CREDIT CARDS MAY CATCH YOU UNAWARE

Over the years, my son has seen me pull out my credit card plenty of times. We get points, after all, at Toys R Us. Yet trying to be a semiresponsible mom, I tell him repeatedly that when he gets older — he’s 9 now — he should never use a credit card to buy what he cannot afford.

My litany of maternal advice: Say thank you. Don’t smoke. Pay your credit card bills in full. And never date a girl who would spend $500 on a skirt.

But my words of wisdom on plastic don’t come close to covering the land mines of credit card loopholes.

DID YOU KNOW:

The limit set on your credit card means nothing but a chance to get charged a $30 or $39 over-the-limit fee.

“Most credit card companies don’t mean it when they set a limit,” said Travis Plunkett, legislative director for the Consumer Federation of America in Washington.

If you hit your $3,000 credit limit, another $100 in charges could go through. Over-the-limit fees pile up — if you don’t get under the limit.

At a congressional hearing in March, one Ohio consumer said he exceeded the limit on his card three times for a total of $200. He was hit with over-the-limit fees 47 times for a total of $1,500. The card issuer later fixed his problem, as a result of the hearing.

On top of that, the interest rate on the card goes up if you charge over the limit. And you can pay interest on fees.

“It’s obvious they profit from people going over the limit,” said U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., co-author of a bill with Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., to stop some billing practices.

Levin, who has three credit cards, said he probably would have gone over the limit when he was younger, too, but credit cards wouldn’t let people charge above the limit then.

The bill proposes some tough restrictions. The American Bankers Association said it has “deep concerns” about efforts to micromanage pricing. The group maintains consumers have options to shop for cards.

Among other things, the bill would prohibit repeated charges of over-limit fees for the same infraction and stop credit card companies from charging interest on fees.

Did you also know an offer of 0 percent on a credit card could mean zip, too?

The 0 percent rate could zoom above 25 percent if you make mistakes, such as paying late. Or it’s possible you’re paying more than 0 percent or the low rate on things you charge or when you take cash advances.

Ruth Susswein, deputy director of national priorities for Consumer Action, said some consumers do not realize they’ll be charged 24 percent for a cash advance — and payments would first cover low, teaser-rate transfers or purchases.

The bill would require card issuers to first apply payments to balances that have the highest interest rate.

Levin said consumers must be responsible to avoid going deep into debt. Still, he said, high fees and high rates shouldn’t keep people in debt.

His advice to children?

“Don’t have a balance. Pay it off,” he said. “And never go over the limit.”

HOW TO COMPLAIN

- Contact your credit card issuer first. Take notes, including names and times of conversations.

- You can get help from Consumer Action, an advocacy group. Leave a message by phone, online or e-mail. It can take a few days for a response. Call (415) 777-9635.

Or e-mail hotline@consumer-action. org. Or see www.consumer-action.org to file an online complaint.

- You also can send e-mails about concerns to Sen. Carl Levin’s office. His staff will review complaints, but can’t solve individual problems. Send e-mail to creditcards@hsgac.senate. gov.

- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency regulates national banks. See www.occ.treas.gov. You can reach customer assistance at (800) 613-6743.

E-mail is not necessarily secure. Do not include your bank account, credit card or Social Security numbers in e-mails.