholders, three months after a similar move by Bank of America. The arbitration clause will be dropped for at least 3 ½ years, starting in 2010, following an agreed upon court case. The company stopped sending credit card disputes to arbitration in July.

The case stems from the use of mandatory arbitration by credit-card issuers to resolve payment disputes. Customers had to waive their right to go to court and agree to arbitration in advance to open an account. Critics of the process say it hurts consumers who do not realize that they are waiving their right to sue when they accept card services.

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