Debt Advisor Calls For Disclaimers in Credit Card Advertisements

Credit card advertisements are sending the wrong message to the American consumer, says True Debt Advisor. Like tobacco and alcohol advertisements, standards of disclaimers for credit card advertisements must be enacted to help relieve the American debt burden.

Tallahassee, FL (PRWEB) May 22, 2008 -- Sparked by the latest credit card television advertisement, the True Debt Advisor is calling for new regulations to warn people of credit card side effects.

In most any credit card advertisements on television, radio, magazines, etc, the ads will show ordinary people, living an extraordinary life. The message is clear, just use their powerful plastic card, and have it all. Forget what you can really afford, just live the good life.

The latest credit card television commercial that is currently being broadcast is a prime example of the wrong message. A young couple's television finally dies out. The wife tells her husband that it is all right to go get that new TV set. The excited husband heads down to the electronics shop, credit card in hand. In the background, the music screams "I Want it All, and I Want it Now".

The premise for this ad is the new credit card feature where a cardholder can immediately get their available balance via an instant text message on your cell phone.

The underlying message here is "The heck with what you can actually afford. As long as you have the available credit balance, go ahead and use it."

It is time the government establish advertising standards for the credit card industry as they have for the pharmaceutical companies. Consumers must be warned of the side effects of using credit cards and increasing their balances.

A disclaimer of the side effects could include the fact that the big purchase or dream vacation still must be paid for. It sounds simple and obvious, but too many consumers apparently don't see the relationship between using their card and paying for their merchandise.

Other disclaimers should warn that the cost of a purchase could double due to accrued interest. The viewer should also be warned that the card's interest rate may increase as your balance grows towards the credit limit. An excuse credit card companies constantly use for raising rates.

This is the cycle for financial disaster that too many consumers have fallen into. This is exactly where the credit card companies want us; in the never ending cycle of debt.

When any other type of financing is used for any purchase, the borrower is aware of exactly the terms and conditions of the purchase. With credit card purchases, we are clueless as to the actual cost of an item because the credit card companies change the rules and interest rates at their discretion. This needs to be disclosed in their advertisements. When people begin to realize that they really have no idea what that big purchase is really costing them, maybe then we will think twice before proceeding with that "I want it now" purchase.

Jim Vrana of The True Debt Advisor (http://www.TrueDebtAdvisor.com) states, "It is true that we must take responsibility for our own actions and think before we pull out that plastic card. We must also however demand that the credit card advertisements stop sending a message of prosperity by simply using their cards. The bank should be required to give us full disclosure on the effects of using their credit cards."

Vrana adds, "To truly help the American consumer alleviate their debt burden, congress should be called upon to force credit card companies to include disclaimers into their advertisements."

Billed as The True Debt Advisor (http://www.TrueDebtAdvisor.com), Jim Vrana's mission is to educate and empower people to overcome their financial challenges. The time-tested legal procedures used to eliminate credit card debt have been used by thousands of people with tremendous success.

Contact:
Jim Vrana,
(800) 637-1785
http://www.TrueDebtAdvisor.com

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