When a new credit card bill arrives in a Tennessee resident’s mail or a notification is delivered to their email account’s inbox that they have a statement to review, a person can feel as though there is plenty of time for them to make their payment. It is often the case that credit card companies give their customers several weeks to get their payments in before they are considered late. Under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, better known as the Credit CARD Act, credit card lenders must send their bills to customers at least 21 days before the bills become due.
However, those weeks can pass very quickly if the payer does not have the money to make a full and complete payment on their credit card. For some, having several weeks to plan for a bill may be insufficient to get their funds in order and their payment submitted before it becomes due. When a person fails to pay their credit card bill or when they make a late payment they may be subject to penalties and fees.
Due dates and payment terms are common subjects addressed in the contracts that credit card companies and their users enter into when consumers wish to take on additional credit-based buying power. Therefore, a credit card user may be subject to significant consequences when they fail to abide by those terms.
Late credit card payments can be penalized with a high interest rate and over time that rate can compound into a massively inflated bill that does not reflect the true amount of money the individual spent on their card. In time a payer may find that they are only addressing the interest that has collected on their card and not the principle. Getting help with credit card debt may help individuals avoid future financial problems and to avoid falling deeper into economic peril.
