S/V Sundance: Republicans are claiming that consumers actually love getting late fees

Friday, May 17, 2024

Republicans are claiming that consumers actually love getting late fees

Faith, do you enjoy getting charged extra fees from credit card companies? Republicans seem to think so.

Let's back up a second. Last year, the CFPB proposed a new rule for credit card companies to cap their late payment fees — no more $30 or $40 fines for being late on a bill unless they can prove that it actually costs that much to process a late payment. This new rule would save Americans an estimated $10 billion a year.

Well, Republicans recently introduced a bill to overturn the CFPB's rule so that the credit card industry can continue squeezing every last dime out of consumers. One House Republican even said "the vast majority of Americans" support these fees.

I don't know about you, Faith, but I can't think of any consumer who loves fees and loves giving more money to their multi-million-dollar bank. You don't see very many "'I Junk Fees" bumper stickers when you're driving around.

Now, this might shock you, so you might want to sit down if you aren't already: it wasn't consumers who were unhappy about this new rule. It was the credit card companies.

In fact, they rolled out a massive campaign to try to stop it, claiming that ending excessive late fees would destroy their industry as we know it. They took the fight to Congress, which got us to the "customers love fees, actually" argument. They also took it to the courts, where a Trump-appointed judge just sided with the bank lobbyists.

This new rule was going to take effect this week, but this judge blocked it.

Let's be clear: Excessive late fees are designed to wring some extra profits out of someone who's already stretched thin. They're a tool that keeps working people down. This fight isn't over — I'm going to keep working to stop big Wall Street firms from ripping people off.

Faith, will you add your name to say you support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's crackdown on credit card junk fees? Together, we can push back against corporate greed.

ADD YOUR NAME

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth