Many Americans have nobody but themselves to blame for their credit-card misery. But others who play by the rules and make their payments on time still get dinged with unexpected fees and interest-rate increases by credit-card issuers.
Because some extra costs are buried in the fine print, consumers might be caught by surprise by these charges.
Proposed federal regulations should help. If approved after a 75-day public-comment period, the rules will go into effect at the end of the year.
The plan is intended to set "a new base line for fairness," according to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke.
