Intelligent Finance Rate Increase

purplevegas

My husband and I both have IF cards and have done so for many years. We have found their interest rates to be pretty fair in amongst all the madness of the past few years and have stayed with them. However last week ago we each received a letter saying that following a review of our accounts our interest rates would be increasing based on their review, his to 17% and mine to 21%.

Our accounts are in good order and on principle we decided to call and cancel our cards to avoid the interest rate hike. I was psyched up to do the deed and then when I spoke to the guy in their call centre he said that although I have received the letter, if I choose not to accept the interest rate hike but STILL keep my account open I can. he came out with a weird spiel that the letters have gone to some people who shouldn't have received them, and yet they didn't send out a rectifying letter saying, don't worry your rate isn't going to increase. I opted to keep the card open, but because this sounded weird I left it a couple of days, rang back and checked that my rate has indeed been kept at 15% which is has, and that my account is still open, which it is.

My husband rang up today and he has been offered the same thing, keep your existing rate and your account open. When he asked why he had received the letter, the guy said "all our customers are getting them". Does this mean that they are trying it on, hoping that not all customers will want, or be able to cancel their cards, and think that they have to suck up the rate increase in order to maintain their accounts? If so, it sounds a bit like PPI selling to me, when people accepted it because they thought that they wouldn't get the loan they were applying for if they didn't take it.

I think this is shocking practice by Bank of Scotland, and in my book they are now further down the integrity ladder than MBNA.

[Deleted User]

You need to ask them for confirmation that your rate won't be changing. It won't have changed yet, whether they plan to or not.

You may well be on a 'save' list, of customers they are willing to back down on if pushed. This will betthe minority and most customers will be allowed to simply close their accounts.

purplevegas

No, I know, I had until end of March to cancel the account if I wanted to and I have confirmation that the rate is staying the same, it was just the practice that I found quite distasteful. We don't need our cards and were happy to cancel but not everyone is in that situation and subsequently may have been able to keep their rates the same but not know.