Credit Card Fee Limitation and Accountability Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act, as amended by the Credit CARD Act of 2009, to prohibit a creditor from imposing upon an open-end consumer credit account any fee related to failure of the consumer to: (1) use the credit card to obtain an extension of credit; (2) carry an outstanding balance from any billing cycle to another; and (3) obtain a minimum amount of credit under such account during any specified period.
Permits a consumer to: (1) cancel an account within 45 days of receiving notice of an annual fee if no such fee existed upon the account's initial opening; and (2) pay any outstanding account balance at the time of cancellation in accordance with the terms in effect at the time of such cancellation.
Prohibits a creditor, as a result of such cancellation, from taking action against a consumer which would adversely affect the consumer's ability to obtain credit under open-end consumer credit plan.
Requires any annual fee that a card issuer may impose with respect to a credit card account under an open-end consumer credit plan to be reasonable.
Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to issue final rules, within six months after the enactment of this Act, to establish standards for assessing whether the amount of any annual fee is reasonable.
Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a consumer credit reporting entity from taking action or making any determination based upon consumer cancellation of a credit card account which would result in a consumer credit score lower than that which would result without taking such cancellation into account.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3977 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3977
To amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish limits on certain fees
with regard to credit card accounts under open-end consumer credit
plans, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 29, 2009
Ms. Sutton (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida,
Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Hare, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Hastings of Florida,
Mr. Sires, Mr. Courtney, and Ms. Markey of Colorado) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish limits on certain fees
with regard to credit card accounts under open-end consumer credit
plans, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Credit Card Fee Limitation and
Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ESTABLISHED.
(a) In General.--Section 127 of the Truth in Lending Act (U.S.C.
1637) is amended by inserting after subsection (r) (as added by the
Credit CARD Act of 2009) the following new subsection:
``(s) Limitations on Fees and Other Actions.--
``(1) Prohibition on certain fees.--A creditor may not
impose any of the following on any credit card account under an
open-end consumer credit plan:
``(A) Any fee directly or indirectly related to the
failure of the consumer to use the credit card to
obtain an extension of credit during any period.
``(B) Any fee directly or indirectly related to the
failure of the consumer to carry an outstanding balance
from any billing cycle to another.
``(C) Any fee directly or indirectly related to the
failure of the consumer to obtain a minimum amount of
credit under such account during any specified period.
``(2) No-effect cancellation of account upon introduction
of annual fee.--
``(A) In general.--If, in the case of a credit card
account under an open-end consumer credit plan which
did not require the payment of an annual fee under the
terms of such plan at the time the account was first
opened, a creditor imposes an annual fee at any time
after such account is opened, the consumer may--
``(i) cancel such account within 45 days of
receiving notice of such fee imposition; and
``(ii) pay any outstanding balance on the
account at the time of cancellation in
accordance with the terms in effect at the time
of such cancellation.
``(B) No adverse effects.--No creditor may take any
action with respect to any consumer who cancels a
credit card account in accordance with subparagraph
(A), as a direct or indirect result of such
cancellation, which would have any adverse effect on
such consumer and such consumer's ability to obtain
credit under a credit card account under an open-end
consumer credit plan.
``(3) Reasonable annual fees.--
``(A) In general.--The amount of any annual fee
that a card issuer may impose with respect to a credit
card account under an open-end consumer credit plan,
shall be reasonable.
``(B) Rulemaking required.--The Board, in
consultation with the Comptroller of the Currency, the
Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, the Director of the Office of Thrift
Supervision, and the National Credit Union
Administration Board, shall issue final rules not later
than 6 months after the date of enactment of this
section, to establish standards for assessing whether
the amount of any annual fee is reasonable.
``(C) Considerations.--In issuing rules required by
this section, the Board shall consider--
``(i) the purported reason the creditor is
instituting an annual fee;
``(ii) if the credit card account had an
annual fee at the opening of the account; and
``(iii) such other factors as the Board may
deem necessary or appropriate.''.
(b) Limitation on Adverse Effects of Cancellation on Credit
Score.--Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g)
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(h) Limitation on Adverse Effects of Cancellation on Credit
Score.--No consumer reporting agency or other person who develops a
credit score (as defined in subsection (f)(2)) for any consumer may
take any action with respect to, or make any determination based on,
the cancellation by the consumer of a credit card account under an
open-end consumer credit plan in accordance with section 127(s)(2)
which would result in the development or distribution of a credit score
for such consumer which is lower than a credit score that would result
for such consumer without taking into account such cancellation.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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