Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

of course the state has a usury law. that is rather inane to ask. i have not seen your statement but your question is also not right. you have a credit card balance consisting of principal of the things you charged plus interest. if you do not pay on time there is a late fee. if you make a payment but do not pay enough to cover the interest, late fee and principal, then your new balance is going to be a certain amount which includes the principal and whatever was left unpaid from before. interest will be calculated on new balance. if you do not pay again, then another late fee will be added.

read your credit card agreement. if you do not havce it then many companies have them online. they explain in the mice type how the interest and balance is calculated. i seriously doubt that your credit card company is doing something illegal. the real problem here is you cannot pay even the minimum amount. but if you believe the credit card company is overcharging you at usurious rates then talk to the PA Department of Banking.

The only creditors I know of who violate the law in this regard are payday lenders who are not licensed and registered in PA. Credit card companies (Capital One, Chase, Citi and the like) are not subject to usury laws and can charge whatever they want in interest. Also, when your payment is late, they usually apply a default interest rate of 29% or 35% rather than the usual rate.