The Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act of 2007 may be some of the best news consumers have had in a long time.

Introduced by Senators Carl Levin and Claire McCaskill, the bill would put legislation in place to halt the most abusive practices of credit card lenders, some of which actually prevent a consumer from ever paying off the debt. The legislation could save consumers millions of dollars in unfair penalties, fees and interest.

If a credit card holder pays off a portion of the debt during a grace period, the bill would prevent the lender from charging interest on the paid-off portion of the charges. It also restricts the charging of repeated over-limit fees for a single instance of exceeding the credit card’s limit. Additionally, lenders would be prohibited from charging interest on over-limit and late fees.

As to penalty rates on interest, those that are incurred by late payments, there is a cap that prohibits lenders from raising the interest rate by more than 7 points, eliminating double and triple interest rate hikes that could be charged after only one late payment.

Read the provisions of the proposed bill:

Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act of 2007

If you have lost your credit card or fear it may have been stolen, notify the issuer of the card as soon as possible. Under US law, once you have notified the credit card company that your card is lost or stolen, you are not responsible for unauthorized charges. Your liability for charges on a lost or stolen card is limited by law to $50.

Although many people are aware of this, still unscrupulous scamsters may try to sell you credit card loss insurance protection. Using telemarketing schemes to sell worthless insurance, these scamsters can cost consumers dollars to protect what is already protected by law. Often they will tell people that the law has changed, and they are now responsible for all unauthorized charges.

The best defense you have against scam artists is knowledge. When you hear someone telling you something that doesn’t agree with what you know, be on your guard. Read your credit card agreement and know the terms of your account and procedures for dealing disputed charges. List your phone number on the National Do-Not-Call Registry. Remember, never give out your account number, social security number or any other personal information over the phone unless you are sure of the business that you are dealing with.

Christmas morning will be a flurry of fancy wrapping, bows and ribbons flying, a symphony of “oooh”s and “aaahh”s, a festival of feel-good gift exchanging, a surfeit of festivities.

Then comes the sobering chill of January. No, I don’t mean the weather. I mean the bills. Suddenly the true cost of all this merry-making will start to arrive in the form of credit card bills and disappointingly low balances on checking account statements. Is it already too late?

It’s never too late to turn over a new leaf when it comes to your attitude towards finances, although at this time of year it may be more out of necessity than good planning.

If you haven’t made that budget with us yet, now is the time to do it. Finding the funds to pay off this extra debt may seem impossible, but if you are serious about repaying your holiday debt, you can do it.

Start with a few New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Make a budget and stick to it

2. Place a moratorium on your credit card spending, if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it

3. Be consistent about making payments towards credit card debt. If you are in over your head, contact creditors to make payment arrangements that could save your credit standing. Generally, it is best to pay off the highest interest debt first.

4. Start saving on luxury expenses you can do without. It may mean small sacrifices such as going without those morning coffee shop stops or making your lunch instead of eating out. Modify your cable TV choices - give up those premium channels and look into renting movies (or borrow them - even cheaper).

I’ve talked a lot about credit card offers, disclosure statements and the importance of reading the fine print. I don’t want to belabor the point, but I received something in the mail today that was just too good not to share.

When I opened the envelope, the first words to greet my eyes were “You are Pre-Approved*” . It took me a few moments to track down the asterisk but when I did, the little footnote said pretty much what I expected it to. I am pre-approved, to receive this application - not a credit card.

The card offers a 9.9% APR for purchases. Doesn’t look too bad, but then I checked out the rest of the disclosure statement. As expected there are transaction fees for cash advances and a higher interest rate. That’s not a problem, still a pretty good deal.

But some of the other fees are pure genius.

Let’s say I am an exemplary customer, always staying within my limit and paying on time. The credit card company thinks I deserve a reward for my responsible account management. If the credit card company reviews my account and decides I rate a limit increase, they will charge me $25. This is not for increases I request, this is for increases made at their discretion. Internet access to my account will be $3.95. There is a copying fee of $3.00, although I am not sure what it is I asked them to copy. There is a penalty APR if I am late with a payment - my 9.9% goes to 19.9% for purchases.

There is an Account Set Up fee of $29.00, a Program Fee of $95.00, the Annual Fee of $48.00, a Participation Fee of $72.00 and if I want an additional card sent to me, there is another $20.00. If I am accepted, all of these fees will be charged to my card upon issuance.

For this “Platinum” card, the initial credit limit will be at least $250.00. Now, say I were to qualify for only the minimum credit limit. When they issue my card they will apply all the above fees. This leaves me with $52 credit available on my new credit card and I am paying 9.9% on nothing but card fees. If I want to use the card to purchase anything I will need a higher credit limit.

At $25 per increase, I hope they never give me one.