Now Credit Cards News

Credit Card Crime Is Thought To Rise

billybobbrown — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:35:33 +0000

As we enter a recession credit card crime is thought to rise. The reason for this prediction is that when times are hard and unemployment goes up, so do crime rates. Credit card fraud is one of the up and coming crimes and therefore the mixture of the current economic situation and credit card fraud being the new thing for criminals it is set to increase even further.

Credit card crime includes debit cards as well and these methods of payment are seriously on the increase. They appear to grow year on year. With more cards being used this also helps to fuel card fraud. The more they are used the more opportunities there are for low life’s to get hold of you details and rip you off.

Therefore take these steps to be more careful about how you use your credit and debit cards.

1) Shield your hand when typing in your pin in. This goes for when you are in shop as well as when you are at the cash machine.

2) Try to avoid using wireless card processors in shops.

3) Don’t just throw all your documents related to your cards. If you are going to throw them, make sure you shred first.

4) Be very careful who you give your card details to over the phone.

Have the credit card companies refused to adhere to government request?

billybobbrown — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:24:28 +0000

The credit card companies in the UK have signalled the government that they aren’t going to play nice and have again raised the interest rates on their credit cards. The last few weeks have seen the government getting stricter with the credit card companies, threatening them with government action if they don’t mend their ways. The government has lowered the interest rate three times in an effort to help the economy and the credit card companies were told to follow their lead. They have not done this however, and the average cardholder is now paying more today than they were just a few months ago.

Last November at a summit meeting the credit card companies were advised by the government to amend their fair principle practices as they have not done so yet. So in the hopes of forcing the credit card issuers to lower the interest rates they have been given two weeks by Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, to do so.

This next Thursday is the deadline for these fair principle practices. The government wants to see what the credit card companies have planned not just for interest rates, but for helping to provide responsible credit and help to people who are already in trouble with their payments. The government is not going to sit idly by this time and if the credit card companies don’t put forth the effort they will most likely be hearing from the Office of Fair Trade.

The economy is struggling to right itself and the consumer is caught in the crossfire. The intervention of the government on the consumer’s behalf is a step that needs to be taken. Credit card companies cannot continue to profit from other peoples struggles to live. Several banks have continued to raise the rates, but they said they had already been set in motion before the government recommendations.

Fraud Lessening in the UK

billybobbrown — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:14:26 +0000

A study has just claimed that credit card fraud in the UK is down, but it has pushed the numbers in overseas countries higher. Fraud in the UK is for credit, and debit cards are less by 14 times that of the overseas issues. The report stated that the chip and pin system is working. The UK anti-fraud policies have managed to save many UK consumers from having their credit card stolen.

This isn’t great for France, Spain and some of the other European countries. These countries have yet to install chip and pin systems. Losses in fraud while overseas are about 40 percent for the UK resident, whereas at home the losses are down to almost 10 percent. Domestic use of credit cards and the accompanying fraud that resulted in previous years has changed.

Part of it is due to the chip and pin system, but it is also due to the awareness of fraud. Many consumers in the past didn’t pay particular attention to the fraud being committed. There was a thought that it couldn’t happen to them. With the studies, statistics, and police work more consumers are aware of the dangers.

The dangers for UK consumers now come in visiting other countries with lesser systems as well as internet fraud. Internet fraud is up, especially during the holidays. More consumers are using the internet now than in previous years. This opens up the field to internet credit card fraud, with those who take the time to hack into a system. There are still more policies in place to avoid internet fraud, and the consumer should be aware of them. With internet fraud you can avoid it just by using the credit card company’s tactics. They will offer a one- time use credit card number for internet purposes to keep you safe.

Egg paying for misleading advice

billybobbrown — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:14:33 +0000

The Egg is now being fried after its owner Citigroup admitted fault in some misleading information being given to its prospective customers. Between the years of 2005 to 2007 the advice that Egg’s salespeople dispersed was deemed bad. The Financial Services Authority that oversees the industry has announced that the company will pay £721,000 in fines. These fines are the result of the selling of the company’s payment protection insurance for their credit cards.

The phone conversations were found to have errors in four out of ten conversations. The group heard hundreds of taped conversations for the time period and found them to be lacking in the proper information. The idea of payment protection insurance is to help the customer pay the bill if they are not able to do it. You give the company a certain amount of money, which is based on what the balance is.

