Regulation forces Barclaycard to withdraw free ins

richardp58

Wonderful thing the Financial Services Authority - really helping consumers... I just read the following news:

Regulation of insurance next year is forcing Barclaycard to withdraw many of the free insurances it offers.
From the new year, customers will no longer receive extended warranty, travel accident insurance and the price promise on their cards.

The new rules, which take effect on January 14, when the FSA takes over regulation of the insurance market, mean that credit card companies will not longer be able to offer insurance unless they obtain a separate agreement from customers.

The company will continue to offer price promise and extended warranty from February but customers will have to pay an as yet undecided fee for the service.

To compensate customers, the old services are being replaced with new benefits which offer customers better support when they travel, greater protection against fraud and faster access to help when things go wrong at home - the main areas of concern identified by customers as being most important to them.

A travel service, giving customers an extra 5% off the price if booked through a tour operator, will also be introduced in the new year.

I've always thought this advantage from using credit cards was a good thing and the alleged compensation looks pretty feeble to me.

What's anyone else think?