My increase on my egg card is to go up by six per cent.

A question about : My increase on my egg card is to go up by six per cent.

I've just got an email saying they are increasing my rate from 15.9 to 21.9 that's scandalous.
Problem is I have a fraigle credit file.
Does anyone have a suggestion on how I can transfer my blance (about Ј5,000) to a nother low interest card.
I'm in shock.
Egg use to be the cheapest.

Best answers:

• I'm literally in tears.
  I have been on the phone to them and they could give me no justification for the increase. All he kept taking aboiut was they now do risk assesment.
  I have two cards and two loans with them and thay have come to the conclusion to raise my interest by 6 per cent because I made one payment late FIVE years ago.
  Is there anyone I can complain too. This is a ploy to push those strugglin with debt into further misery.
• I would say it's a breach of the 1999 UTCC Act.
  Why should they have the right to change the contract between the two of you, and you not?
  I should write to the OFT - as this is probably a direct result of them being forced to charge no more than £16 for a 'default' (late payments, over limit etc...) - which means that they are literally just laughing at the OFT announcement.
• I will do so thanks.
  I wonder how many other credit companies will do this to reap in extra profits.
• Probably all.
  PS. I have just had the same email from Egg, and all I have done is increase my monthly payment to them. It would seem I am being punished for doing so.
• I've just had an email from Egg stating that they're raising my APR from 6.9% to 7.9% [not a massive increase – just an annoyance really] but when I rang them to query it they said that they are raising/lowering everyone's rates due to "personal circumstances"...
  I then pointed out that I make set monthly payments of Ј250pm to them, and make extra payments on time every month to pay the bill in full, and that I have never made a late payment or gone over my limit or otherwise p***** them off and therefore didn't understand how this behaviour could warrant a rate raise. Her response? "ALL our customers are having their APRs raised/lowered due to personal circumstances blah blah blah"
  I told her that I will be changing the damn card ASAP. "Right Ms X, and is there anything else I can help you with today?"
  To DChurch: I think they ARE within their rights to change the T&Cs because all copies of it that I've had state that "Rates subject to variation and correct as at x month 200x" and you can find all that same info on their website...
• True - the T&C's do say that. It doesn't make it a fair term though - which would be a breach of the UTCC regs.
• Be interesting to see if anyone has had their rates lowered.
  I'm gonna fight this.
  benn on the blower to the OFT and they said I need to make a formal complaint to their customer services.
  I'm crap at letter writing can anyone make up a template?
  The address is Customer Relations office
  Egg
  Pride park
  Riverside Road
  Derby
  DE99 3GG
  I reckon they are gonna get pretty bad publicity from this stunt
• Ha - I bet there is NO-ONE who has had their rate lowered.
• My rate has gone up 2% from 15.9 to 17.9. At that rate, I'll never pay it off. I've been steadily paying Ј50 a month for the last couple of years. I'm definietly going to complain if anyone wants to give some guidance.
  Would I be better off clossing the card and getting a lower-rate loan, or BT to pay it off? A card is not a great idea as I don't usually get very good limits and I'll need about Ј1500, but could be an option.
  B*******!
• Yes, mine went from 15.9 to 21.9.
  I can't wait to get home and see what I can put on ebay to pay this b*tch off!
  (should have done it earlier really!!)
• I owe them a substantial amount of money from when I was at uni and struggling to raise two babes alone.
  I'm still struggling on my own (boo hoo)
  I haven't spent on it for a long time, if they feel I am a bad risk why don't they lower my credit limit.
  I am so cross, I want to cry!!
• Ive just had a look on my email after seeing this but I havent had any communication from Egg at all. I have £2900 outstanding on the account at the moment and the last email I had from them was on 3rd August offering me 3.9% on BTs till 31st August which would have been very nice had I not already had expensive debt sitting on the card already. I am going to apply for a 0% card to get rid of this debt but expect to get the anniversary offer as it was promised when I opened the card. They cant go back on it, Im sure when theyve used it in their advertising.
• Don't cry - get even.
  Flog stuff on ebay and try and pay it off as quick as possible now.
  I'm in a position where my ex-partner has pretty much wrecked my credit rating, so I am unable to balance transfer the card to another. She's just moved out and I'm having a serious clear out - I hope to get the balance paid off by xmas.
  In a way, them raising the interest rate will have done me a favour - I wouldn't have been motivated enough to try and do anything about it if it were not for the rise.
• Me4bargains, how do you know youve got a bad credit rating? It might be worth finding out for sure to see if you can apply for a 0% or life of balance card.
• Are they attacking the people with the worst credit rating because they know they cant take their custom elsewhere and are forced to put up with the high rates?
• Dear Mr xxxxxx
  At Egg we want to treat customers as individuals both in our approach to service and the products we offer. In line with this, we are now personalising the interest rate on your Egg Card - this is great news for you.
  We have taken into account how you run your Egg Card and your relationship with us. For our most valued customers, including you, the interest rate on your card will be reduced. In addition however, there is an increase to the cash handling fee which applies to all customers.
  It's important for you to understand what these changes mean to you, so please read the following information carefully.
  Changes effective from 8 September 2006
  As of 8 September 2006, we're reducing the standard variable interest rate you pay on purchases and balance transfers. We are increasing the rate you pay on cash advances. This affects Conditions 3, 4.1, and 6.
  3 - we're reducing the APR on your card from 15.9% to 9.9%.
  4.1 - we're reducing the variable annual interest rate you pay on purchases and balance transfers from 15.9% to 9.9% and for cash advances the variable annual rate increases from 20.9% to 22.9%.
  6 - the illustration has been changed to show that if you make a Purchase of £1,500 and then repay in 12 equal monthly repayments the interest to be paid would be £76.39 due to the reduced interest rate. As this example is based on a set of assumptions, this does not reflect your actual interest payments.
  Change effective from 8 October 2006
  7.2 - this change is to confirm the handling fee of 2.5% of the amount of each Cash Advance (minimum fee £2.00) is increasing to 3% (minimum fee £3.00).
  As a result of these changes, the estimated interest shown on your statement, which is purely given as a guide to interest you may pay, may be incorrect this month. This is due to the timing of monthly statements, and will be rectified on future statements.
  You can find your current standard variable interest rate for purchases and balance transfers by logging into 'your accounts'. Select 'Egg Card' followed by the 'Statements' option. Then choose to view 'more details about your Egg Card'.
  If you have any questions about this e-mail please feel free to get in touch by calling us on 08453 040 391 and we'll do our best to help.
  Best wishes
  Mark Powys
  Head of Credit Cards
  Egg Banking plc
• Are these emails coming in with your monthly statements? Or seperately?