19 June 2008
After comparing credit card fees now against when the base rate of interest was last at 5%, Defeqto.com has suggested that consumers are losing out.
The firm found that rates on cards along with balance transfer fees have risen since December 2006, when the Bank of England rate was the same as it is now.
Principal Consultant of Banking at the company David Black, however, asserted that newer users will be less likely to be hit.
"It remains the case that the industry offers its best deals to new customers. For the creditworthy, there is still a clear incentive to change your credit card every year or so," he commented.
And as there is currently no cap on balance transfer fees, he added, service providers can hike these up as far as they want.
Moreover, he said, banks are being more stringent in who they offer credit to in the current economic climate.
Giving a different view, uSwitch.com noted that week that credit is being given out without income checks in some cases.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
Content for the uSwitch.com market news service is provided by a third party, Adfero Ltd. Whilst uSwitch.com makes reasonable efforts to check the reliability of this content, uSwitch.com does not guarantee the accuracy thereof or endorse the views or opinions given by Adfero Ltd, unless expressly stated otherwise.