27 October 2006
Steps to make credit card charges easier for consumers to understand have been announced by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The regulatory body believes a new programme to work more closely with the credit card industry and consumer bodies will help to increase the transparency of fees and charges.
It follows an investigation into the practises of credit card providers earlier this year.
John Fingleton, OFT Chief Executive said the scheme had come about following the increasingly confusing number of credit card options available to consumers.
"While these new pricing dimensions give additional choice and value to consumers, they can make it harder for consumers to make informed decisions," he said.
He added that the work will look at improving pricing information to allow customers to look at all their options objectively.
Mike Naylor, Personal Finance Expert at independent online price comparison and switching service, uSwitch.com, welcomed the announcement: "The OFT's investigation is great news for consumers and should help to stamp out the frenzy of sneaky money making schemes implemented by credit card providers following the cap on penalty charges a year ago.
"Overall, we are pleased to see the OFT stepping in at long last but consumers cannot afford to sit around and wait six months for this investigation to be completed.
"Consumers need to carefully examine every piece of correspondence they get from their credit card provider and make sure they are not paying more than they need to," he advised.
Recent OFT research has found that over 50% of card holders do not compare credit cards at all before signing up to a deal.
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