Rate Jacking Sucesses/failures

acb_andrew

I've just received a rate hike letter from Sainsburys: 15.94 to 20.95

Granted, the balance is pretty high and I've only been making minimum payments in the last six months or so, but the first thing I'm doing is writing to them for a signed copy of the original credit agreement. I seem to recall applying for this card online quite some time back (2005/6) and I don't think I had to send any signed acceptance off to them before the card arrived in the post...

How should I proceed if they are unable to cough up the CCA? I would have thought the lack of a signed CCA would be a pretty convincing argument to leave the rate alone.

zhatorna65

acb_andrew: I'm pretty sure I read an article on this site about the high court deciding that the banks don't have to be able to dig out the original CCA any more.

izools

No they don't. And you don't need to have signed a paper acceptance or CCA anyway, the 2004 Digital Signiatures stuff will apply here. And even if the CCA is unenforcable under the credit act 1974 it will be under general contract law.

Just reject the increase, close the account, and take responsibility for your debt mate

proeleche

Capital One recently increased my APR by 15%. However, I recently came accross the following on the FOS website (from their yearly review 2008/09):

"In last year's annual review we mentioned an emerging type of complaint, where credit-card companies made substantial increases – sometimes by as much as ten percentage points – in the rate of interest charged on certain customers' credit-card accounts. The companies said that this reflected a move to "risk-based pricing". We have continued to receive complaints of this type this year, and it seemed to us that the issue was one that had wider significance both for consumers and for credit-card companies.
We therefore raised the matter under the formal "wider-implications" procedure that we share with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT – the body that regulates consumer credit) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Having considered the matter, the OFT decided that it would not at this time pursue a regulatory solution to the issue. This meant we were able to continue our own investigations into the individual complaints that consumers had referred to us about rate changes already made. Separately, the government agreed a set of principles with credit-card companies about future rate changes. These principles took effect from 1 January 2009.
As part of our investigation into these complaints, we issued questionnaires to the credit-card companies involved, to obtain information about – among other things – the actual assessments of risk that had been carried out in relation to these customers, and how the new rates had been calculated. Almost all the credit-card companies subsequently chose to settle the complaints that had been brought against them, rather than have our investigation continue."

I have therefore adapted Martin's rate jacking letter and I'm waiting to see what happens... As I see it, you don't ask you don't get... I'll keep you informed.

proeleche

dolly47 wrote: »

Following financial problems a few years ago my partner obtained a Vanquis card which was to help rebuild his credit rating. After 2 years at 39% it has now been hiked to 54% and a limit increase from £500 to £1500. Fortunately we are now in a position to tell them to take a hike but isn't it nice to see that financial institutions are taking their resposibilities seriously?

54%?!?!?! That is ridiculous - good on you for telling them where to go!!!:T

want2liveabroad

I've had a CApital One card for years - too long to remember really. Had 8.8% as a standard rateall the time - now been doubled!!!
Phone call tomorrow to freeze it, cut up card and finished with them.
Not a happy person but reading some of the rates here I feel like I've had it good for a while.
Save me spending I suppose

Misterbee_2

I have been with Egg for well over 10 years now, have a generally good credit score, rarely missed any payments on this or other credit in those ten years, last year my rate went from 16.9% > 22.9% and then to 26.9%...

I have tried to get them to explain how this is justified, I got the usual answer of 'credit score', and i said Ok, nothing changed, then they responded with 'Market forces and climate' and I said, so why is it not everyone is being charged 26.9 and how come you can also afford to offer 0% to new customers if Market forces are hurting your business, I got a response along the lines of, we do not have to explain our business practices to you...I pestered them to explain to me how they could justify the rate hike, they eventually told me flat that the decision had been made and I had to either live with it or leave...I was not asking for a breakdown of their business plan, I simply want an explanation that can show they are justified in their decision to alter my original agreements and more to the point, what exactly is to stop them from doing it again this year, using the same lame poor excuse and finding myself on some ludicrous rate of 39.9% like some people who have Capital One and other US based card providers…

I then made an official complaint the Financial Ombudsman regarding the fact that I believe Egg/Citi are abusing their position and they cannot really justify the rise in APR%. I received a letter back from them saying that there was nothing they could do for me as the company have acted within the legal limits of their T&Cs...Just like that...No effort to find out or explain why this has happened to me or to get Egg to show they can justify this action.

