Every year it seems that more and more of my college friends are entering deeper into debt. I’ve done my best to limit my credit card debt to around just under $300 total on both of my credit cards. Some of my friends have debt nearing $8,000 on their cards and they keep on charging for things they cannot afford. However, it seems that no one seems to know about a little clause known as the Universal Default Clause

This clause basically does the following:

• If you default on a payment on any of your credit cards, your interest rate could go up
• The interest rate could go up for late payments, exceeding your credit limit, bouncing your checking account, excessive debt, getting a new credit card, applying for a car loan, and applying for a mortgage loan
• Gives the credit card company the right to continually run credit checks on you without your explicit authorization every time.

I am surprised to learn that this practice is not exactly illegal. In fact, when most of us signed up for these credit cards, we inadvertently agreed to these terms. Luckily for me, Capital One does not engage in such practices.