Cahoot - £30 charge for breaching credit card limit - is that legal?

Air-Wolf_2

I haven't searched on this so apologies in advance. I went over my limit with my credit card and as such they have confirmed that they will levy a £30 charge on my account next statement.

I always clear my balance in full and have done for almost seven years.

I have emailed them back and asked them to waive it this time as a gesture of goodwill - but the question is can credit card co. charges be treated the same as bank charges i.e. can you get out of them by saying they are illegal?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

sdj25

Well they aren't illegal. They are / were clearly stated on your Terms & Conditions when you applied for the card.

If they weren't £30 when you signed, you would have got subsequent letters to inform you of the changes.

Recent News
The OFT have recently stepped in & argued that these prices are unjustified, and have forced all the Credit Card companies to lower their "default charges" to £12. (Default charges cover things like: Over Limit / Late Payment / Bounced payment etc...)

Egg seem to be the only company who charge more than £12 (they charge £16).

You can always call & ask them to waive this fee - and if they won't - ask them to charge you their new £12 rate.

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EDIT: Sorry, need to make a clarification ... I stated incorrectly that the Bounced Payment (returned cheque / returned direct debit) was charged at £12. While some companies do charge you this £12 fee, other companies, including Cahoot, will charge £25. They can easily claim that it takes more work / administration to rectify these sort of issues.

humfer

They are legal as no doubt it states the fee cost on the back of your statement. Whether they are fair or not is a whole different matter. You have done the right thing in requesting them to waive it as a gesture of good will. See what they say. As you have been with the 7 years then maybe you will be in luck. If you get rejected and really don't want to pay, you could always call them up and ask to close the card to see what they say (whether you go and ahead and close it is still obviously upto you)

Air-Wolf_2

They've said becuse I breached the limit by 10% they can't refund - god it makes me angry!

For seven years I've cleared the account every month - you'd think that would stand for something!

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh:mad:

humfer

Air-Wolf wrote:

They've said becuse I breached the limit by 10% they can't refund - god it makes me angry!

For seven years I've cleared the account every month - you'd think that would stand for something!

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh:mad:

How angry? Can you get a better deal elsewhere?

inmypocketnottheirs

They may not be illegal, but they are unlawful. Take a look at https://www.consumeractiongroup.com to see how you can get this refunded.

The_Boss

inmypocketnottheirs wrote:

They may not be illegal, but they are unlawful. Take a look at https://www.consumeractiongroup.com to see how you can get this refunded.

And see how you can screw over the rest of us that abide by the conditions of an account.

martyn4764

The_Boss wrote:

And see how you can screw over the rest of us that abide by the conditions of an account.

Absolutely! Why the Hell are people so short-sighted about this?!

If anyone's being 'unfair' it's the people who don't bother to stick to their T&Cs. Or couldn't be ar$ed to read them in the first place, but have now discovered there's some free money knocking around.

"I've gone over my credit limit, it can't be my fault!"

Sadly pretty typical of UK2006.... in a few years' time it'll be "it was an interest only mortgage, but what do you mean I don't own my house? Who can I sue?"

/rant:rolleyes:

MobileSaver

The_Boss wrote:

And see how you can screw over the rest of us that abide by the conditions of an account.

So you think it's ok for companies to act unlawfully as long as it doesn't affect you?

All due respect to you for the numerous useful and informative postings you've made in these forums but on this point I strongly disagree.

martyn4764

MobileSaver wrote:

So you think it's ok for companies to act unlawfully as long as it doesn't affect you?

It was a contract, considered legal at the time; you agreed to it. You knew what the sanctions were for breaching the terms.



Moneysaving, to me, includes living within your means and taking responsibility for your actions. To others, it apparently means wriggling out of your obligations.

MobileSaver

martyn4764 wrote:

It was a contract, considered legal at the time; you agreed to it. You knew what the sanctions were for breaching the terms.

Let's assume for a moment that what you say is correct - I disagree but that's another argument.

Knowing what you know now, do you think it's ok for companies to act unlawfully as long as it doesn't affect you?

Please note this is not a personal attack on you or The Boss but I do feel strongly that it's absolutely right that the Banks have been pulled up on this.