[DannyTN]

I don't support this because it doesn't appear to stop the abusive tactics of the credit card companies. As long as they can change the terms after you already have the debt, additional disclosures aren't worth squat.

[DannyTN]

Although I do wonder what is meant by medical and educational costs being deductable. Is that with regard to bankruptcy law only, or is that a tax law change buried into this bill.

[hadaclueonce]

The biggest con was when they could shorten the billing cycle to 25 days. That was a trap to pull in month to month payers.
I got pissed, took the early withdaw hicky and closed out my accounts.
The economist know that credit makes this economy work. I chose not to play anymore.

[inkling]

This bankruptcy bill is going to bite the GOP hard. If Hillary has an IQ above 50 she should vote against it and wrap a big part of her campaign around the issue.

Credit Card companies extended bad debt to deadbeats, the uneducated and underinformed, so those companies HAVE to eat the cost of their folly. They can't change the rules on folks after those people have run up the debt. It's unethical, unfair and greedy. Don't change the rules after the game has begun.

[finallyatexan]

Mr. Frist,
Do you think for one minute as soon as you make this bill law the credit card companies will drop their late fees and over limit fees from up to $50.00 each down to, lets say 15.00. And do you think these same companies will drop their interest rates - if you do you live in some far away fantasy land - I do not believe this harms only the wealthy that are trying to get out of responsibilities, I think it actually hurts middle income families that due to extreme hardship have no other choice but file bankruptcy - this bill makes it almost impossible for anyone to get a second chance.
The only way to get back at credit card companies is to refuse to use their product - we pay cash for everything and have for years - it really is not that hard and we never have to worry about loan shark credit card companies trying to come after our first born child.

[kaferhaus]

" As long as they can change the terms after you already have the debt, additional disclosures aren't worth squat."

AMEN and that's where the real problem lies. They let you establish the debt and then change the payment terms/interest rates.

should be illegal to make these changes apply to charges that occured previous.

[G32]

"Personal bankruptcies are skyrocketing "

Lets try to work to stop that from happening first.. IE do something about offshoring.

[cicero's_son]

This bill was concocted and written by the credit card companies.

It is their "payback" for 8 years of writing very large checks to Republican (and a few) Democrat politicians.

[Alia]

bookmark

[Alberta's Child]

As long as they can change the terms after you already have the debt, additional disclosures aren't worth squat.

Most credit card companies don't "change the terms" after you are already in debt -- the terms of their lending agreement specifically allow them to do these things, which is why you should always read the fine print on every piece of paper you get from your banks and credit card companies.

If you are carrying a balance on a low-interest credit card, you should ALWAYS be prepared to deal with a potential scenario where your credit card company raises your interest rate to about a bazillion percent on short notice. If you can't address this situation, then you shouldn't have an open line of credit in the first place.

[Bella_Bru]

I have no problem with them tightening the rules on bankruptcy. I just wish they'd smack the credit reporting agencies around a bit. They have yet to change information regarding my current address and employer even though I have notified them about the error 4 times in the past year.

[atrocitor]

I work in the area, read significant portions of the bill, and tried to keep up with the amendments, and I have to tell you that I cannot tell you what planet Frist is coming from on these comments because they are almost all complete bs. About 5% of the cases I see could be considered abusive. The balance are caused by divorce, illness, injury, job layoff and entrepreneurial failure in that order. The bill will have the practical net effect of causing substantial numbers of insolvent Americans to not obtain debt discharges and these Americans will no longer be able to function effectively in the economy. I am already figuring out how to make a lot of more money off the new law changes than I am under the current law. MBNA et al will make more short terms profits. We are the winners. However, it will be awful for the macroeconomy of the country.

[BillM]

Ever heard of a demand loan???
At least the credit card companies give you an option.
There are a great many people who commit to debt without guaranteed means of repayment. If they default, the creditor gets stiffed. It's like when you lend money to your kids!

[Can i say that here?]

Is there any data on how many consumers (percentage or actual numbers, either one) will actually be forced to file chapter 13 rather than chapter 7 because of this new bill?

[joesbucks]

This is not about the wealthy debtors who get off. This is about companies wanting to extract the last penny from everyone.

Frankly, if they really want bankruptcy reform, go forward and as able let people pay back, but also pierce the corporate shield when it's clear that company leaders have lived high off the hog until the last minute and make those people liquidate and repay the debts caused by their mismanagement and malfeasance.

BTW, I just got my credit report since my area is now under the free program. I've had credit for over 33 years and the report went back several and reported that there were no late payments. So I'm not a deadbeat. I pay my bills.

but let's put some accountability back into the boardroom on these businesses that get a hiccup in income or suddenly have an unexpected debt.