• MSNBC/AP, Tuesday, December 4, 2007 12 PM

With Americans weighed down by some $900 billion in credit card debt--an average $2,200 per household--practices of the very profitable industry are falling under the scrutiny of Congress. They have also grabbed the attention of the Federal Reserve, which plans to require credit-card issuers to give customers at least 45 days' notice before raising interest rates and to provide clearer information on fees.

A committee chaired by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., today will look at how credit-card issuers raise consumers' rates--as high as 30%--when their so-called FICO credit scores decline, even if they've paid credit card bills regularly and promptly. In many cases, consumers have little notice of the increased rate, which are automatically triggered by declines in FICO scores for reasons left unexplained, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee found.

Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase recently have said they will discontinue the practice. But Levin says legislation may still be needed to get other companies to do the same.

Read the whole story at MSNBC/AP »