BARCLAYS dump FIRST PLUS brand Hmmmm i wonder

blind-as-a-bat_2

Remember BLTN,s post about Barclays offering her a visa card and a full current account? I wonder if this is why?:rolleyes:

Martins Blog
First Plus Closes. Good and Bad News…
Wednesday July 9th, 2008


As is well publicised, I’ve no love for secured loans. The product itself is ‘lending of last resort’ but has sadly been marketed as ‘a one-stop debt solution’ (see the secured loans guide) and one leading debt charity estimates they’re only suitable for 3% of those who have them. This is the reason I campaigned against their being advertised on Childrens TV, and ran a petition to ask celebrities to stop doing the ads.

The Biggest Name is closing

Therefore to read that the big player First Plus, owned by Barclays, is to close its doors to new business is on one hand a blessed relief. It also sheds some interesting light on my blog from last week

It would seem there are two main causes of this closure: firstly, it used to make a serious wodge from selling Payment Protection Insurance, so the crackdown by the regulator on PPI selling, as well as the growth of PPI reclaiming has dented its business model. Yet it’s the credit crunch and house price drop that’s really hit it.

The ‘secured’ bit of secured loans is for the lender, which can take your house if you can’t repay. Yet the downturn in house prices is providing it with less security than ever before. And following on from the US sub-prime crisis where those with bad credit can’t pay their debts and are finding their homes are worth nowhere near as much as before, you can see why Barclays is pulling out of this marketplace.

Yet sadly it isn’t all roses for two reasons:

A. It was one of the best of a bad bunch

For the VERY few for whom secured loans are appropriate, First Plus was one of the cheapest players, so if it could find you a deal it was cheap. Its departure leaves a hole in the market, and my worry is better the devil you know, for who will step in to fill the gap?

B. What happens to those who still have its loans?

This is where it gets very scary. Unlike normal loans where the amount you pay is fixed at the outset, most secured loans have variable rates, and lenders can put them up willy-nilly. Many with secured loans have already seen their interest rates doubling and as there’s little they can do about it, it’s pushing some into crisis mode. Worse still, as these loans tend to be for huge amounts and spread over years, the pain is likely to last and last.

The worry here is that now First Plus has closed its doors to new business, it has no reputation to protect as the brand is finished, thus it wouldn’t suffer much by hugely hiking rates for existing customers. My hope is this won’t happen, yet just in case here’s a subtle hint to all First Plus customers.


DON’T REFER TO IT AS FIRST PLUS, refer to it as BARCLAYS first plus

After all, Barclays is the parent company and still has a brand to protect, so if people refer to it that way it increases the brand impact of treating its customers poorly.

Maybe they are looking for a new set of [STRIKE]victims[/STRIKE] clients

betterlatethannever

Interesting Bat.

I actually had then 'beggin' me last week to upgrade my account to a full one, When i explained my situation she still said come in a month or so after your years up and it'll all be done.
I'm unsure about taking up their generous offer as i don't need a cheque book, can't afford an O/D and have got by really nicely without a chip n pin....but, never say never :rolleyes:

k2nga

mmmmmm bitter sweet.

dalip

Yes but who wants temptation


Look what it did to adam:p

blind-as-a-bat_2

Simple answer, only accept if they guarentee to be liable for any overdraft they give you/allow you to get:p

Bet they will reconsider:rotfl:

devonsdreamer

When I asked at barclays about when I could look at upgrading me account they said they wouldnt even think about looking for 3 years and I only wanted internet banking.

Broken_hearted

Barclays have always been great with us. We have free banking, a great mortgage rate and low APR on my barclaycard. Infact without their help we would have gone under years ago and no they have never offered us a secured loan.

blind-as-a-bat_2

Did you know First Plus was Barclays BH? Must admitt i had never noticed, but reading the above from Martins Blog they tried to keep a distance, so that may be why as that is what First Plus was for