First, it is possible that consumers may find that they are being slammed with an assortment of charges and new fees. This is because creditors have already been implementing new fees aggressively or raising ones that already existed to try to make up for any revenue that could be potential lost as a result of the CARD Act.

Some types of these fees are Discover’s new 2% fee on all purchases made outside of the United States of America, and an increase from 3% to 5% fee for rolling over a balance from one credit card to another.Because there are no restrictions on the types of fees creditors can implement, cardholders should pay extra close attention to the “Terms and Conditions” section of their statement so they know what exactly they are being charged for.

Also, credit will be harder to come by. The amount of credit that was available to consumers by card companies decreased to about 7% between March and September of last year. And it will only tighten further. According to the CARD Act, creditors are going to be very restricted in their marketing schemes that cater to college students, which will potentially cut down on an important part of their business.

So, consumers with a mediocre or bad credit history will find that it is much more difficult to obtain a card or have their credit limit extended.

Fewer rewards are also expected. Issuers are becoming more cheap with their benefits in an attempt to save money. For example, American Express recently told its consumers that they would not be able to accumulate reward points on their purchases if they were late with a payment. To avoid missing out, analysts caution that cardholders should carefully read any notices they get from their credit card company about changes to their rewards or loyalty program.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a nation wide collection agency .

The point is that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is applicable to debt collectors, and only debt collectors. Consider Morency v. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corp, a district court case in Illinois from 1999. In an attempt to collect debt, a hospital mailed out pre-collection notices, which is a no-no for third party collectors. But the court ruled that the hospital was only a creditor, not a collection agency, so the FDCPA did not apply to it.

Courts take many factors into consideration to figure out whether the creditor should be deemed the actual debt collector. A collection agency’s participation in the actual debt collection would have to be minute. Is the collection agency a mere mailing service? Do the letters state if the debtor does not pay the debt will be referred for collection? Is the collection agency paid only for sending letters, rather than commission?

If the collection agency does not receive any payments or forward any payments to the creditor, that is suspicious. If a debtor fails to respond to the letter and the collection agency has no further contact with the debtor, or if it does not get the files of the debtors, they probably aren’t going to be considered debt collection agencies.

The lesson is that it is important that you know who you are paying your money to. It’s always wise to be vigilant when it comes to your finances.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection agency. Also, she does stories on consumer spending, business and finance, and debt collection.