Reno Charlton, award-winning writer, shares her financial expertise as a contributing columnist for Credit Card Comparison, where you can compare 0% balance transfer credit cards and compare instant decision credit cards.
Many people may have realised that the charges on their credit cards have been rising over recent months, even though the base rate has fallen considerably over this period of time. Industry reports have shown that although the base rate has been falling interest rates charged on credit cards have been increasing, leaving consumers to pay more and more for their borrowing in an already difficult financial climate.
However, whilst the credit card industry has been in talks with government officials to try and make things fairer for consumers, and whilst some have agreed to stop overnight hikes on credit cards, many consumers may already have been hit by instant hikes on their credit card interest rate, often with no justification.
If you have seen your credit card rate shoot up for no reason then it is definitely worth taking action and contacting your credit card firm, as if the lender is unable to justify the hike in your credit card interest rate it may have to reduce the rate back to its original level.
In the current financial climate we can ill afford to pay over the odds on any of our borrowing, so it has become increasingly important to take action and ensure that we are doing whatever we can to keep our outgoings down. This includes taking action if we feel we are being charged over the odds on our borrowing, which means contacting the credit card firms to find out why the interest rate has gone up and to do our best to get it back to its original rate.
Officials from the Financial Ombudsman Service have stated that in cases where credit card firms are not able to justify the increases on the credit card interest rates many have had to revert back to the original rate, and this could be one of the things that enables you to save money on your monthly outgoings.
So, if your credit card interest rate has gone up for no justified or apparent reason contact your provider and find out why, as you could find that you can get your rate knocked back down to a cheaper rate, thus savings more money each month. Alternatively, you can compare credit cards for a better deal whether you are looking to compare 0% balance transfer credit cards or compare low interest rate credit cards.
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