This I find more appalling than the APR hikes, who the heck is supposed to help us fight off these scavenging companies? We are all surely entitled to know why after many years of good custom we are suddenly listed as an 'increased risk' or how these companies can justify increasing our APR without valid reasons and then to discover that the body appointed to help solve these matters and bring some fairness to the table is a toothless gummy poodle, is just unbelievable.

I am now going to pen a letter to President Obama and possibly a few other key US politicians, regarding the behaviour of US owned financial houses operating in the UK, such as Egg/Citi, Capital One etc...It seems they have been under pressure in their homeland, after taking billions of dollars we might add, from the public purse, and have decided to take the p!ss here instead because our own Govt and Financial policy makers allow the British public to be used as easy target practice by these companies.

I am also going to write to the chancellor, the PM, all of the other party heads and my local MPs, my Euro MP and a few newspapers regarding both the behaviour of these companies here in the uk, as well as European/Uk owned financial houses, I am also going to make a formal issue of the Financial Ombusdman lack of firepower and ability to actually help us resolve these issues fairly…

Then, Ill take a breath and figure out what I can do next…

I’m just sick and tired of being robbed and conned at every turn and have decided I’ve had enough…

Best Wishes To All

Mrs_SG

I had a capital one card. After Reading Martins last newsletter, I thought I'd phone capital one about the interest rate rise, I began by askng if my interest rate had risen, they replied it has risen from 34.9 to 39.9, I hadn't recieved any letter or email informing of the rise, so I said I'm willing not to spend anymore on my card, would it be possible to pay my balance off at my old rate, the so called manager said that even if i'd recieved the letter the only two options that were given to customers who refused the rate rise was, either to pay off the debt and close the account or transfer the balance to another credit card, i then mentioned the rule bought out in jan/feb 2009 which i was aware of thanks to Martins newsletter, but this made no difference, all she kept repeating was the two options, then she said that I was a valued custmer and that she didn't want to lose my custom, however, then she repeated the two options, I felt she wasn't listening to :mad:me and I said how dare she say I'm a valued customer and then on the otherhand give me two options to leave capital one! Eventually I ended the call and transfered the capital one balance to a 0% balance transfer card. I am shocked at how I have been treated by capital one, more so since I managed to get my hands on the so called interest rate rise letter sent by capital one, a couple of friends and a family member had recieved them and on the back of each letter it states that if you reject the payrise, you can either pay your balance of in full or IF YOU AGREE NOT TO SPEND ANYMORE ON YOUR CARD YOU CAN PAY TGE DEBT OFF AT YOUR OLD INTEREST RATE! I feel angry at how capital one, not only on how they mis treated me but the lies they told.

Mrs_SG

I had a capital one card. After Reading Martins last newsletter, I thought I'd phone capital one about the interest rate rise, I began by askng if my interest rate had risen, they replied it has risen from 34.9 to 39.9, I hadn't recieved any letter or email informing of the rise, so I said I'm willing not to spend anymore on my card, would it be possible to pay my balance off at my old rate, the so called manager said that even if i'd recieved the letter the only two options that were given to customers who refused the rate rise was, either to pay off the debt and close the account or transfer the balance to another credit card, i then mentioned the rule bought out in jan/feb 2009 which i was aware of thanks to Martins newsletter, but this made no difference, all she kept repeating was the two options, then she said that I was a valued custmer and that she didn't want to lose my custom, however, then she repeated the two options, I felt she wasn't listening to :mad:me and I said how dare she say I'm a valued customer and then on the otherhand give me two options to leave capital one! Eventually I ended the call and transfered the capital one balance to a 0% balance transfer card. I am shocked at how I have been treated by capital one, more so since I managed to get my hands on the so called interest rate rise letter sent by capital one, a couple of friends and a family member had recieved them and on the back of each letter it states that if you reject the payrise, you can either pay your balance of in full or IF YOU AGREE NOT TO SPEND ANYMORE ON YOUR CARD YOU CAN PAY TGE DEBT OFF AT YOUR OLD INTEREST RATE! I feel angry at how capital one, not only on how they mis treated me but the lies they told.

MoodyBlues

One Lloyds card - from 15.95% APR to 19.5% APR, other one from 19.5 to 24%.
I haven't called either of them about this as I am hoping to pay off one of the cards soon enough, and the other one I hope to transfer to a 0% card for a while - or else low LOTB. I need to wait a while before reapplying or else hope that my appeal to Santander comes off well.