It&39;s hard to believe that credit card late penalty fees were in the $5 to $15 range in the 1990&39;s. That all changed when the U.S. Supreme Court lifted fee restrictions in the case of Smiley v. Citibank. Credit card fees soared when the case was decided and haven&39;t looked back since.

But now, at least we&39;re starting to take a look at them again. The Government Accountability Office released a report yesterday that found average credit card late fees to be around $34 and penalty APR&39;s well above 35%:

"Millions of Americans depend on credit cards to pay their bills and buy essentials like groceries or gas. Unfair or confusing credit-card practices take advantage of working families," said Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the Senate&39;s investigative subcommittee, who had asked the GAO to conduct the study. "This report shines a needed spotlight on excessive credit card fees, unfair interest rates and inadequate disclosure practices that ought to be stopped."

The report also found that credit card issuers aren&39;t clearly disclosing rates and fees to consumers. Fees for paying credit card bills over the phone, transferring balances and receiving cash advances are often buried in long paragraphs of fine prints.

Last week&39;s post about giving your credit cards a check-up couldn&39;t have come at a better time. Consumers can follow our five simple steps to fight against what the GAO calls consumer failure "to understand key aspects of their cards, including when they would be charged for late payments or what actions could cause issuers to raise rates." We&39;ve already had a few success stories:

After reading this helpful information; I contact all of my Credit Card Company and request for better rates and fees. With my surprise I qualify for above 700 rates 10-15% not the 15-20%. Thanks a lot; I wouldn&39;t never have request for this change without this newsletter.

Give your credit cards a fee and rate check-up today!