Antitrust and Consumer Protection Law Discussion 1

I believe that the banks are not acting in a responsible fashion with their solicitation of consumers for credit cards and credit card lines. As mentioned in the article, the banks are advertising "promotions of credit card and debt to increase limits" in an attempt to gather additional consumers. I think by advertising these credit cards to college and high school students, and then providing them with higher credit limits and promotions, the banks are aiming to increase the number of irresponsible spenders in today's society to make money.

What responsibility do consumers have with regard to credit card debt? Consumers are held completely liable for credit card debt they have incurred. The consumer had the choice to use or not use the card and should be held responsible for the actual use. What disclosure rules apply in banks' solicitations of credit card customers? In banks' solicitation of credit card customers, the disclosures required sent out to the customer must have the following information: (i) what interest charge and APR for the charges on the credit card, (ii) when the bills will be sent, (iii) what to do about questions on the bills, and (iv) when payments are due. In addition to the aforementioned, the bank's solicitation must provide a disclosure of all terms if any part of the credit agreement is mentioned in an advertisement. What should the banks do to influence legislation? To influence legislation Banks have spent lots of money lobbing Congress for rules more favorable to them. Per the Administrative Procedures Act, Banks can also provide their side and opinion with public comments during the rule making process to influence legislation. Question #2: Look at Problem 16-8 found on page 561 of your eBook. We will begin our discussion this week by working through this "bread" problem to help us understand "per se" violations and how they affect how anti-trust suits are brought and proven. To get started, let's answer the following questions