Robin's Story: Protecting Consumers from Unfair Practices on Credit Cards

February 07, 2011 | 2:38

Elizabeth Warren introduces Robin Fox, a seventh-grade science teacher from Georgia. Her credit card company increased the rate on her existing credit card balance from 10.90% to 17.90%, even though she paid her account on time every month. The increase has been particularly difficult for her family because her husband’s landscaping business has been hard hit recently by the financial crisis. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will enforce the Credit CARD Act, which President Obama signed in 2009 to ban credit card issuers from arbitrarily raising rates on existing balances and other unfair practices. The CFPB will also be responsible for updating the credit card rules moving forward. Learn more at www.consumerfinance.gov.