Creditnet News Story
Credit card offers to college students under investigation
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
By Sam Lee
New provisions of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act contain measures designed to prevent people under the age of 21 from obtaining credit card accounts they can't afford. But that hasn't deterred some lenders, a new investigation by the state of New York alleges.
According to a report from Bloomberg, attorney general Andrew Cuomo will begin looking into how credit card companies market their products to college students. His office has sent letters to every college and university in the state asking that they submit any exclusive contracts they have with credit and debit card companies. Specifically, Cuomo wants to know whether colleges have sold personal contact information for its students to lenders.
"Today's students are facing a growing mountain of debt that can burden them long after graduation," Cuomo said in the statement. "As the new school year begins, we want to make sure that colleges and universities are doing all that they can to help students avoid financial dangers."
The average college student now graduates with a number of credit cards in their name and several thousand dollars worth of debt.
| 
Subscribe | |
