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Credit Card Users Feeling Bite Of Floundering Economy

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By NATALIE SHEPHERD | News Channel 8

Published: October 16, 2008

TAMPA - As world financial markets continue to roil, credit card users may see higher fees, higher interest rates and lower credit limits.

Credit card companies are raising rates as high and often as possible in response to the credit crisis, credit counselor Harold Stephenson says.

Credit card companies are trying to rid themselves of high-risk debt because credit card bills often are the last thing to get paid when times get tough.

Stephenson says 70 percent of his clients at Credit Care Counseling Services, 310 S. Dale Mabry Highway, Suite 240, come in because of problems with credit card debt.

Stephenson says there are mistakes credit card users make that cause their interest rates and fees to go up, including late payments, maxing out a credit card and carrying debt on multiple credit accounts.

"Get it under control; you can't get out of a hole while digging it deeper," Stephenson says.

Stephenson recommends several steps credit users can take to help make sure their fees and interest rates don't go up.

First, he says, limit use. Only use one or two credit cards, preferably Visa or Master Card. He tells clients to stop using store credit cards.

Also, make sure your payments are on time. Stephenson advises clients to double the minimum payment, if possible.

Monitor your bill to make sure your credit card terms stay the same. Stephenson says a normal interest rate should be between 8 percent and 12 percent, but he's seen clients with interest rates at more than 21 percent.

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