By Jackie Jones

At a book signing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, financial advice columnist Michelle Singletary told the audience that several years ago she was chided in a performance review for “writing too much about credit.”

Singletary’s editors at The Washington Post said that her column, “The Color of Money,” focused too much on the downside of credit at a time when the economy was going well and that she was being overly pessimistic.

Today, she said, she looks positively prescient.

The fiscally conservative columnist consistently warns consumers against over-spending and thinks debit, as well as credit, cards should be handled with great care.

Banks, she said, may be under new rules designed to protect the consumer, but there are loopholes that allow the banks to continue “pummeling” the customer.

The Center for Responsible Lending agrees and has laid out what the new credit card policy legislation that went into effect Feb. 21 really will and won’t do.

For example, banks can no longer increase the interest rate charged on an existing balance unless a cardholder is 60 days or more behind in payments or he or she has agreed to a variable rate. If a customer’s rate is raised because of a delinquency, but he or she then pays on time for six consecutive months, the lender must revert to charging the previous, lower rate.

Sounds simple, right? But the loophole also allows lenders to raise interest rates without limit on future purchases as long as they notify you 45 days in advance. If you still have any of those “notice of changes to your account” letters that came in the mail, go back and read them. You may find your rates are changing to permanently variable rates.

Lenders must give 21 days between the time they mail a bill and when they will impose a late fee. Some credit card issuers would mail out the bills so late that it would be almost impossible for customers to mail back a payment on time.

So watch the mail cancellation date on the envelope when your bill arrives and make sure there is enough time for you to get your check or money order there in time to avoid a late fee. Or think about banking online and monitor your closing date or set up an automatic bill-pay program through your bank.

Banks must limit fees charged during the first year a pre-paid credit card account is opened to no more than 25 percent of the initial credit limit. But this does not include late charges or over-the-limit fees, so you could still end up paying higher interest if you pay late or have automatic coverage if you exceed your credit limit or don’t have the funds in your account for the purchases you make.

And if you pay your bill in full, on time every month, you can take a hit, too.

Banks can still zing you with fees for having a zero balance or paying off your balance too quickly or lower your credit limit if you fail to use your card often enough. They can close accounts or reduce lines of credit without notice for any reason, triggering fees when you exceed the limit, although at the time that you made a purchase you were within what you believed was your credit limit.

Going overseas? Make sure you notify the credit card company so your purchases won’t be denied. Some banks even question expenditures across state lines.

Confused?

Visit the Federal Reserve’s interactive website for more help wading through the new rules.

The old expression, “Let the Buyer Beware,” has never been more timely.

Jackie Jones is a freelance writer as well as a career and fitness coach for those who want to get their lives in shape. Her website is www.jonescoaching.net.