As any consumer knows, when you get a credit card, you also get documents telling you what type of account you have and what the terms of it are. The statements in these documents may be a legal contract that the credit card company has to follow. Similarly, credit card companies cannot make false statements in advertisements used to market credit cards.
A credit card company that breaks these promises to its customers may have violated the law. This means its customers may then have the right to sue the credit card company. Similarly, under some circumstances, customers can sue credit card companies that leave important facts out of their advertisements or contracts.
These types of issues can take many forms. For example, a credit card company may “hide” fees charged for maintaining accounts, transferring funds, or receiving cash advances. Another common tactic is for a credit card company to misrepresent the APR its customers will pay, meaning the customers pay higher interest rates than they should. Similarly, a credit card company may say an interest rate is “fixed for life” but then later increase that rate. Such actions can, over time, cost consumers large amounts of money.
Since these problems may arise well after the customer has had the credit card a long time, it is vital to always keep your credit card’s initial account opening documents. Moreover, if you feel your credit card company may have cheated you, you should consult a lawyer as quickly as possible. Finkelstein Thompson has extensive experienced dealing with consumer credit card issues, and welcomes your inquiries.
