Reps. Frank and Maloney look to move up implementation of Credit Card Act of 2009 to December

Two Democrats from the House of Representatives are planning to announce a proposal to move up the implementation of a new consumer protection law regarding credit cards by two months.

The proposal, from Representatives Barney Frank and Carolyn Maloney, would move up the application of the Credit Card Act of 2009 from February 1, 2010 to December 1, 2009. According to the lawmakers, the move is being proposed because of questionable tactics they feel were used by creditors before the new laws, which will restrict their traditional ways of moneymaking, went into effect.

"Since the signing of my bill by the President on May 22, too many credit card companies have used the period to raise rates and fees in a way that would be banned come February," said Maloney, who was involved in the act’s creation, said in a statement, according to the Wall Street Journal. "I believe they’re taking advantage and using the time before the effective date badly. Changing the effective date to December 1 is both warranted and wise."

Parts of the Credit Card Act have already been implemented, such as the requirement for creditors to notify customer 45 days in advance – as opposed to only 30 days previously – before changes are made to their contract. Among the new provisions that are currently set to go into effect in 2010 will be the elimination of creditors’ ability to offer free gifts on college campuses in exchange for opening lines of credit.

Representatives Maloney and Frank are planning on holding a press conference today to formally propose that the implementations be pushed forward.