Requesting interest rate reduction

Karina_B

Hi everyone
I'm new here so forgive me if this has been asked before.
I'm stuck in a situation where I'm paying high interest on credit cards but cannot change to another card because I now don't have the income to apply for a new one. I was employed when I first had the cards but am now self employed with a much lower income.
I have two credit cards - Egg and Barclaycard. I'm up to the limit of £6000 on my Egg card and paying 19.5%. I have contated them to ask why the rate I am paying is higher than the rate they advertise. They would not tell me - they just said that it was the way my account was managed and operated. I suspect that it is because a) because I have missed a very few payments in the past and b) because I am no longer spending on the card. I have asked them to reduce the rate and they have declined.
I owe £3000 on my Barclaycard. They are currently advertising 14.5% variable to new customers but I am paying 21%!! I pay by direct debit, still have credit to use and have spent on my card in the last year (but have now stopped and determined not to use except in dire emergency). I don't think I have missed any payments - at least not within the last two years. I want to ask Barclaycard to reduce the rate that I pay but I want to get it right. Any advice please? And is Egg a lost cause?
Thanks, Karina

jamesd

Missed payments reduce your credit score and increase the interest rate you're likely to receive from any provider who checks your credit report. Paying just the minimum payment is also a negative factor for the operator of each card, as is having used more than perhaps 90% of your balance without reduction or regular in and out traffic.

Egg may do a human review of your rate if you ask but that discussion will include them asking for details of your income and is more likely to result in a higher rate than a lower one.

You run a similar risk of being asked to disclose your current income if you seek a rate reduction from Barclaycard.

Looks as though you need to work to reduce the Barclaycard debt since it's the higher of the two, unless you have higher rate debt elsewhere.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Well I rang Barclaycard a year ago and asked them to reduce my interest rate from 18.9% and they offered me 11.9% which I was pretty pleased with. I hadn't missed any payments but had been paying the minimum for years. (It is now paid off and sitting empty!) I had been a customer for over 20 years mind you!

Make sure you don't miss any payments on Barclaycard and then ask them again in a few months time.

Egg, however, refused to reduce the interest rate for my OH from 16.9% (he has an excellent credit reputation), so we are aggressively paying it off and plan to close it asap.