Marbles BIG Interest Rate Increases On The Way...

g-diddy_2

Just had a letter from Marbles Credit Card this evening that has really cheered me up! (not)

They have to written to advise my interest rate/APR is increasing from 29.94% to 38.91%! :eek:

Called Marbles to ask they explain to me why and how they can justify this increase?! Spoke to a really nice professional guy, but the poor guys in the call centres are just at the coal face saying I am one of numerous people calling in and they are unable to give a reason why and their systems just tells them of the increase but no reason!

He even said thousands of letters with interest rate rises have gone out and they are expecting a deluge of calls in the next weeks.

He even looked through by account and said I've run it excellently paying on time, and going no where near the limit of my card and mentioned how I pay way more than the minimum balance. Also this was reflected as had two credit increases in the last year.
(Even though these have been applied to my account, I am not using the increased limit.)

I admit my credit rating is not great, but this is in the past and have been turning this around over the last two years. I use three of these free credit checking services, MSE, Clear Score and Noddle, all showing how my rating has increased over the last year and the amount I have borrowed as gone down over this time.

I've been told, basically the call centre can do nothing (not even the managers) and the decsions are made at the top, and to write to Customer Services for them to review my account and they might re-think the decision. Probably a waste of time and "the computer says no!"

The only other option is to cancel the account before the 15th April and will be charged at the exisiting rate of interest until the paid off.

Before others comment, I am fully aware the 29.94% of interest is already high, but accepted this when considering my history, but as this is improving the 9(ish)% rate hike has knocked my sideways! If was by 1-2% I maybe would accept it.

Ebe_Scrooge

And your question is ...... ?

Credit Card issuers can vary their interest rates at any time, subject to the statutory notice period. If you don't like the new T&C's switch to another card ?

You say in your OP : "The only other option is to cancel the account before the 15th April and will be charged at the exisiting rate of interest until the paid off." So if you have the funds to pay off the balance, why haven't you done so ? You can't cancel a card whilst there is an outstanding balance on it.

[Deleted User]

Or pay off the balance in full every month and pay no interest?

David555

Am I missing something? If the OP could pay it off in full I'm sure he/she would! Not everyone is rich and in a position to do so with the cost of living ever increasing at a alarming rate. What arrogant replies. Why don't you pay off your mortgages in full today instead of paying interest? (If you have mortgages of course)

Back to the original post. It's all about profits sadly, they can see you're a profitable customer by not clearing in full so basically taking advantage by upping the interest you pay. Depending on how long you've had the card you might be able to get a more main stream card elsewhere. Check here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/

If you aren't quite there consider getting a Aqua advance card that lowers your interest by 5% every year for 3 years until it's at a more reasonable 19ish%

Candyapple

David555 wrote: »

Am I missing something? If the OP could pay it off in full I'm sure he/she would! Not everyone is rich and in a position to do so with the cost of living ever increasing at a alarming rate. What arrogant replies. Why don't you pay off your mortgages in full today instead of paying interest? (If you have mortgages of course)

Back to the original post. It's all about profits sadly, they can see you're a profitable customer by not clearing in full so basically taking advantage by upping the interest you pay. Depending on how long you've had the card you might be able to get a more main stream card elsewhere. Check here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/

If you aren't quite there consider getting a Aqua advance card that lowers your interest by 5% every year for 3 years until it's at a more reasonable 19ish%

The issue is with subprime cards such as these, you should not be holding a balance on them........ever. The whole point of them is to rebuild your credit history. As in using them responsibly - buy something and then pay it off as soon as that statement has been produced.

If you want to buy something and not clear it off monthly then you go for 0% cards. Given that these are usually reserved for people with good credit histories, there is a reason why, because they've shown how to handle credit responsibly.

Those who end up with poor credit histories and are resigned to subprime cards are there for a reason. Lenders don't like people who don't repay their debts or make late payments. Sadly a lot of people who fall into this category still think they need a credit card and rather than using it to build up their history, use it like a 'normal' credit card and just end up in the same vicious cycle of running up debts with high interest and eventually not being able to repay them. If you use a subprime card correctly, they can give you that boost to be able to access mainstream credit sooner rather than later.

There's no reason why this interest rate increase should have affected the OP...................but it does because they have a balance on the account.

OP you should post over on the DFW forum and look to seek ways to pay off your debt ASAP.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76

As an example of how insane it is to use a subprime card to keep a balance on, a debt of £1,000 with APR of 29.9% if you paid monthly minimum repayment of £25 you'd repay the credit card by April 2026 at a cost of £1,447 interest. Yes that's 8 years in order to clear your balance.

davethorp

It seems to be a matter of course with New Day to routinely increase interest rates for no valid reason (other than the fact that they can). My Aqua card a few months ago was subject to a rise from 49.9% to 58.9%. I took great pleasure when I cleared what balance was on the card and subsequently told them exactly where to shove their increase

MABLE

g-diddy wrote: »

Just had a letter from Marbles Credit Card this evening that has really cheered me up! (not)

They have to written to advise my interest rate/APR is increasing from 29.94% to 38.91%! :eek:

Called Marbles to ask they explain to me why and how they can justify this increase?! Spoke to a really nice professional guy, but the poor guys in the call centres are just at the coal face saying I am one of numerous people calling in and they are unable to give a reason why and their systems just tells them of the increase but no reason!

He even said thousands of letters with interest rate rises have gone out and they are expecting a deluge of calls in the next weeks.

He even looked through by account and said I've run it excellently paying on time, and going no where near the limit of my card and mentioned how I pay way more than the minimum balance. Also this was reflected as had two credit increases in the last year.
(Even though these have been applied to my account, I am not using the increased limit.)

I admit my credit rating is not great, but this is in the past and have been turning this around over the last two years. I use three of these free credit checking services, MSE, Clear Score and Noddle, all showing how my rating has increased over the last year and the amount I have borrowed as gone down over this time.

I've been told, basically the call centre can do nothing (not even the managers) and the decsions are made at the top, and to write to Customer Services for them to review my account and they might re-think the decision. Probably a waste of time and "the computer says no!"

The only other option is to cancel the account before the 15th April and will be charged at the exisiting rate of interest until the paid off.

Before others comment, I am fully aware the 29.94% of interest is already high, but accepted this when considering my history, but as this is improving the 9(ish)% rate hike has knocked my sideways! If was by 1-2% I maybe would accept it.

As Martin is always saying pay off in full each month. The exception to that for me is if I am on a promotional rate.

You will find with all credit card co's they are all very good at taking your money!

quackers82

Candyapple wrote: »

The issue is with subprime cards such as these, you should not be holding a balance on them........ever. The whole point of them is to rebuild your credit history. As in using them responsibly - buy something and then pay it off as soon as that statement has been produced.

Since when has carrying a balance on a credit card not been responsible? Its their main purpose! borrowing over a short period of time, ie a holiday and paying it back over a couple of months. Loans for borrowing over a long period of time.

They have other purposes such as emergencies , which again might need to be paid back over a few months depending on the cost, short term borrowing and carrying a balance!

Some use them for everything than pay back in full, or use it for rewards which is fine, but don't go saying its irresponsible to carry a balance on a product designed for carrying a balance short term.

PeacefulWaters

quackers82 wrote: »

Since when has carrying a balance on a credit card not been responsible? Its their main purpose! borrowing over a short period of time, ie a holiday and paying it back over a couple of months. Loans for borrowing over a long period of time.

They have other purposes such as emergencies , which again might need to be paid back over a few months depending on the cost, short term borrowing and carrying a balance!

Some use them for everything than pay back in full, or use it for rewards which is fine, but don't go saying its irresponsible to carry a balance on a product designed for carrying a balance short term.

This doesn't sound like a short term balance.

dazzaofdagenham

davethorp wrote: »

It seems to be a matter of course with New Day to routinely increase interest rates for no valid reason (other than the fact that they can). My Aqua card a few months ago was subject to a rise from 49.9% to 58.9%. I took great pleasure when I cleared what balance was on the card and subsequently told them exactly where to shove their increase

I personally believe that interest rates like that should be made illegal...( but that’s not her story )

Bearing in mind that the BOE rate has only jus5 moved from 0.25%

[Deleted User]

The card rates aren't linked to BoE rates. They're linked to customer risk.