Rate Jacking Sucesses/failures

sandib

Hi

Posted a message about a month ago re virgin and how they are re calculating the interest which would result in significant increase on minimum payments. Managed to move that balance to Barclaycard.

Now Bank of Scotland are at it. Don't you love the way they explain the increase by " We're simplifying your credit card by inroducing one single interest rate" In effect we are increasing the rate really wish they would say that rather than the tosh they try mask it under. Spoke with them and the only option is to close the card at the current interest rate. Will so be more viable to go to a loan shark the way they credit card companies are behaving lately.

ceejayy

Hello All, first post on here but i found the site and advice tremendously helpful while i battled with MBNA. Brief background; MBNA rate jacked my husbands credit card to 34% from 12% after the card was cloned and used fraudulently. The credit card account had been in good order until this happened. There was no letter informing us of this, so no opportunity to protest within the 30 day period. Numerous phone-calls ensued, none of which got us anywhere. I began writing to them and this went back and forth for a number of months.
Eventually, they have written to say they will reduce the interest rate back to the original 12%. They don't accept that this should not have happened in the first place but never the less....
I guess I am just saying stick with it. Be prepared to write and keep writing (in my experience phone calls get you no-where). Keep all the correspondence, copy and send these with every letter you write so they know that you are charting the progress with a view to submitting it all to the Financial Ombudsman.
Luckily, I did not get to the stage of involving the Financial Ombudsman but let them know that you will if a satisfactory outcome is not forthcoming.
Hope this helps some people who may have suffered these rate jackings and i hope you get the same result as myself.
Thanks

mcb1

I have just been rate jacked by Santander Zero Card by 3% to 21.9% for purchases and balance transfers. I'm incensed and offended! I have had the 2/3 years and have always paid the full balance off each month so never worry about the interest rate BUT it is the PRINCIPLE. I'm infuriated. I have other cards that I run in the same way who have lowered my interest rate and offered me 0% periods to encourage me to spend.

I rang customer Servicesto ask why and was told it a note on my record referred to information received from credit ref agency ( nothings changed in my circumstances - I had a 3% rise in income).

I rang & made an official complaint and am being told by the complaint dept that the Cust services rep did not have any info so should not have told me that. They say they cant do anything and are wittering on about underwriters and across the board rate rises and that a letter would be sent to this effect also giving me info on how to further my complaint if I was still not happy. I have told them that isnt good enough. Any letter needs to tell me specifically WHY I personally, a good customer with an excellent record have been chosen for a rate rise and why they have a strategy that offends and penalises good customers. That unless I was happy I would be taking the matter further and copying to their CEO . I'll let you know what happens.

I took all this action BEFORE I READ MARTIN'S EXCELLENT GUIDE, having read it I will definitely be thinking about raising this with the FO if necessary on the basis of an unjustified rise.

I wont throw the card back as it is a top overseas card but I will reduce my spending on it to a minimum unless they treat me fairly. I have spent about £3K on since Jan 11.I only use it in UK as I thought it was only fair to let them earn some money fron the charges they make to the companies that I spend with as they get nought from me!!

Chahu

Just signed up especially for this thread!

I got ratejacked earlier this year by Barclaycard - the jacked the rate from 15% to 30% (roughly). It was a 'coincidence' according to them that it happened after my card was stolen. I need to ask elsewhere about balance transfers and stolen cards...

So...my card was stolen. I work outside the UK, and before i left the UK in May, i phoned their 'advisor' (read: barely English speaking random bloke who wouldn't give a full name or any kind of identifying reference number) who told me to make payments of £65 and i would be fine. So i sent up a DD and left, thinking that everything was ok.

I got back to the UK in July and found that they'd been charging me for paying too little -apparently, unknown random bloke had told me the wrong amount. After a lot of fuss and hassle, some other barely english speaking random person told me that the rate had been jacked to nearly 30%. I persisted in asking why, got the script about market forces and the economy.

To cut a long story short, they have offered me a year at 15% and a 2 month freeze. The 2 months is now up, but i'm not planning to spend on it until August next year, when i need to book the flights back to work.

