Consider Help Toward Credit Card Debt

HOUSTON - In early 2010, Congress passed legislation to regulate credit cards better, a move that was intended to benefit the consumer, but despite their best efforts, some people are still discovering increased interest rates on their bill ... and a balance that is just impossible to ever pay down.

FOX 26 anchor Natalie Bomke spoke with an attorney who said he knows how to make the credit card companies work for consumers and help them get their debt back down to a manageable amount.

"What they'll do is they'll call you and call you and they'll drive you crazy. I have people that tell me they call five, six, seven times a day," said consumer debt attorney John Mastriani.

It sounds like a romance gone bad and in a way, it is.

It was once a sweet feeling to slide a credit card when making big purchases.

Congressional credit card regulations are helping but sneaky card companies are still finding ways to nickel and dime consumers; for example, the interest rate.

In some cases, interest rates can be increased to 30 percent annually, even for customers in good standing.

Add to that late fees and over limit fees and each month all consumers are doing is paying down the extras and not even touching the principal balance.

"They've threatened to actually throw people in jail; that's a rare occasion and they've also used some pretty bad racial expletives towards people like, 'Your a lazy this,' or 'Get up bum,' and things like that and it's mainly they use it like a psychological embarrassment-type deal," said Mastriani. He also said he can cut a consumer's credit balance in half and cut out the interest rate completely, but how?

Consumers have to know how to work the system.

"There's an evolution in respect to the credit card debt, there's the nice people that call and say, 'Oh, did you miss a payment? Give me a call,' then there's the internal collection group that actually works for the particular credit card company, then there's the external collection group which are usually the bullies and then it's turned over to law firms," said Mastriani.

The key to Mastriani's success is knowing how the banks operate.

Credit card companies are increasing interest rates with one month's notice. In turn, they will bump up a consumer's minimum payment due and they are cutting credit lines in half, in hopes that consumers will charge their accounts over your limit so the company will collect a fee.

On the Web:

Mastriani Law Firm, PC Texas Debt Reduction Lawyers -- http://www.texasdebtdefense.com/