Truth in lending: Finding out about that 703% APR

Updated

It's the latest credit card nightmare, but unfortunately, we aren't dreaming. If you've received a credit card statement that says your actual APR is 703% or some other ungodly number, it's true.

Thanks to the new truth in lending laws that stem from the Credit CARD Act of 2009 that was passed last year and goes into effect on February 22, credit card companies are going to have to truthfully spell out the charges they inflict -- and the damage we do to our bottom lines -- when we use our credit cards.

Recently, CBS MoneyWatch columnist Kathy Kristof sounded the clarion call when she noted that she had received her Macy's store credit card statement and, there it was in print, the information that her annual percentage rate is a whopping 703.80%!

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