Egg Policy Change ?

Hannibal · 1 February 2008 at 9:27PM

Its happened to me to! I returned home this evening to find a letter from EGG informing me that my EGG card agreement will be terminated in 35 days.

Like others who have posted replies I have an excellent credit score/rating, no missed payments to EGG and always pay more than the minimum payment each month, I have held the account for 4 years and never requested an increase in the credit limit - EGG always increased it for me.

It took 15 minutes to speak to someone at EGG, it was like speaking to a brick wall. I am gutted and fuming.:mad:

sds1pg · 1 February 2008 at 11:20PM

Its reassuring (but disturbing) to see that others had had the same experience as me when I first started this thread this morning. If the misleading letter theyre sending out doesnt reflect the reality of why theyve made their decision, perhaps a class court action suing for emotional distress caused by it ought to be considered. Its unnecessarily insulting, stress-inducing and misleading !!

Psiloman · 2 February 2008 at 12:10AM

Another interesting take on it here:
Fool.co.uk: Egg’s credit-card policy changes
http://www.easier.com/view/Finance/Credit_Cards/News/article-159356.html
And yes I do fall into the referenced age group.

DifferentFromTheNorm · 2 February 2008 at 12:21AM

mintymoneysaver wrote: »

My DH only opened an account with egg a fortnight ago for the 15 month 0% and did some balance transfers. Egg phoned him yesterday but he wasn't here. Did you all get phone calls first? I wonder what they wanted him for? They can't renege on the deal can they?
He won't mind if they close the account as he has no intention of spending on it but I don't see how his credit rating can have deteriorated in 14 days!!!:rotfl:

It's most likely a 'welcome call'. They will basically just confirm a few things about the account, when payments will be due - if it's a suitable date or does it need to be changed etc, and if you didn't take out the card repayment protection they will most likely ask again if you want it.

If one call has been missed then they may call back but they won't in all cases.

The only way the 0% deal can be taken away is if either a payment is missed or if the account goes over the credit limit.

fotsy · 2 February 2008 at 12:30AM

Im glad to see im not the only one!!

I have had my egg visa for 8 years have never missed a payment, pay by direct debit, no where near my credit limit and always pay more than my minimum payment. I was so upset this morning when I recieved my letter I also checked my credit rating which is apparently excellent! spoke to someone at egg this morning who although was sympathetic said there was nothing I could do as no one would give me a different answer. Apparently in the letter there should be details of how we can appeal to this decision, there wasnt this information in mine, does anyone know how? I wish I could just pay it all off now so they loose out on all their interest!! Like others not happy with how the media are making us all out to be bad payers.

spotofbother_2 · 2 February 2008 at 1:58AM

Got the letter this morning. :mad: 1st thought - "bet I'm not the only one - check MSE tonight". Actually that wasn't QUITE my 1st thought - the 1st one wasn't actually printable!

Looks like they don't want "pay off the whole balance" customers. Wrote them a very sarcastic "secure message" (made me feel better anyway!). Been with them (I think) 7 or 8 years. Spent about 2 years up to last Sept hovering at my credit limit and making them money. In September paid off using redundancy money and only used since then when misplaced bank card paying off all each month. mmm GO FIGURE!!!! Now I don't need them they obviously don't need me!
Definately p1ss3d me off though as just this week I had checked with them about charges for using abroad, given all my travel details, arranged car hire which needs me to present the card (valid and current!) used for the booking as ID - still waiting for a reply on how the h3ll I am supposed to do this now. Anyway, must go and start my claim for 6 years charges ..... And I'll be paying the last teensy weensy bit off on Monday as an "u9 y0urs" gesture .....

ado · 2 February 2008 at 3:38AM

I am furious with Egg but I am comforted to know that I am not the only one this applies to.

I have an Egg Visa card which I have used for 5 years. I pay the balance in full most months and never exceed the credit limit. I also have £10,000 in savings with Egg, and I received a letter on 1/02 terminating my card agreement! I spoke to one of their staff tonight who was apologetic but was not at liberty to discuss my details and could not put me through to a supervisor or manager. She did however arrange for someone to call me back within 5 working days.

I am angry about losing my card but I am more annoyed with them for blithly labelling me a bad credit risk in their media press releases. As with other posters I think that a little honestly on their part would have been appreciated and warrented.

If they don't want me to use their credit card then I'm sure that they won't want me to keep my savings with them either so I will be making arrangements to move them ASAP!

daveboy · 2 February 2008 at 4:53AM

Withdrawing the credit facility from 161,000 customers is the biggest mistake Egg could ever make. For a while now they have been criticised by many on here for their poor customer service and apparent mistakes in interest charges. The Egg Card has become uncompetitive compared to others...I remember when no-one had a bad word to say about them but things have turned full circle now.

If other credit card companies follow suit, and I'm sure Egg won't be the only one, then there are going to be a lot of angry people out there. The only slightly good thing about it is that they don't expect the balance upfront if you have a debt on the card you can't immediately pay back.

I hope people tell Egg where to shove their card like many did when MBNA treated people like they were stupid with their ridiculous interest rate rises.

BettiePage · 2 February 2008 at 7:10AM

Banking giant is banning 160,000 debt-ridden customers from using their credit cards.

They will receive letters in the next few days warning them their Egg credit cards will stop working in 35 days' time.
It is the first time a credit card company has resorted to such a drastic move to curb over-spending, but others are expected to follow their lead as the global credit crunch tightens its squeeze on the beleaguered banking industry.
If they do follow suit, it could lead to a crisis on the high street, because credit card spending has fuelled the "spend, not save" shopping culture.
Many adults rely on their credit cards to pay for a lifestyle that they cannot afford.
Yesterday Egg said its dramatic move affects 7 per cent of its two million credit card customers.
They are being targeted because they have a "higher than acceptable risk profile", said the company.
This typically means they are spending over their credit limit or failing to make even minimum repayments every month.
Egg's move marks a dramatic turnaround from recent years when firms were dishing out easy credit to almost anyone.
There are signs of other firms clamping down on credit card customers who they fear are spending money they will never repay.
HSBC said yesterday it is now turning away just under half of all customers who apply for a credit card.
They used to accept around two in three.
Barclaycard said it is blocking some customers' ability to withdraw cash on their credit card because this is a classic sign of financial distress.
One in five has had his or her credit card limit slashed since August, according to a poll on the Daily Mail's financial website thisismoney.co.uk.
The number who have missed at least one payment on their credit card has soared, according to a survey by the comparison site MoneyExpert.com.
In June, around 4.1million had missed a payment. By December, it had jumped to 5.1million.
A spokesman for the trade body Association of Payment Clearing Services said: "A definite mood has been sweeping the industry.
"Some customers will be quite put out when they are told to stop spending or have their credit limit cut.
"But for others, it will be just the jolt they need."
Andrew Hagger, from the financial information firm Moneyfacts, said: "There is a growing number of people relying on credit to manage their day-to-day living.
"Losing that line of credit will undoubtedly bring matters to a head for many people earlier than expected."
Egg's move comes as huge mortgage repayments, soaring energy and food bills and below-inflation pay rises pile pressure on to hard-up families.
Yesterday Egg said it started sending out letters to customers on Thursday.
They will be told their cards will stop working at the end of the notice period, although they will be able to continue paying off the money owed.
A spokesman insisted the move is not linked to the credit crunch but follows a "risk review" of its customers after being bought by the investment bank Citigroup last year.