Egg Money Rate Increase to 16.9%

ricechrisb

Amen to that. At first I thought it was because I balance transferred £855, put my d/d up to £300p/m, and made made a one off payment of £300, all in the past week or so. Assumed they were grabbing all they could from me on my outstanding balance.

Screw 'em, I've been a good customer for 7 years, missing one payment 6 years ago when I was unemployed briefly. I was already clearing the balance off but now I'm canceling and will not go back to them. Going to balance transfer the rest of the balance if possible to minimize the interest payments. they don't deserve my money.

alc_3

17.9 to 21.9 - makes it my worst card by a long shot. And to think it used to be the best card on the market.

The increase will add somwhere in the region of £25 a month more interest!

Dont you just love it when the goal posts are moved!

Card is going to be cancelled.

jen_a_c

I've also had this email. Increasing my rate from 16.9% to 21.9%.

Couple of questions about "opting out". Does anyone know how this would appear on a credit file? I have a balance that I'm slowly repaying and rarely use for spends so I don't want to take the hit of additional interest. Secondly, has anyone asked if there is any time limit on this? I don't want to effectively "close" the account then have them ask for a lump sum now, or in the near future. It seems these companies are seeking to reduce their liabilities as capital is so scarce. It's just a shame that we're either having to take the hit with interest or end our custom.

TFD_2

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Stop it. Please.

If you're spending regularly on the card, then they most certainly are making money from you - don't forget that the CC companies charge a percentage for any transactions to the vendor, from around 2-3% for MC and Visa to around 5% for Amex.

Rubbish.

A merchant pays a fee (larger merchants less than 2%) - and a part of this goes to the merchant services provider. The card issuers cut is far smaller and under 1%. Even spending a significant amount of money every month makes a negligible amount of money for the issuer compared to the money made by charging interest.

If you don't feel the increased rates are competitive, then take your business elsewhere. In the current climate, card issuers will be facing more bad debt than ever, so they will need to increase rates to maintain their profit margins.

tyllwyd

Did the e-mails all go out yesterday or are some still arriving today? My rate actually went down from 16.9 to 12.9 last year, so I'd be a bit disappointed if it went back up again - but I haven't heard from them so far, so do you think I'm OK?

utopiah

jen-a-c
regarding opting out this is what egg had to say in my email


If you choose to cancel the use of your account, please be advised you won't be able to use your credit card or PIN and you won't be issued a new card when your current card reaches the expiry date. Also, if you have an outstanding balance, interest and charges will still apply at your existing rate until the balance is repaid in full and you must still continue to make your minimum monthly payments. Any regular payments you have arranged, e.g. monthly subscriptions, will not be paid from your account and you will need to cancel them with the provider and provide an alternate means of payment.

I take that as if there is no time scale its just until you have repaid your current balance as you won't be able to add to this card once cancelled
not sure about how it would appear on yor credit file

clio

I have not had email yet, but i doubt very much they are finsihed sending them, they will probable be doing them in batches.

gmj_3

I think what they are doing is indefensible. How can they justify what appears to be a fairly standard APR for normal purchases etc. of 21.9% (I had the email yesterday) - even before today's further base rate cut.

I thought they were targetting me personally as I have a 0% BT coming to an end in a couple of months and reckoned they were finally looking to make some decent money out of me. So I'm grateful to this forum in letting me know I'm not the only one! I have told them to keep me on the old rate and I'll hopefully pay the bal off very quickly; then they're having it back as plastic confetti.

After 20+ years of using and abusing cards I have finally wakened up and decided they are all scum. After Egg, the next and last one to go will be MBNA. They prey on one's neediness. They wrap their high charges up in the most disgracefully distorted logic.

Really, most of them should be banned. Youngsters do not know what hell they are getting into. One should have to lodge a bond or something with cc companies before they give you one - and not as a vehicle for borowing money but simply as a convenient means of payment. Wishful thinking, I know.

TFD_2

gmj wrote: »

I think what they are doing is indefensible. How can they justify what appears to be a fairly standard APR for normal purchases etc. of 21.9% (I had the email yesterday) - even before today's further base rate cut.

I thought they were targetting me personally as I have a 0% BT coming to an end in a couple of months and reckoned they were finally looking to make some decent money out of me. So I'm grateful to this forum in letting me know I'm not the only one! I have told them to keep me on the old rate and I'll hopefully pay the bal off very quickly; then they're having it back as plastic confetti.

After 20+ years of using and abusing cards I have finally wakened up and decided they are all scum. After Egg, the next and last one to go will be MBNA. They prey on one's neediness. They wrap their high charges up in the most disgracefully distorted logic.

Really, most of them should be banned. Youngsters do not know what hell they are getting into. One should have to lodge a bond or something with cc companies before they give you one - and not as a vehicle for borowing money but simply as a convenient means of payment. Wishful thinking, I know.

Again, you miss the point. the APR on a credit card has nothing to do with the base rate. It is down to the bank's true cost of borrowing, and the cost of bad debt. Reading the number of people on here talking about writing off debt, unenforceable agreements, etc. show the costs the card companies are swallowing.

If you don't like the APR they quote you then get rid of the card! They clearly don't want your business at a lower APR (increased risk). Are your feelings hurt that they see your account as a possible risk?

So many people like you are happy to exploit the 0% balance transfer loophole, and you wonder why they need to increase the APR on their accounts to make a profit! Blatant hypocrisy if you ask me.

somabc

TFD wrote: »

Again, you miss the point. the APR on a credit card has nothing to do with the base rate. It is down to the bank's true cost of borrowing, and the cost of bad debt. Reading the number of people on here talking about writing off debt, unenforceable agreements, etc. show the costs the card companies are swallowing.

If you don't like the APR they quote you then get rid of the card! They clearly don't want your business at a lower APR (increased risk). Are your feelings hurt that they see your account as a possible risk?

So many people like you are happy to exploit the 0% balance transfer loophole, and you wonder why they need to increase the APR on their accounts to make a profit! Blatant hypocrisy if you ask me.

There is no hypocrisy, only two competing sides. I want to maximise my money and would be willing to borrow money at low interest (say less than 10%) so carrying a balance at 7.9% or lower is fine by me as the money gained is useful and the interest is negligible or even free (at 0%).

However banks want to make money and they cannot make money doing the above anymore (so they say) so now that interest rates have doubled or more you should not be surprised that many customers (including myself) will now refuse to borrow money at that rate.

Credit card companies should remember that if they continue to raise rates that they will only end up decreasing their customer base and increasing their bad debt.