(Columbus)-Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray said he will barnstorm the state over the next 75 days to encourage consumers to comment in favor of proposed rules that would end some of the worst “gotcha” practices by credit card agencies and banks.

Last Friday the three federal agencies that supervise financial services companies-the National Credit Union Administration, Federal Reserve Board and Office of Thrift Supervision-proposed rules that would prohibit some of the worst practices associated with consumer credit.

Proposed changes include ending:

• unfair time constraints for consumers to make payments;
• unfair allocation of payments among balances with different interest rates;
• unfair application of increased annual percentage rates to outstanding balances;
• unfair fees for exceeding the credit limit solely because of a hold placed on an account;
• unfair balance computation method;
• unfair financing of security deposits and fees for issuance or availability of credit; and
• deceptive firm offers of credit.

The public comment period for proposals aimed at addressing unfair and deceptive practices is 75 days and disclosure proposals for overdraft fees for consumers is 60 days, according to guidelines published in the Federal Register.

“Even as Ohioans are paying closer attention to their wallets, chances are good that they are being pick-pocketed through questionable practices used with impunity by many financial services corporations,” Cordray said. “This so-called “gotcha capitalism” is hitting families where it hurts. It ruins credit scores. It adds thousands of dollars a year to a family’s expenses. It produces no benefit to the economy or society. It’s greedy and should end. I hope Ohioans will join me in making their voices and experiences heard loud and clear in Washington D.C. and stop these unfair practices.”

Cordray said that citizens could go to the Treasury’s personal finance web site, www.yourmoneynowonline.org for information how to submit your comments directly, or that he would forward comments received by his office to the appropriate agencies. The Treasurer’s email address is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .