You've probably already seen that the government has launched a new consultation on credit and store cards and has announced proprosals to ensure banks and building societies give consumers a fairer deal.

The main areas of focus are:

Allocation of payments - if you use your credit card to transfer a balance on to and for spending, you may well be charged a different rate of interest for each balance. And in most cases the card provider will use your monthly payment towards clearing the cheapest debt first. This leaves you accruing interest at the highest rate. This is known as the negative payment hierarchy and the government wants providers to change to a positive hierarchy so the most expensive debt is cleared first.

Minimum repayment levels - the minimum amount many card providers require you to pay off your balance each month can be as little as 2%. But if you do this it can literally take you decades to clear your debt and cost you thousands of pounds in interest. The government therefore wants minimum repayments increased.

Unsolicited credit increases - sometimes your credit limit can be increased without you asking for it. The government wants this stopped and is considering banning the practice.

Re-pricing existing debts - interest rates on credit cards are vairable but there are concerns that in some instances interest rates are being increased without proper explanation. The government wants this investigated and may restrict the way firms can increase the interest charged on existing debt.

So what's your view on all of this? Do you think credit card providers should be forced to clean up their act? Maybe you've been caught out by negative payment hierarchy or have seen the rate of interest charged by your credit card provider increase substantially. Let us know your thoughts. You can find out more about the consultation process a www.bis.gov.uk/creditconsultation. Also, representatives from the Department for Bunsiness, Innovation and Skills will be coming onto this forum throughout the day to answer your questions. So, let's get the discussion started....