Universal Default Clause and credit card users
Most of the credit card issuers are using Universal Default Clause in the terms of service that consumer agree to obey while applying for a new card. Universal default clause is included in the fineprint of the agreement. Unfortunately maximum credit card users ignore this part and remain in darkness.
This clause enables credit card companies to change the terms if the user fails to pay bills on time to any of his creditors. Say you have two credit cards:-
- with ABC Credit Card Company
- with XYZ Credit Card Company
Now if you miss a payment to XYZ Company; ABC Company identifies you as a risky consumer and increases the rate of interest for you. I have asked few people if they knew about this and I realized that people rarely care about what is there in the agreement paper.
Credit Card Companies check consumers’ credit report on a regular basis – monthly, quarterly or yearly and adjust interest rate accordingly. So the company charging less interest might turn up as extremely costly any day.




