House Seeks To Regulate College Credit Card Offers

The House voted 143 to 0 Thursday in favor of a bill which would regulate the marketing and solicitation practices of credit card companies on college campuses.

The bill prohibits credit card companies from soliciting undergraduate students during class registration periods and bans the use of gifts and other marketing incentives such as t-shirts or calculators. The bill will not apply to private colleges.

Rep. Roberta Willis, D-Lakeville, said in 2008 84 percent of college students had at least one credit card and half had more than four credit cards. She said she hopes this bill will create some awareness of the issue.

“Because college students are generally new to managing debt obligations, spending can easily get out of hand and cause serious future credit rating problems,” Rep. Ryan Barry, D-Manchester, said.