New lending laws 'could mean difficulties getting credit cards'

New lending laws could spell trouble for people applying for credit cards in the future, one industry expert has said.

It could soon be harder to be successful in applying for a credit card when new lending laws come in on July 1st.

This is according to Nick Gardner, writing for the Sunday Telegraph, as the new rules will enable banks and brokers to be able to assess what people are buying and where they are spending their money.

The National Consumer Credit Protection Act will be applicable to people who have credit cards, mortgages or personal loans.

However, some banks have already begun questioning this, Mr Gardner said, because they require more bank statements with Aussie credit applications and are asking some why they are withdrawing so much money.

He added: "Lenders will also have greater insight into our spending habits from next year with new legislation on credit scoring.

"This will allow banks to see debt repayment histories on credit cards, personal loans and mortgages, penalising those who have been late making repayments by just one day."

And Dean Rushton, chief executive of broker Loan Market Group, believes applying for a mortgage is much harder than it used to be, because people do not just have to prove they are not in debt anymore.

But some individuals might be penalised for spending a lot of cash at a casino or TAB, which will be apparent on their bank statement – there will be no hiding from the truth.

So it could be very difficult for the organisations to give credit to someone after they have noticed that the person in question has a gambling habit, Mr Rushton remarked.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon, writing for Business Day, noted earlier this month that banks with bad credit card practices designed to "slug" people – such as having to pay interest on top of interest or paying a high mortgage interest rate - is our own fault.

By Joe Letts