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Credit Card Charges 'Might' Be Coming Down
August 2005
Credit Card companies are making so much money via expensive charges such as late payment charges that the government is thankfully starting to act. However, cynics are wondering if this new assault on the card companies by The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will show any real bite, after all haven't organisations such as the OFT been looking into high APR charges on Credit Cards almost every year for since the turn of the century?
Remember Credit Cards are 'big business' and the lines of who actually governs a country are as blurred as they've ever been. Basically big business is too powerful, controlling too much money and assets so it can greatly influence government policy, and in some cases even change it to suit their needs and interests.
The OFT's Anti Credit Card Case
- Charges of around £20-£25 are being looked into
- These are for late payments, going over an agreed limit or making a payment which fails to clear
- The OFT argues that the charges are unfair under the contract terms regulations
- So in order to be fair the charges need to be reduced
- The CC companies have been given 3 months to address their concerns otherwise they face the threat of legal action
- The OFT says it has 'no idea' what a fair fee should be and expects the CC companies to suggest one
Let's Get Constructive
If you're one of the many that are hit by these kinds of Credit Card fees then in many cases they can easily be avoided, consider doing some of the following
- The easiest way to avoid late payments is to set up a direct debit but beware, CC firms love to get clients to only pay the minimum balance so the overpriced APR kicks in, so make sure you check to see what you're actually paying
- However, if you don't always pay off your balance then at least a DD with the minimum payment will protect you from late payments
- Get an electronic diary like Microsoft Outlook (this is the bigger brother of Outlook Express which is just for email). Outlook has a very good diary built in where you can enter information for certain dates with alarms attached to remind you x hours or days before, the author uses it and virtually never forgets to do anything
- Many people don't realise that you can easily pay off all or part of your balance via switch/Maestro etc by using the telephone, it's all done via touch-tone and takes a few mins (look on the back of your statement for details)
- If you're got a big balance on your card and are struggling to make payments then read this article of how to handle your debts - Click Here
- Finally, if you have been charged for misc. fees which you feel for whatever reason are unfair, call or write to your CC provider and complain, this tactic often works surprisingly well
Summary
OK, so the OFT is on the case of the Credit Card companies but don't hold your breath for any real action because as we said earlier the Credit Card companies are very powerful entities and the excess charges make them serious profits.
Better to just accept it and follow the rules, then late and other charges etc won't apply.
See Also
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TOP CREDIT CARD SEARCHES FROM FIND.CO.UK
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Reward Cards
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