Bmo Mosaik Mastercard Cardholder Agreement - Business Law

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In the last section of the paper, clauses that I believe are unfair and that put the cardholder at a disadvantage are identified. Moreover, I explain how they are unfair to the cardholder and draft new provisions to create more equality amongst the contractual parties.

Methodology:

In order to make this paper more proficient, the method in which I gathered all of my data and the analysis of this data must be identified. Moreover, I will discuss the entire research process along with how I was able to put together the term paper.

To begin, since I have my own personal MasterCard, I was able to find the cardholder agreement that, I, myself did not even read when I obtained my MasterCard. Therefore, the first thing that I did was read each individual clause and attempt to understand the meaning of each one. Once I read them, I then realized how much the card issuer uses the contract terms and conditions to its advantage and also uses it to protect itself legally. Therefore, I established that there was unequal bargaining power in the contractual relationship, giving the card issuer more power than the cardholder. When I was done reading the agreement, I thoroughly explained each individual clause as required in the term paper outline. Also, during this process, I was able to expand my knowledge of credit card agreements through the ‘Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’ website.

Once I had finished explaining each clause, I possessed a good grasp of the terms and conditions in the contract. In addition, I also maintained very meticulous class notes, which better enabled me to link the credit card contract to legal business principles. Therefore, I went through all of my notes and highlighted all of the information and concepts that was pertinent to the credit card contract. Once I had chosen the most significant concepts in my notes, I then expanded my knowledge by reading detailed content relating to those concepts from the “Canadian Business and the Law” textbook. Once I had a thorough understanding of the legal principles, I was able to efficiently write the legal principle section of the paper.

Once I completed this section of the paper, my acquired credit card contract knowledge led me to recommend different methods that are directed toward the cardholder in order to maintain a good contractual relationship with the card issuer. Also, I recommend specific methods for the cardholder to manage their debt, with the intention of avoiding the accumulation of interest; hence, once a cardholder begins to make only the minimum payments, interest is applied to his/her account his/her debt will essentially keep increasing.

Additionally, after analyzing each individual contract clause, I was able to make note of a few particular clauses, which I thought were unfair to the cardholder. Once, I had made note of these clauses, I was able to draft new provisions for the clauses in order for them to further benefit the cardholder.

Upon completion of those parts of the term paper, I contained enough content written to write my executive summary and my introduction.

Credit Card Contract Clauses:

In the “BMO Mosaik MasterCard Cardholder Agreement”, there are twenty- five clauses that the cardholder is responsible for understanding and obeying. This agreement is binding; therefore, all clauses are enforceable in the court of law. In this particular agreement, “you” and “your” relate to the primary cardholder and “we”, “our” and “us” relate to the Bank of Montreal. Furthermore, each clause will be comprehensively explained in the paragraphs to follow.

The first clause in the agreement pertains to CARD AND CHEQUE OWNERSHIP, stating that the card and cheques that are given to the cardholder belong to the Bank of Montreal and cannot be transferred to anyone else. Consequently, Bank of Montreal holds the right to take back the card and/or cheques at anytime during the contractual period. Also, the credit card holder is the only person allowed to use his/ her card and cheques.

The second clause pertains to CARD AND CHEQUE USE, stating that the cardholder has the right to make purchases or obtain cash advances with his/ her card or by writing a cheque. Moreover, since this right is given to the cardholder, the Bank of Montreal has the right to charge the cardholder’s account with the amount of any purchase and/ or cash advance. Despite the fact that the cardholder is allowed to get a cash advance with his/her card and/or cheques, he /she is not allowed to obtain a cash advance from a merchant. Also, if the cardholder makes a purchase or obtains a cash advance without physically using the credit card and only using their card number, the purchase or cash advance will be treated and applied to the cardholder’s account with the same conditions if the cardholder were to physically use their card or sign a cash advance slip. The cardholder must also sign the back of their card as soon as it is received to prevent identity theft and/ or fraud. The cardholder is not permitted to use his/her card after the expiry date shown on the card. Therefore, the cardholder is allowed to use his/her card as allowed in the agreement. Furthermore, the Bank of Montreal contains the right to monitor a cardholder’s transactions in case of any unusual activity.

The third clause pertains to CREDIT LIMIT, stating that regardless of how many cards that are issued on a cardholder’s account, the total credit limit does not change. Cardholders may think that if they acquire more than one card associated with the same account that their credit limit will be increased; hence, this is not the case. Also, a cardholder may not exceed their credit limit unless the Bank of Montreal grants it. Therefore, a cardholder may apply to get a credit increase and is only possible if granted by Bank of Montreal. Furthermore, the Bank of Montreal contains the right to increase or decrease a cardholder’s credit limit at any time without giving any notification.

The fourth clause pertains to FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS, stating that if the cardholder’s MasterCard account is expensed in Canadian dollars, the Bank of Montreal will convert any transaction made in a foreign currency to Canadian dollars using a MasterCard conversion rate that is in effect on the day of the transaction. In this case, the MasterCard conversion rate is the rate that the Bank of Montreal pays to MasterCard International Inc. plus a markup percentage shown on the card carrier added by Bank of Montreal. This markup percentage is essentially added in order for the Bank of Montreal to get credit for converting the