Lloyds TSB outrageous APR

rubyrosie

Lloyds cut my credit limit (from £10k to £4k overnight and with no notice) about three years ago. Because this automatically put me over the new limit, charges started racking up immediately.

I opened the card in 1996 on an APR of 23.44%, which is much higher than the present rate.

I haven't been using the card since they reduced the credit limit but have been paying off the outstanding balance every month (I know, stupid not to have transferred it) but because of the ridiculous interest rate it's barely moving.

My question is whether I could get back any money from Lloyds because the APR is so high. I believe they were offering lower rates at the time I took the card out but I was automatically put on 23.44%.

Thanks for reading.

ermine

Lloyds cut my credit limit (from £10k to £4k overnight and with no notice) about three years ago. Because this automatically put me over the new limit, charges started racking up immediately.

I don't personally usually have time for people who overspend on credit cards, however this looks outside Queensbury rules to me, indeed it looks like Lloyds are taking the pi55 and need a kicking.

For Lloyds to arbitrarily vary a existing contract ie your credit limit to disadvantage you to their advantage looks highly irregular to me. I'd take this one to the CAB to see what your options are.

dealer_wins

This should have been queried when it happened. Leaving it 3 years before asking questions is too late IMO.

ermine

@rubyrosie Sorry, didn't mean to imply you did overspend. FWIW in my view you have been shafted, and are entitled to press your case hard that this was a unilateral move by Lloyds without your agreement. I'm not a lawyer, which is why I suggested you contact the CAB who can put you in touch with more expert advice.

I would expect you to be reinstated to the position you were in before. As long as you were paying within the specifications of the card then Lloyds can't just unilaterally change the Ts and Cs to their advantage without due cause and your agreement, to the best of my knowledge.

Why you didn't raise Cain at the time puzzles me, nevertheless, chase them and give them hell. Unless there's something you haven't said that did give Lloyds the chance to raise the rate, like missing a minimum payment. Even then I believe you have some chance of pushing back on this, but you need expert advice

DevCoder

ermine wrote: »

@rubyrosie Sorry, didn't mean to imply you did overspend. FWIW in my view you have been shafted, and are entitled to press your case hard that this was a unilateral move by Lloyds without your agreement. I'm not a lawyer, which is why I suggested you contact the CAB who can put you in touch with more expert advice.

I would expect you to be reinstated to the position you were in before. As long as you were paying within the specifications of the card then Lloyds can't just unilaterally change the Ts and Cs to their advantage without due cause and your agreement, to the best of my knowledge.

Why you didn't raise Cain at the time puzzles me, nevertheless, chase them and give them hell. Unless there's something you haven't said that did give Lloyds the chance to raise the rate, like missing a minimum payment. Even then I believe you have some chance of pushing back on this, but you need expert advice

They didn't raise the rate (for which the OP could have refused and closed their card and spending at that point and repaid on the original terms)

The bank called the credit line in, which it is perfectly entitled to do (albeit a nasty surprise for the OP)

It should have been raised by the OP years ago, there isn't much of a defence now.

agrinnall

I didn't think that CC providers were allowed to cut a credit limit to less than the current balance, because clearly that will immediately cause the cardholder to incur charges, which is unfair. However, the time to complain about this was 3 years ago when they did it, and it's a separate issue to the interest rate that's being charged.

molerat

IMO you are stuck with the interest rate as that is within the T&Cs and you have the right to refuse increases. The over limit charges could be considered unfair and any charges arising from that should be challenged. Although it should have been done at the time I see no reason for not pursuing it now.

rubyrosie

I wasn't given any T&Cs when I took out the credit card, I was just put on that interest rate. I didn't sign anything, apart from the card itself obviously.

I did raise this with the bank when they reduced the credit limit but they weren't having any and I gave up.

@krisdorey, how do YOU know that I wasn't in debt due to "unforseen or dire circumstances"? Personally, I find such a judgemental and opinionated approach far less 'charming' than a bit of choice language among adults, and with an asterisk at that. Daily Mail reader perchance?

bris

They can cut the credit limit as they see fit, what they can't do is then charge overlimit fees after doing this, so what charges are racking up?
if it's just interest charges then they are no different now than they were when you took the card out.

Try overpaying more than the minimum payment, as everybody knows it will take 150000 years to pay off a credit card with the minimum payment, they are designed that way.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hey everyone, let's help the OP resolve this nicely by explaining what she can do now.

Thanks