Is Congress serious about changing the way credit card companies treat their customers? Lawmakers held a hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday, but credit cardholders didn't get to have their say.

Consumer groups have long complained that credit card companies hit consumers with unfair fees and unwarranted interest rate hikes.

The Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights is designed to change the rules of the game and eliminate what many consider to be unfair practices.

Angry consumers shared their stories with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday, but they were not able to testify before Congress. So they spoke to reporters instead.

If you have a credit card, there's a good chance you've been hit with a fee or rate hike.

Susie Wones saw her rate jump from 7.9 to 24 percent.

"They never denied I'd never been late on a payment. I never missed a payment. I paid the minimum that they required," said Susie Wones of Denver.

And this is not an isolated case.

"My interest shot from 12.99 to 31.4 (percent)," said Christy Mylar-Smith from Niagara Falls, New York.

"That payment of $130 went from $130 to $257, to now $347," said Marvin Weatherspoon from Chicago.

Lawmakers held a hearing on the proposed Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights. But these consumers never got to testify.

The proposed bill would protect consumers from arbitrary rate increases and excessive fees. Holding up a stack of credit card offers, Congressman Gary Ackerman said the way things are now, it is virtually impossible to decipher the fine print.

"If you look at the confusion that these things have, it's absolutely astonishing," he said.

Representatives for credit card companies had a chance to testify, and said by basing rates on an individual's risk profile, they've been able to extend credit to more consumers. The proposed bill, they said, would jeopardize that.

" You will indeed see two things happen -- an increased cost of credit and reduced access to credit to those people who need it most," said Carter Franke, marketing executive with JP Morgan Chase.

The Federal Reserve is also looking at industry practices and reviewing regulations that govern the credit card issuers. The fed is expected to impose new rules later this years.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, wrote the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights. She was hoping to hear from these consumers. But she says some Republicans on the committee and the credit card companies didn't want that to happen.

"They raised fairness concerns about having consumers testify without signing a waiver that would have allowed to let their credit card issuers respond publicly," she said.

I asked Congresswoman Maloney if something like this had ever happened before at another Congressional hearing.

"Never, I have never experienced anything like this," she said.

Representative Maloney says consumers deserve to have their voices heard on this issue. She hopes they can testify at a second hearing in April.

"We know that there are many reports of abuse in the credit card field and it's important that we try to level the playing field between the credit card companies and the cardholders.

"Right now the credit card companies get to make all the decisions and that's not a fair contract. What we want to do is level the playing field and let consumers have some voice about their credit," said Maloney.

More Information:

One-page summary of the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights