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Is This the highest ever credit card interest rate!!!!!!!

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Hi everyone,

BEWARE!!!! this morning I received an application from VANQUIS Bank, They are offering a Credit Card with a Whopping great APR of......59.9% on a MAXIMUM credit limit of £150 !!!yes thats One Hundred and Fifty pounds ...and they are throwing in an annual fee of £19 and a cash handling charge of 2.5% . Now forgive me if Im wrong but is this legal??? These people are regulated by the Financial Services Authority( Ive checked)
This is the highest interest rate I have ever seen!.. unless someone out there knows different?????

Comments

  • chugalug
    chugalug Posts: 969 Forumite
    Yep unfortunately this is perfectly legal, I dont think there is a ceiling on the rate of interest that can be charged. I think there was something about this card on MSE when it first came out. If its the same one its targetted at those with poor credit histories (read poor) and if the charges are added into the APR it becomes 70 odd % !! If I remember correctly its something to do with a subsidary of Barclaycard. If you have a choice stay well clear - if you dont just use it to build a credit history but I think Capital One is a better option.
    ~A mind is a terrible thing to waste on housework~
  • mandi
    mandi Posts: 11,932 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Stoptober Survivor
    Hi Chgalug,
    Thanks for the advice. Im not planning to apply, the application is just one of dozens I receive each week! However your right about aiming at those with a poor credit history, cos to be honest mines not brilliant! ... probably due to the fact that I didnt subscribe to Martins site at the time..
  • fatboyonadiet
    fatboyonadiet Posts: 5,400 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Did Martin not start a thread on this once to find the highest, think it was higher than that
    2p off is still 2p off!
  • Stonk
    Stonk Posts: 937 Forumite
    Indeedy. If you consider loans as well as credit cards, you can find much higher rates ...

    PayDay Loan Company: Go to http://www.paydayloan.co.uk/ and click the Our Charges button. APR 1,734%. See how they write "APR: 1734" - without the % sign it looks more like a reference number that a frightening interest rate.
  • Curry_Queen
    Curry_Queen Posts: 5,589 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I received some junk mail from Vanquis this morning but shredded it without even reading it! ... wish I'd had a look at it now :doh:
    "An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
    ~
    It is that what you do, good or bad,
    will come back to you three times as strong!

  • mandi
    mandi Posts: 11,932 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Stoptober Survivor
    Yes your right
    Martins giving away a bottle of bubbly for the highest APR. Thing is I dont know how to post this to him... Im not stupid .. just a bit of a pc phobic.. So can ya tell me how you :) post him? would really appreciate the advice..

    Thanks
  • skye
    skye Posts: 286 Forumite
    I have received a few of these now (my credit rating must be bad!!), I was so digusted I can't believe they are allowed to charge an interest rate this high.
  • Debt_Free_Chick
    Debt_Free_Chick Posts: 13,276 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Surely MSEers don't carry debt at all, or if they do, it's at 0%. In which case, the APR for borrowing is irrelevant, as we'll never carry a balance on any card ;)

    The annual fee is the "extortionate" charge - plenty of fee free cards out there. The cash handling fee is the standard rate and just about all CCs charge it.

    On a serious note, I'd like to see all CC promotional mail including a link to this site :)
    Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac ;)
  • April2
    April2 Posts: 508 Forumite
    mandi wrote:
    Yes your right
    Martins giving away a bottle of bubbly for the highest APR. Thing is I dont know how to post this to him... Im not stupid .. just a bit of a pc phobic.. So can ya tell me how you :) post him? would really appreciate the advice..

    Thanks
    [email="Martin@moneysavingexpert.com"]Martin@moneysavingexpert.com[/email]
    Their - possessive pronoun (owned by them e.g. "They locked their car").
    They're - colloquial/abbreviated version of 'They are'
    There - noun (location other than here e.g. "You can buy groceries there") OR adverb (in or at that place e.g. "They have lived there for years") OR adverb (to or towards that place e.g. "Go there at noon") OR adverb (in that matter e.g. " I agree with you there").
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