The provision, generally buried in the fine print of your credit card agreement, basically says that if you are more than 30 days late on any payment to anyone, the interest rate on your credit card could shoot up. As a result of this, other credit cards will raise your interest rate and your credit point score will be damaged.

The problem has reached an all-time high, say consumer credit experts.

"Universal default complaints are definitely on the increase -- at a disturbing rate," says Paul Richard, executive director of the San Diego-based non-profit Institute of Consumer Financial Education. "More than one-third of major credit card issuers now say they act on these clauses regularly." A recent survey found that a staggering 39 percent of credit card issuers said they apply the rule to customers, even if they had no late payments on their own card.

But, Richard adds, many consumers are still unaware of the dangers because they either don't read or don't understand the credit card agreement.

One false move could be fatal Gerri Detweiler, author of "The Ultimate Credit Handbook", says, "These default clauses are getting scarier by the minute. If a credit card offer includes a universal default clause, you need to know what you're being set up for. If you're one day late on any payment to any creditor, you could be subject to a default rate as high as 29.99 percent on many others."

Kelly Rote, communications manager for credit counselor Money Management International, says, "We continually caution consumers to always thoroughly research the terms of an agreement, particularly those with default clauses and those offering zero percent financing. Unfortunately, many of these are not widely understood and could steer people into financial chaos."

It doesn't necessarily take being late on big-ticket items such as a car or a mortgage payment to trigger the default clause, Richard explains. "It could be for something as innocuous as an overlooked $30 phone bill or a forgotten $20 book club subscription."

Powerless to do anything about it Scott Bilker, financial guru and author of "Talk Your Way Out Of Credit Card Debt," says, "It's one of those new ironclad rules that does not allow much leeway for talking or negotiation. They periodically check your credit file and if you're late paying any other bills, not just theirs, they slam you. Low interest rates enjoyed at the beginning of a credit relationship could, in many cases, double or triple."

Some credit card companies review your credit report monthly, some quarterly and some yearly and some never do. Customers who have made late payments in the past get reviewed more often than those who always pay on time.

"ICFE receives calls at an increasing rate everyday from distressed consumers complaining the interest rates on their credit cards have shot up -- without explanation or advance notice," says Richard.

It will also lower your all-important credit score.

Preventing this from happening is relatively simple, but fixing it so it won't happen again is another story.

Don't let it happen to you  You can head off any problems simply by meeting all your monthly obligations not just on time, but at least a week or more ahead of the payment due date. Some counselors advise getting into the habit of paying bills when you receive them.

Fixing the problem to prevent it from recurring is not so easy. Once a negative hits a credit report, the damage is done.

To get it removed, a consumer must convince the creditor the problems lies elsewhere and that the consumer is not at fault for a payment being recorded as late. Usually consumers lose this argument, unless they send their payments certified mail and can actually track the date of receipt.

"Without any sort of proof your payments were delivered on time to the creditor, consumers will be paying higher interest rates and other fees, perhaps for years to come," cautions Richard, who advises consumers experiencing difficulty to seek help from ICFE online.

Detweiler offers several tips on how you can avoid disaster:

• If you have a fairly large credit balance, make sure it's at a low fixed rate -- with no universal default risk tucked away in the fine print.
• Monitor your accounts carefully and examine each bill when it arrives to check its due date.
• If you decide to dispute a bill, act promptly to work it out with the lender. Don't wait until your account is sent to a collection agency.
• Keep accurate lists of your credit cards, balances, limits, interest rate and payment due dates.
• Contact the credit card company and ask to have your due date changed so that it falls at a convenient time of the month.
• Consider paying bills when they arrive instead of when due.
• Consider paying your bills automatically and electronically each month, either by computer or through a banking arrangement. [But watch out for hidden fees that can cause low interest rates to soar]

That's why you should always shop for your credit the way you shop for any major purchase:

• Research all your options.
• Weigh the costs and benefits.
• Read all of the fine print. Never forget that when you sign up for a credit card, you are entering a legally binding agreement.

By Bill Burt, Bankrate.com, Jan 20, 2004

ACCESS Comments: We believe that this practice is predatory.  An easy way to check on the card issuer is to see if they are a "Delaware" Corporation.  Just look for the word "Delaware" somewhere in the card agreement.  If it is there - throw it away.  Delaware is an easy state to get incorporated in and the state has NO Usery laws - meaning they can run your interest rate up as high as they want.

To show you how bad these default sections have become, below is the default for HouseHold Bank:

You will be in default under this Agreement upon: (a) your failure to make at least the Total Minimum Payment Due when due; (b) your violation of any other provision of this Agreement; (c) your death; (d) your becoming the subject of bankruptcy, or insolvency proceedings; (e) your becoming the subject of attachment, foreclosure, repossession, lien, judgment or garnishment proceedings; (f) your supplying us with midleading, false, incomplete or incorrect information; (g) our receipt of information that you are unable or unwilling to perform the terms or conditions of this Agreement; (h) your failure to supply us with any information we reasonably deem necessary; (i) our receipt of information from third parties, including credit reporting agencies, which indicates a delinquency or charge-off with other creditors; (j) your default under any other loan or agreement you have with us or any of our affiliates; (k) you moving out of the U.S. or providing us with a non-US mailing address; (l) your becoming incompetent; (m) your exceeding your credit limit; (n) your payment check being returned unpaid by your bank for any reason; (o) any credit card check being returned unpaid by us; or (p) your being in default under any other agreement or security agreement you have with us or with one of our affiliates.

Now that is a default agreement!

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