Credit card disclosure bill

By John Poirier

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. House Democrats on Tuesday introduced legislation that would require credit card companies to tell consumers more about the consequences of making only the minimum monthly repayment. Issuers would have to clearly outline the time needed to pay off a balance if only the minimum payment is made each month, and warn of the interest cost.

Credit card companies would also have to offer a toll-free telephone number for credit counseling.

"Consumers deserve to have better information from credit card companies to get themselves out of debt," said North Carolina Democratic Rep. David Price, who introduced the bill with eight colleagues.

Last week, credit card practices came under scrutiny at a hearing before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

The panel's chairman, Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, said legislation might be needed to stop what he called predatory practices by card issuers when companies charge interest and fees on money that has already been repaid.

At the hearing, executives from JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s (JPM.N) Chase Bank USA, Bank of America Credit Card Services (BAC.N) and Citigroup's (C.N) Citi Cards said they are trying to do a better job of explaining fees and charges to consumers.

Price is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

((Reporting by John Poirier, editing by Tim Dobbyn; Reuters Messaging: john.poirier.reuters.com@reuters.net; E-mail:john.poirier@reuters.com +1 202 898 8399)) Keywords: CREDITCARDS CONGRESS/

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