Posted by Rex Dixon :: June 8, 2007 @ 7:00 am

Credit Card Issuers purposely use poor organization and formatting to make their Terms and Conditions difficult to understand. Don’t believe us? Remember that GAO study (see pages 36 to 51) that we had talked about previously, they had a usability expert evaluate the Terms and Conditions and guess what he found:

• Related information was not grouped together so it was difficult to get a complete picture
• Small font type and poor choice decreased readability
• Improper use of bolding and highlighting emphasized unimportant terms
• Excessive complexity and volume of information made it difficult to get a big picture

Why would issuers do the above? “Consumer confusion indicated that disclosures were not communicating credit card cost information clearly.”

Fine print is used all over the world when money is involved. It doesn’t matter if you are purchasing a washer/dryer, applying for a credit card, or buying a car. You possibly only give it a hasty read like most people do, and you end up paying the consequences.

Lending Club does not operate with small print. Our Rates and Fees are located easily. They are clear and composed in normal font size. Lending Club does this because we believe it to be the correct approach.

We will be sincere about every phase of our company’s growth, change, and hi-tech advancement. We have nothing to conceal, and encourage everyone to understand our pricing and benefit. If there is something that is not clear, we welcome the feedback so we can update the document. Working together to build this community is what we believe in.

Better rates. Together.