BarclayCard ratejack

sarahW

Hi , im frustrated, today i have received a letter from Barclaycard stating that my interest rate on my credit card is jumping from 22.9% to 25.9% ! i have been paying off the minimum on my card account and has been getting lower and not missed a payment and now they want to do this to me and have more interest!

It states that i can close the account but im worried they might only temporary leave the interest rate or ask for the balance that i haven't got!
can anyone help or have idea in what they want from me

sarah

[Deleted User]

The rate will be frozen until you have paid off the balance, which you can do at your own pace.

Moneymash

sarahW wrote: »

Hi , im frustrated, today i have received a letter from Barclaycard stating that my interest rate on my credit card is jumping from 22.9% to 25.9% ! i have been paying off the minimum on my card account and has been getting lower and not missed a payment and now they want to do this to me and have more interest!

It states that i can close the account but im worried they might only temporary leave the interest rate or ask for the balance that i haven't got!
can anyone help or have idea in what they want from me

sarah

If you want to keep the card active to use then you will have to accept the rate hike. However, if you are happy to close the card and pay off the remaining balance on the current interest rate of 22.9% you will have to reject the rate hike. I think you have a set period of time to refuse the increase.

What you can't do is have both options, you can't remain on 22.9% and still have an active card.

Are you able to get a balance transfer to a 0% card, even if it is for only part of the balance, this would save you some interest.

sarahW

thanks for your help I cant get a transfer card as im financially hindered somewhat, my concern is that i was wondering if they would ask for the amount owed after 6 months frozen or time limit to pay off if they close the card or hit my credit score.

sarah

msallen

I closed a couple of cards a year or so back after a ratejack. Strictly speaking you can take as long as you like to repay (always paying at least the minimum), but on one of them (Mint), once I'd increased my direct debit from the minimum to a set higher figure, it was difficult to reduce it back to the minimum again.

happy_bunny_2

Just tell them to close it, pay the min via DD then overpay anything required via direct payment from Internet banking.

And chill. If they try anything funny just complain in writing.

chattychappy

msallen wrote: »

I closed a couple of cards a year or so back after a ratejack. Strictly speaking you can take as long as you like to repay (always paying at least the minimum),

"strictly" speaking they could require you to pay off the balance within a reasonable time. It seems in practice CCs require a monthly minimum on the same basis as when the account was open (as you say). This can take a very long time because typically the amount is a percentage of the outstanding balance and reduces as the balance declines until a "minimum minimum" is reached - eg £10.

You-kip

sarahW wrote: »

Hi , im frustrated, today i have received a letter from Barclaycard stating that my interest rate on my credit card is jumping from 22.9% to 25.9% ! i have been paying off the minimum on my card account and has been getting lower and not missed a payment and now they want to do this to me and have more interest!

It states that i can close the account but im worried they might only temporary leave the interest rate or ask for the balance that i haven't got!
can anyone help or have idea in what they want from me

sarah

Try and pay a lot more then the Minimum and you wouldn't even notice the 3% rate hike!

daveg72

I have phoned them before after I have had one of these letters and they have agreed not to put the rate up.

sarahW

Thank you all so very much for your time to reply , i can sleep a bit better now thinking about it.

sarah x

chattychappy

For the future, might I suggest that you always pay more than the minimum, even if only £1 more? This avoids a "minimum payment" marker on credit reports - a negative from a rating point of view. It might also reduce the likelihood of rating jacking too.