The Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation (TPAF) has criticized the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for their new regulation that caps credit card late fees for American consumers. TPAF argues this hurts the economy and the majority of Americans in the long run.
The CFPB announced their decision to make an $8 maximum fee for late payments on all credit cards on March 5. The typical late fee for a late credit card payment was previously $32. The CFPB claimed that this would mean an “average savings of $220 per year for the more than 45 million people who are charged late fees.”
TPAF commented on the change, with President David Williams saying “the CFPB is exceeding its statutory authority by issuing this rule, and it should be swiftly declared unconstitutional by a court.”
“First, 82 percent of credit card consumers pay their bills on time,” Williams explained in the press release. “This rule will force consumers who pay on time to subsidize the irresponsible behavior of the 18 percent of consumers who are late. Second, as with other efforts to impose price controls on debit cards, fees will be hiked and access to credit will be tightened in response.”
Washington D.C. based Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation is a non-profit organization that advocates for government transparency through “educating the public through research, investigative reporting, and analysis about the effects of excessive taxation and spending by all levels of government,” according to its website. Founded in 2011, its current president is David Williams.
