Card interest

Ben13_2

Hi,am new to here and am just a little confused with this credit card interest charge. I have looked at the interest charges on my account and they total upto £7000 for the past 4yrs. I knw i can't claim back the money and the reason for my confusion is why are they allowed to charge so much?

Clariman

I'm afraid that they are allowed to do it by the Terms and Conditions that you sign when you open up the account. The interest rate would have been published at the time and it is amazing how quickly the interest builds up, particularly if you are paying off small amounts each month. The Ts & Cs also allow the lender to change the interest rate providing they give you an agreed period of notice which can be very frustrating when they put it up.

The best ways to reduce the interest would be to (a) pay off more each month so that you pay the debt off more quickly, (b) transfer the balance to a card that charges a lower rate of interest (but remember to take into account balance transfer fees!) and (c) try not to use the card for new purchases.

Clariman

ShelfStacker_3

Ben13 wrote: »

Hi,am new to here and am just a little confused with this credit card interest charge. I have looked at the interest charges on my account and they total upto £7000 for the past 4yrs. I knw i can't claim back the money and the reason for my confusion is why are they allowed to charge so much?

...because they're free to do so. They offered you a card at that rate, and you agreed to it - you were free to tell them where to stick it. That it's only now that the rate suddenly concerns you is troubling.