Egg Money Interest Rate Hike

clio

special balance transfers which means over to your bank account matey..

Paul_Herring

Only mails I've had since June are 2 "your statements are ready" and one "safer way of shopping online."

£4k credit limit
7.9% APR variable
£450-£800 spend per month cleared off every month.

That said, if they're sending them out today, then there's probably still time for me to get one.

Not that it'd affect me unduly since I don't get charged interest on that card, and I've only got it for the cash-back when I can't use the Amex for cash-back.

jamesg_3

Snuggles wrote: »

Just had an email from Egg to say the interest rate on debit balances on my Egg Money card is being increased from 7.4% to 12.9% from September.

Has anyone else had this? I'm wondering if it's a blanket increase for everyone, or if it's targeted? Strangely enough, I have recently paid off a £2000 balance which I had on this card.

I've just had the same, but I'm more or less up to my credit limit at the moment, so I don't think it's because you've paid it off.

benf90

I was wondering when this was going to happen.

I noticed a post on here the other day from someone that had been accepted for an Egg Money card, stating their interest rate was 12.9%. I thought it was a bit strange as there was previously only 3 different rates for Egg Money, but after checking the website I noticed on the rates history section that they changed the rate for new customers in July.

I've also had the email, but like many others it doesn't really affect me as I pay off the full balance each month.

With previous rate increases Egg have done it in stages, so it wouldn't surprise me if this was just the first batch of emails to go out.

There's a lot of changes being made so I wouldn't have thought this was a rushed decision.

Some other charges that have been changed for example:

• Cash handling fee of 3% introduced on negative balances (there wasn't a fee before - only interest).
• Cash interest rate has more than doubled (7.9% to 16.9%). Cash advances will be last to be paid off (this hasn't changed but due to the rate increase it will be more expensive).
• The introduction of a balance transfer fee.
• Foreign transaction commission charge increasing from 2.65% to 2.95%.

I've had a look through the FAQs on their website. Previously it stated the two different rates they gave on new applications, 7.9% and 16.9%. However, now it simply states that 66% will get the best and typical APR of 12.9% and then mentions the rate can vary.

They no longer specify just two rates, so I wonder whether the 16.9% rate is likely to be changed at some point.


All of the changes they're introducing don't affect me at the moment, as I simply use the Egg Money card as a normal credit card and pay it off in full every month.

But it's still not nice that Egg appear to be going downhill ever since Citi took over.

CopperPlate_2

If this is a money making exercise (and it appears that it may be, dressed up in the guise of the 'credit crunch'; and so soon on the back of the purge they recently had of card holders as well) then it's perhaps the thin end of the wedge. As I said above, jokingly, at what point will they consider reducing either the in-credit interest rate, or the cashback rate.

Egg has previously been unrepentant in their shaving the cashback rates down on the Egg Visa card when it was originally launched with 1%, and eventually ended up with 0.1%.

Hope it doesn't go this way as I still find them a decent provider.

clio

BEN F what does this mean, does it mean if you take cash out and it put's you in a negative balance they will charge you 3% for doing that??
Cash handling fee of 3% introduced on negative balances (there wasn't a fee before - only interest).

jdavtz

Same email here.

I've sent a secure message to ask for clarification on the fee for BTs (well, BTs of +ve balances to current accounts etc. anyway) and also whether the phrase,

"We will charge a top-up fee where the amount of interest charged to your Account on any statement is less than 50p and the fee will be the amount required to make the top-up fee plus that interest equal to 50p."

applies when interest charged to account is zero (I think you could read that it would apply, if you wanted to, which would be bad).

YorkshireBoy

clio wrote: »

...what does this mean, does it mean if you take cash out and it put's you in a negative balance they will charge you 3% for doing that??

Worst case scenario...if you have a £499.99 positive balance and withdraw £500 from an ATM then you will be charged a £3 (the minimum) cash advance fee...for essentially borrowing 1p.

YorkshireBoy

jdavtz wrote: »

I've sent a secure message to ask for clarification on the fee for BTs (well, BTs of +ve balances to current accounts etc. anyway)

That's an excellent question, and one which immediately crossed my mind, because BT's from current accounts (using an EM +ve balance) is my favoured method of SBT'ing.

I've also previously settled other cards with a BT to EM...again using a +ve balance on EM.

Please keep us posted on the reply you get.

jdavtz

Despite not being impressed with a interest rate rise (not that I've paid them any interest anyway), I think I have to point out that at least Egg have emailed everyone about it and not hidden it away on a corner of their website. They're not under any obligation to lend us money every month (and pay cashback) (and re-open previously-closed stoozing cashback loopholes!!), and if they want to raise "prices" then we're free to leave; they are a business at the end of the day and are there to make a profit from their customers.