TransUnion: Late Fees to Decrease in 2010
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 5:08 am
Some people may find a late fee reasonable, but for some who are two to three months behind on their monthly payments this is a serious thing. Imagine paying $30 on top of your minimum monthly payment for the next two or three years when you can’t even afford the minimum payment anyways. Some cards even charge interest on their late fees, making payment in full little more than a fanciful dream.
A late fee would normally cost $15 to $30 or even more. The terms and conditions of your credit card plan or a loan state you will be fined if you fail pay on time. I don’t know about you, but I would rather spend that late fee watching James Cameron’s “Avatar” with a big tasty bucket of pop corn.
Minimum Payments are Not Ideal
It is more convenient and easier to pay the minimum monthly payment since it requires less cash. But it is only ideal to pay this if you are on a tight budget. It is best to pay more than the minimum payment if you have the extra cash. Not only will it enable you to pay less next month but it may also shorten your payment terms – so long as you don’t charge more, of course.
Delinquent and late payments have contributed so much to the recent recession. Banks have less revolving funds due to poor collections from monthly payments. This will make it harder for the banks and customers to recover from their losses. A good credit management plan will definitely help both the issuer and the customers.
More Cash to Spend in 2010
TransUnion is the third largest US based consumer credit reporting agency. According to them it is very difficult for consumers to catch up with their payments if their payments are three months late. TransUnion based its credit management report on data available through their own credit reporting database.
Late and delinquent payment for credit cards and mortgage loan are due to decrease by the end of 2010. This will be very much appreciated by banks after losing billions from bad loans. According to Ezra Becker TransUnion’ director of consulting, this is a first for the last three years. The progress may be slow and consumers may encounter some more bumps on along the road but the turning point is in sight.
This means consumers will have more cash to spend on something more useful than a late fee. This could also be a sign that the US economy is slowly but surely regaining its strength.
Tags: credit, credit cards, credit management, debt, transunion