Credit card rates

[Fat Richie]

According to the BBC News website, the outstanding balance owed on credit cards in Britain stands at £53bn.

The gubberment is "planning a crackdown on the credit card industry to curb the temptation to get into debt" - as usual for this shower a tad late!

According to the article: "legislation will be introduced to stop card firms from raising the credit limit of a customer when this has not been requested. Ministers also want to ban firms from sending out unsolicited credit card cheques to consumers".

Would they not be better hammering the banks to bring down the ridiculous interest rates that these cards charge (eg: Mint, 1.94% monthly on purchases - crap with maths but that's around 16%+ pa?), particularly considering how low base rate is?

What does the panel think?

Full article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7947424.stm

[Simpo Two]

But don't the banks have to keep creaming it in to pay back the Govt the money they borrowed?

(I quite like the idea of the Govt sending a bill to a credit card company - wait until they pay a day late and get hammered for £4M interest!)

[Nolar Dog]

Listening on the radio today and someone said they had received a credit card application form through the post today...

APR 46.6%. Nice.

[RobDickinson]

Government need to get a grip on the banking regs to stop them from screwing the world ecconomy again, I dont see any controlls to prevent what happened happening again yet.

[Simpo Two]

I remember suggesting a couple of years ago that credit should be banned. If people waited and saved for stuff, the problem would vanish.

[Nickyboy]

Fat Richie said:

According to the BBC News website, the outstanding balance owed on credit cards in Britain stands at £53bn.

The gubberment is "planning a crackdown on the credit card industry to curb the temptation to get into debt" - as usual for this shower a tad late!

According to the article: "legislation will be introduced to stop card firms from raising the credit limit of a customer when this has not been requested. Ministers also want to ban firms from sending out unsolicited credit card cheques to consumers".

Would they not be better hammering the banks to bring down the ridiculous interest rates that these cards charge (eg: Mint, 1.94% monthly on purchases - crap with maths but that's around 16%+ pa?), particularly considering how low base rate is?

What does the panel think?

Full article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7947424.stm

Try MBNA and their associated cards, mine is 2.04% per month or 24% a year!!

Got a deal from Halifax and transferred the balance for 3.4% apr for the life of the balance. 5% cheaper then a loan i was considering.

[Fat Richie]

Nickyboy said:

Fat Richie said:

According to the BBC News website, the outstanding balance owed on credit cards in Britain stands at £53bn.

The gubberment is "planning a crackdown on the credit card industry to curb the temptation to get into debt" - as usual for this shower a tad late!

According to the article: "legislation will be introduced to stop card firms from raising the credit limit of a customer when this has not been requested. Ministers also want to ban firms from sending out unsolicited credit card cheques to consumers".

Would they not be better hammering the banks to bring down the ridiculous interest rates that these cards charge (eg: Mint, 1.94% monthly on purchases - crap with maths but that's around 16%+ pa?), particularly considering how low base rate is?

What does the panel think?

Full article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7947424.stm

Try MBNA and their associated cards, mine is 2.04% per month or 24% a year!!

Got a deal from Halifax and transferred the balance for 3.4% apr for the life of the balance. 5% cheaper then a loan i was considering.

Cut all mine up about 18 months ago - nil balances now, apart form one owing me £1.43!

[SJobson]

Nickyboy said:

Fat Richie said:

(eg: Mint, 1.94% monthly on purchases - crap with maths but that's around 16%+ pa?)

Try MBNA and their associated cards, mine is 2.04% per month or 24% a year!!

Both of you are way out with your figures... 2.04% per month is 32.9% per annum, and 1.94% per month is 25.9%.

[okgo]

Yes, my Virgin card recently jumped from 16% APR to over 25%.

Needless to say I quickly increased the payments.

[Fat Richie]

SJobson said:

Nickyboy said:

Fat Richie said:

(eg: Mint, 1.94% monthly on purchases - crap with maths but that's around 16%+ pa?)

Try MBNA and their associated cards, mine is 2.04% per month or 24% a year!!

Both of you are way out with your figures... 2.04% per month is 32.9% per annum, and 1.94% per month is 25.9%.

So very little difference between them and loan sharks now then!

[okgo]

SJobson said:

Nickyboy said:

Fat Richie said:

(eg: Mint, 1.94% monthly on purchases - crap with maths but that's around 16%+ pa?)

Try MBNA and their associated cards, mine is 2.04% per month or 24% a year!!

Both of you are way out with your figures... 2.04% per month is 32.9% per annum, and 1.94% per month is 25.9%.

What is the sum to get an accurate figure?

[XJSJohn]

Fat Richie said:

Cut all mine up about 18 months ago - nil balances now, apart form one owing me £1.43!

me too .. i just keep one amex card for travel costs like flights etc which are reimbursed.

[Glosphil]

I haven't a clue what the interest rate is on either of my credit cards, and couldn't care less. Only use them for convenience and have always paid off the total balance at the end of each month. I only buy things when I can afford them - if I can't afford to pay 'cash' then I don't buy it. May be something to do with having a father and father-in-law who both came from Yorkshire. My father-in-law reckons a Yorkshire man is a Scotsman with all traces of generosity removed!

[Iain328]

Just took out a new card today with First Direct for me & the Mrs. We used to have a perfectly good Visa card that collected airmiles with United Airlines for 10 years + with a nice big fat limit & good credit record (always cleared every month).

About last Oct the twunts at UA decided to change the program to an AMEX card which is bloody useless. Over 50% of my CC expenditure has had to be on my "reserve" HSBC mastercard ever since because so many places don't take Amex.

The FD Visa is 16.9% APR I think (not that I care what the rate is really because I ALWAYS pay the full balance off without fail). No frills, no bull, just a simple card with a sensible limit - just what I need

Edited by Iain328 on Wednesday 18th March 01:22

[LukeBird]

Education not regulation.
If people understood APR and interest rates they'd look differently on it, but I think most still see credit as free money...
I used my credit card for all my purchasing and it does have some outstanding balance on it, but not the ridiculous amounts that a lot seem to have nowadays...

[Poledriver]

Having had credit problems a few years ago due to redundancy and repossesion I could only get a credit card from Vanquis. Started off at £250 limit 39% APR now got a Gold card with them with £2500 limit and 33% interest rate, doesn't really bother me because I always pay in full every month. If you want to cut down the cost of your debts, don't borrow more than you can afford to repay!

[alphadog]

Having a cash back credit card and paying the whole lot off each month means I earn the equivalent of 2 - 3 tanks of fuel a year. See no point in racking up debt on the thing so have no temptation to do so.

[sidicks]

okgo said:

What is the sum to get an accurate figure?

APR (%) = (1 + monthly rate)^12 - 1

HTH

Sidicks

[ATG]

When you see figures like £53bn borrowed on credit cards, it makes you want to weep. But let's be clear here; the primary responsibility for this lies squarely on the shoulders of the idiots who have borrowed this way. Banking regulation is squarely based on protecting the general public from their own stupidity. If we conclude that regulation to date was too lax, what we're really saying is the average member of the general public is even more stupid, even more irresponsible than we thought.

[Scraggles]

got a few credit cards, they all have arrangements to pay the balance off at the end of the month, got the third as one of them was hassling me with late fees and charges on late fees for forgetting bills, phoned them up and suggested they stick their card somwhere dark, ended up getting the direct debit thing and a platinum card instead

got the money saved before I buy stuff, credit card gives me protection online and if the goods are faulty