Credit Card And Related News For October 2006 -

Welcome to the latest news concerning UK credit cards and other related topics for the month of September 2006

• 2 out of 3 Britons will shop online for their presents this Christmas [31.10.06]
  UK credit card issuers are expecting 2 out of every 3 Britons to make use of their credit cards and shop online when looking for Christmas presents for family members and friends this year.
• Why Brits should make sure they read small print in UK credit card offers [29.10.06]
  You may have been reading recently about the demise of the 0% balance transfer offers that UK credit card companies have actively been promoting for the last few years. You may even have been told that this was because UK credit card providers had wised up to the fact that credit card debtors in the UK were using this as an easy an convenient way to repay their UK credit card debt.
• 97% of Briton throw away their identity [27.10.06]
  How often have you thought that the rubbish you are throwing way in your bin might be of some use to somebody else? Not very often if new statistics released about the type of rubbish we throw away in our bins is to be believed!
• Applying for too many credit cards could risk your credit rating [26.10.06]
  It doesn’t need a degree in mathematics. There are over 70 million credit cards in circulation in the UK with less than 35 million adults qualified to have a UK credit card. So, as an average, we each have over 2 credit cards in our wallet or purse.
• Credit Card Borrowing Falls for the Fifth Month in Succession [25.10.06]
  Figures released by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) which show that overall UK credit card borrowing feel for the fifth month in row will leave many British economist happy that a rise interest rates may be delayed but may have many industry watchers concerned that the UK is finally getting over its debt addiction.
• Customer Credit Limits Cut By Amex [24.10.06]
  Credit card giant, American Express, is slashing credit limits for thousands of its cardholders. One customer who happens to be a millionaire had his card-spending limit reduced without an explanation. Some other cardholders have had their spending limits cut either without explanation or warning.
• Brits Spending More On Their Debit Cards Than Cash Or Credit Cards [17.10.06]
  According to the latest figures released by the Association of Payment Clearing Services (APACS), for the first time Brits are now spending more on their bank debit cards than they are cash or charging to their UK credit cards.
• Brits Charge £470 Billion To Their Credit Cards [16.10.06]
  A recent report from market analysis Datamonitor shows that Brits charged £470 billion to their credit cards in 2005. This is a massive 50% jump on credit card spending from 2001 figures.
• Should UK Credit Cards Have Debt Warning Labels? [13.10.06]
  Comments attributed in the press to Jim Spowart, founder of both Standard Life Bank and Intelligent Finance, say that Mr. Spowart has informed the Chancellor of the Exchequer that he believes UK credit cards with Annual Percentage Rates (APR) in excess of 10% over the Bank of England’s base interest rate should carry warning labels on the problems associated with high repayment costs.
• Great Offers As UK Credit Card Providers Compete For Christmas Trade [12.10.06]
  With Christmas a mere few months away, a number of UK credit card issuers have announced special deals they’ll be offering new UK cardholders during the Christmas and New Year period.
• New UK Cheque Rules To Help Combat Fraud [10.10.06]
  Banks and building societies in the UK have introduced new rules to try and stop fraudsters from stealing millions of pounds in cheque fraud. Under the new rules, bank customers with cheque book facilities will no longer be able to make their cheques payable to a particular bank or building society but instead will be required to write the name of a named beneficiary on the cheque.
• Brits Top European Debt Table [03.10.06]
  It’s been said time and time again, but Brits are now borrowing more than at any time before. Collectively, as a nation, we now over £1.2 trillion! Which means that we in the UK now borrow double the European average and sit very comfortably at the top of the European debt table.
• 1.3 Million Brits Unaware That They Are Paying For Their Current Accounts [02.10.2006]
  Although the Banking Code Standards Board (BCSB) have said that the practice of upgrading customer bank accounts without consent was against the rules of the Banking Code, the results from survey research undertaken by uSwitch indicates that 1.3 million Brits have had their current accounts upgraded to expensive fee-paying packaged current accounts without their consent.