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Requests to reduce interest rate
nickmack
Posts: 4,435 Forumite
in Credit cards
I have a few old Credit Cards that I don't use, so I thought I'd call them up and see if they would reduce the (extortionate) interest rates. The APR and cards are as follows:
Virgin 28.9% APR
NatWest 25.9% APR
HSBC 26.9% APR
All have a balance of £0 and had not been used for over a year.
Anyone has a guess at the results of my attempts?
Virgin 28.9% APR
NatWest 25.9% APR
HSBC 26.9% APR
All have a balance of £0 and had not been used for over a year.
Anyone has a guess at the results of my attempts?
0
Comments
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Depends how long you've held the accounts.
Virgin - 18.9%
Natwest - No change.
HSBC - No change.Credit 'Score' - Don't buy the credit 'score' that Experian, Equifax and Noddle want to sell you. It's an arbitrary number that means nothing when it comes to applying for credit.
ALWAYS HAVE A DIRECT DEBIT SET UP FOR THE MINIMUM PAYMENT ON YOUR CREDIT CARDS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU PLAN TO LOGIN AND PAY EACH MONTH.0 -
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...no change on any of them?!Capital One Classic Extra £2,450 [06-2012]
Barclaycard Platinum £5,200 [08-2015]
Lloyds Bank Platinum £750 [11-2015]
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Correct.
'We don't do that' or words to that effect from all of them!
I was quite surprised, business must be good for those guys. I closed all of the accounts and still no offer at all, not even balance transfer!
Well you were costing them money by provisioning for the credit limits on those cards so if you aren't using them and generating fees in terms of merchant charges as well as potentially interest then commercially it's a good idea to close them.0 -
As above, you are eating (even if minutely) into their liquidity ratios. If you don't utilise the credit lines then they don't have any qualms about closing it out.0
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Well you were costing them money by provisioning for the credit limits on those cards so if you aren't using them and generating fees in terms of merchant charges as well as potentially interest then commercially it's a good idea to close them.
I know this works for some other CC companies as they want you to spend at the new lower rate.
If you have a zero balance anyway, they're making nothing out of you, so lowering the APR in the hope you will spend and make them some money doesn't seem crazy.
As I said, maybe they are making enough from those at higher rates already and they can utilise the credit line with someone else willing to pay more interest.0
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