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COPYRIGHT 2005 The Dallas Morning News
Byline: Pamela Yip
Oct. 24--CREDIT CARDS' BASE PAYMENTS TO RISE SOON: The mail is delivering harbingers of trouble for consumers dealing with heavy debt loads.
My bank recently sent a notice that the minimum payment on its credit cards would be going up as early as the first day of the billing period that includes Dec. 1.
"Under the old calculation, your minimum payment was a fixed percentage of your statement balance," says the notice from Chase. "Under the new calculation, your minimum payment will be the greater of 2 percent of your statement balance or 1 percent of your statement balance plus billed interest charges and any billed late or over-limit fees."
Banking regulators issued guidelines in 2003 requiring credit card issuers to raise minimum payments because they're concerned that consumers don't pay off fast enough.
It's tough medicine for consumers, but it's the right thing to do. Ideally,...
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