I wish I'd read all this stuff first. I'm not sure whether to class this as a success, failure, or neutral.

Tixy

Hi and welcome Chahu

I think probably a success given the circumstances to get it reduced after such a long time, and after failing to make the minimum payments. Presumably you'd had the rate jacking letter before you left in May?
When you say a DD was set up - do you mean a standing order? only if it was a DD then they should have chosen the amount to take from your account based on the minimum payment.

Are you going to work abroad again? if so I'd suggest setting up online accounts with your credit cards and bank accounts so you can keep an eye on the accounts online in case of any more errors.

Have you checked your credit file? its likely BC has been marking your credit file negatively for underpaying - if so did you discuss whether they would do anything to change this (although I think its unlikely they'd agree to change it, it might be worth a try).

Chahu

Hi thanks for the Welcome!

I didn't receive a letter, and my September statement (just before i left again) didn't arrive either.

Sorry, i got it wrong, it was a standing order. Probably a good thing it wasn't DD - they'd have bankrupted me! They have said that they have adjusted my credit history, and there is a formal complaint going through at the moment about the ratejacking because i had never received a letter or an email, and because of the wrong advice given by nameless advisor. They have said that my credit file is not affected because i have been paying regularly.

I am back abroad again, but i live in China, so i really don't want to be logging on to online accounts, there's an amazing amount of stuff that the Chinese Government like to look at - especially how much money you have abroad, so I have been warned by a number of expats to not do online banking with a foreign account just in case. The only good thing is that i have a set amount o pay to them on their payment plan, so as long as there's money in my English bank account to do so, it goes out standing order. They know what day and have cleared everything, so i should be paying off a bit at the moment. The only problem is that the SO is for just over the minimum as far as i can work out. The jacked everything up, so i'm having a little difficulty with the maths.

I feel a bit better that it's been classified as a success! Thanks!

hellome11

Apologies if the wrong thread this is my first post..

I've been ratejacked by Barclaycard, it was 12.9% then went to 16.9% and will increase again to 21.9% in January. I have £6K on it and have been paying min. for the last 18 months. I've applied for transfer deals on 2 other cards, one rejected - the other offered a worse rate. I've never defaulted but have 2 others loans plus an overdraft that equate to over a years salary so I guess I'm a bit over exposed and 'a risk' despite never having missed a payment on anything.

I'm considering not accepting the increase and leaving the account closed and paying min. but I've read that I shouldn't do this as it's my only credit card this will affect my credit rating ? Any views on whether I should just accept the rise and continue as I am.

Incidentally, my long term plan is that in about 18 months my total debt will be around £25K in total so then consolidate into one unsecured loan.

izools

Closing a credit card account to "Repayment only" in this way will have NO effect on your credit rating whatsoever.

As far as your credit file is concerned nothing will change whatsoever so long as there's an outstanding balance on the card that you're repaying.

Turn down the increase. If you can only afford the minimum payment you can most certainly not afford extra interest.

Also, pay more than the minimum, even if by just £1 - as your credit file will show the months on which you pay only the minimum - which can be viewed as your struggling by other creditors.

hellome11

izools wrote: »

Closing a credit card account to "Repayment only" in this way will have NO effect on your credit rating whatsoever.

As far as your credit file is concerned nothing will change whatsoever so long as there's an outstanding balance on the card that you're repaying.
.

Thanks for that, I'd read the opposite on another advice site (before finding this one) but thought it sounded a bit odd. It claimed that in my case it would look like I was 6K over my credit limit as by closing the account to repayment only my limit becomes zero!

I'll be calling them to turn down the increase.

Good tip on the min. payment too I'll go slightly over it each month now.

I've got in a bit of a state generally with finances but I need to sort it out so I'll keep checking out the tips on this site.

Cheers

insomnium

Paypal credit card santander
I was making payment by direct debit each month never missed a payment and never went over the credit limit - my rate was 12.9% they have tried to double my rate within 12 months. once to 18.9% and i received a further letter recently advising they are going to increase to 24.9%. Ive made a compaint and will refer to the ombudsman shortly as they refuse to explain the reason for the decision to double the rate. the reason of course is for them to make more money or force me to close the account.