Credit card rates soar despite base rate
February 8, 2011
For nearly two years the base interest rate in the UK has stood at just 0.5 percent, which is the lowest level it has ever been at in the history of the Bank of England, which spans over three centuries. However, throughout the period over which the base rate was falling credit card interest rates continued to increase.
At present the base rate still stands at 0.5 percent. However, despite this credit card interest rates have continued to soar, with the average credit card interest rate now coming in at a whopping 18.9 percent. This is thirty five times higher than the Bank of England base rate and is the highest it has been in thirteen years. Some officials believe that this stems from providers being cautious due to the increased risk of bad debt because of job losses and the state of the economy.
Credit card providers that are offering lower rate deals are becoming increasingly cautious over who they offer these deals to, which means that the majority of consumers have reduced choice when it comes to finding a credit card. This means that many end up having to go for the higher rate cards, and with interest rates going up and up this can equate to a huge amount of debt and interest.
Tags: debt, level, customer base, Rates (tax), credit cardOne official said: “During the financial crisis many credit card companies assessed their existing customer base and many customers have seen large increases in the rate they are charged. Customers who would previously have switched to another provider are now finding it’s not so easy to do so. Competitive deals for balance transfers and introductory purchases remain on offer but card providers are selective over exactly who they select for these deals.”
Credit Card Rates Hiked By Two Major Providers
September 29, 2009
Two major credit card providers have become the latest to hike up their credit card interest rates, despite the fact that the base interest rate in the UK is at its lowest level in the three hundred and fifteen year history of the Bank of England. Officials claim that the two card providers have sneakily hiked up the interest being charged on credit card borrowing by significant levels, thus increasing borrowing costs for their cardholders. Read more
Tags: Lloyds TSB, providers, bank of scotland, credit card, borrowing, halifax, bank of england, interest rate, increasesCredit Cards Costing More
December 15, 2008
Credit Card companies are going against government warnings to make their credit card deals fairer to customers and face investigations by industry watchdogs if do not change their ways. Read more
Tags: Conservative side, office of fair trading, interest rate, bank of england, store cards, credit cardLenders Raising Costs
November 23, 2008
Over the last three months the cost of credit card borrowing has gone up considerably with new figures showing that more than 10% of credit card providers are raising their rates. Sixteen credit card providers have put up the interest rates on purchases since August and all this has happened not taking into account the drops of Bank of England base rate. All this information has been put togeather by financial information group Moneyfacts. Read more
Tags: 0% balance transfer, moneyfacts, bank of england, purchases, Credit Cards