LTSB CC Interest Advice Please

YorkshireBoy

kathyd wrote:

Estimated interest £25.07.

I would have expected it to be less than that - going by the previous months figures.

Account information reads: Your current monthly rate of interest is: 1.240% for purchases and 2.075% for cash

1.240% monthly is their standard 15.9% APR, so they don't look to have increased his rate (unless they're doing it this month, ie between the December & January statements).

I think it'll be best to wait for the paper statement to arrive, and then resurrect the thread.

kathyd_2

Right, I've just found a letter from LTSB dated 11 November stating "We are changing the monthly interest rate on your purchases from 1.240 to 2.210% (26.520% Simple Annual Rate and on your cash advances from 2.075 to 2.210% (26.520% Simple Annual Rate). Effective from 13 December 2006.

You were spot on then Yorkshireboy. Thanks for your help. Should have got ALL the paperwork out first, I guess

Must just be a coincidence the payment amount and interest are exactly the same, although they usually round up/down to the nearest £.

YorkshireBoy

kathyd wrote:

Right, I've just found a letter from LTSB dated 11 November stating "We are changing the monthly interest rate on your purchases from 1.240 to 2.210% (26.520% Simple Annual Rate...

That's possibly the largest purchases interest rate hike I've seen reported on this board.

He's paying 'bad risk' cash advance rates on purchases on a less than 12 month old card. :eek:

You now, between you, need to find a plan to get this debt repaid - either by paying the entire balance off somehow (maybe a loan - or one last 'bail-out' by yourself), or by BT'ing the debt to another (0% or possibly 3.9% LOB) card ASAP.

However, in the first instance, how about ringing LTSB and asking them to re-instate the original rate? Others on here have reported some success with this approach.

kathyd_2

YorkshireBoy wrote:

That's possibly the largest purchases interest rate hike I've seen reported on this board.

He's paying 'bad risk' cash advance rates on purchases on a less than 12 month old card. :eek:

You now, between you, need to find a plan to get this reduced - either by paying the entire balance off somehow (maybe a loan - or one last 'bail-out' by yourself), or by BT'ing the debt to another (0% or possibly 3.9% LOB) card ASAP.

Sh*t. That bad? Don't know why its a bad risk cash advance rate. The only time he missed a payment was when he went over the limit (once) by £66 in June (July statement) prior to moving back home but we paid off the 'over limit' amount for him - £66 plus £12 more than the minimum payment just to bring him up to date for that month but since then he has always paid more than his minimum by quite a large amount. That would probably explain why he had an interest rate hike in October 2006. So this is the second rise in a couple of months. Did these rises effect everybody with a Platinum card?

He has never defaulted on any agreements with anyone but when he came back home in July I'd read quite a bit about customers taking banks to court to reclaim unauthorised bank charges going back 6 years, so encouraged him to do this (claiming back £900 ish). Could this be the reason they are charging him bad risk rates, do you think? His court case is Feb 13th.

YorkshireBoy

kathyd wrote:

Could this be the reason they are charging him bad risk rates, do you think?

If it was LTSB he claimed against, I'd put money on it! That, and incurring the default charges for going over his limit earlier in the year.

BTW, one of the other triggers for this kind of interest rate hike is the withdrawing of cash on a card, as it generally indicates a customer in financial difficulties. Has he ever withdrawn cash on his credit card?

kathyd_2

YorkshireBoy wrote:

If it was LTSB he claimed against, I'd put money on it! That, and incurring the default charges for going over his limit earlier in the year.

BTW, one of the other triggers for this kind of interest rate hike is the withdrawing of cash on a card, as it generally indicates a customer in financial difficulties. Has he ever withdrawn cash on his credit card?

Yes, he did. He's paying for it now though eh? Why have they left it so long to 'punish him?' He's not used the card since he went over his limit almost 7 months ago.

nomoneytoday

Why not use the £900 to reduce the card debt further?

kathyd_2

That's exactly what he is going to do. Thanks.