MBNA Intrest rate hike?

Raksha

Foolishly I didn't open OH's last months MBNA statement, just paid the same minimum payment I'd always paid. OH took a phone call from them yesterday saying the payment was short, so he paid the difference. I found the statement this morning and the interest rate has been hiked from 1.2408% to 1.8735% (15.95% APR to 24.95%APR!!!)

OH swears he's not had any notification of an interest rate increase..........

fi76

Hi, my MBNA statement came a couple days ago and the rate is still 1.6674% so no hikes this month however my interest free period from Jan 09 has just run out and the minimum payment has jumped from £25 to £244!!!! Trying to shift debt around again.

However my American express this month increased rate from 9.9% to 14% and I only noticed a little square of text on the statement because I was attempting a credit card shuffle. This is not the only card where the interest has increased this year by what seems like an unfair amount taking the base rate into consideration. My guess is that you were told but it was so inconspicuous that it wasn't noticed. There is always silly offers written on the statements and always leaflets stuffed in the same envelope that is binned straight away that I think it's very easy to miss such an important piece of info. You could of course phone them and ask exactly when you had been told about this.

Sportbilly_2

Many others have had the same thing with MBNA. In my case, they waited until the last month of my 0% interest free period to tell me that my rate was going up to 30%+. I paid them off and cancelled the card. I know the rate is variable, they can do what they like and there is greater risk of default these days, but the way they're doing it is pretty sharp and makes me very reluctant to consider an MBNA card in the future.

Raksha

Well if that's their interest rate, looks like we will be consolidating with a loan from the bank. Got to watch my Alliance & Leicester card too in that case.

Moggles_2

Hardly a day goes by without someone reporting an interest rate hike from MBNA.
34.9% APR is not uncommon.

Once your MBNA balance was paid off though (either by you or courtesy of a new 0% BT card), you'd be in a strong position to negotiate a rate reduction. If not, I'd ask to be put through to the retentions dept. Obviously, for this to work, you have to be prepared to close the account, if you don't get the rate you'd hoped for.

Alternatively, if your credit reports are in good shape, you could apply for a new MBNA card by phone (there are dozens to choose from) and ask to transfer all but a token amount of the credit limit over to the new card. That way, you increase your chances of future low-rate offers by holding two cards. Once again, it's essential to clear the balance on the old card first or you'll be turned down.