The fine could have been even more if not for the fact that Citigroup decided to agree that they were at fault. It is estimated that the fine could have been in excess of one million pounds if Citigroup had not agreed with such speed.

The company is going to contact customers and make an offer of compensation to anyone who feels they have been duped. This could include upwards of forty thousand cardholders. The cost could reach a staggering six point seven million pound pay out by Citigroup. The credit card company has dropped selling the payment protection insurance through phone sales.

The Competition Commission has researched the overcharging of customers for the payment protection insurance and has concluded that the customers have been nit for more than one point four billion pounds. There should be new rules from the commission as early as next month; they will include how sales can be achieved and what the pricing should be.

Do you have too Many Credit Cards?

billybobbrown — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:04:54 +0000

A recent question as to how many credit cards are normal for a consumer to have led us to search out the answer. In the US, the Fair Isaac Corp. which looks at credit scores and history stated on average the population has 9 credit cards to their name. This is not really any different from what APACS and other credit card studies have shown us in the UK. The average person usually has 9 credit cards in their wallet at any given time. There are a small percentage of credit card residents that don’t have a credit card at all, and some have more than 13 cards.

Knowing that the average number is about 9 can lead to the answer of whether you have too many credit cards. First of all 9 credit cards, even as an average, is very high. So if you have 9 credit cards you definitely have too many, especially if all those credit cards have a balance on them. Ideally you should have two credit cards, if you are going to have credit at all. Here is the reason why. You have one credit card for balance transfer deals. You will pay the card off in the time allotted for the deal with no interest. The second card can be used for purchases. This card is the one you should never carry a balance on, and should be used only for emergency purposes. In other words it shouldn’t have a balance on it, ever.

Many consumers have more than 2 cards, because they get one card for a balance transfer deal then don’t pay it off in time so they get a new card. Most companies will not let you transfer the balance back and forth between two cards. If you constantly transfer a balance from one card to the next you need to look at how the cards are being used and consider debt management.

Credit Cards and Christmas

billybobbrown — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:33:06 +0000

Abbey just did a recent poll on how many credit card holders would use their credit cards for Christmas this year. About 1 in 5 UK residents say they will avoid putting their entire Christmas on credit cards. The study revealed about 52 percent of credit card holders will spend less on presents. 34 percent stated they would not be buying any gifts for Christmas.

The fact that a recession seems to be hitting the UK is part of the reason for cutbacks regarding Christmas spending. Many consumers are realising they need to reduce how much they spend and shop smarter this year, rather than just going out and getting what they want. Several consumers are going for the interest free credit cards, while others are just hanging with what they have and avoiding the use of them.

Using 0 percent credit cards is a wise idea if and only if the credit card holder can pay the card off before the term ends. They also need to realise you can’t use the card for both purchases and balance transfers. A card should only be used for purchases with a 0 percent deal if the consumer is bent on using the card for purchases.

Overall the study has shown 21 percent of Christmas shoppers intend to use their credit cards this season. There are many sales going on in the shops and online with price reductions. It just makes sense to infuse the economy with a little cash, but most consumers don’t feel they need to be wild about it. They seem to realise that cutting down on spending will help them because the future is uncertain. Christmas may once have been an expensive time of year, but the shoppers just aren’t biting this year, even as it edges closer to December 25th.

Barclaycard Has Seen Drop in Spending

billybobbrown — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:02:36 +0000

According to the CEO from Barclaycard in the UK their company has actually seen a drop in credit card spending. Unfortunately Barclaycard has also seen a rise in bad debts. About 3 to 4 percent of the consumers are spending less, and will most likely continue in this trend. Barclaycard expects the spending to become less as more UK consumers lose jobs and the recession grows larger. Barclaycard is one of the largest banks in the UK right now, and they also expect to grow during the next few months.

Despite the struggles in the economy Barclaycard is considering purchasing some US cards as the banks sell them. This strategy would give the card company more bad debts in their pocket, but they will pick them up cheap. This means they would be able to earn some money on the cards. In the UK about 12 million card holders are struggling, and spending about 4 percent less on their cards than in 2007.

While the numbers are little it is still a bit of a pull back. Typically during the November- December season the company would be seeing more increase on their cards rather than a lower spending rate. UK retail sales were also down, which is showing that a large amount of consumers are actually not making purchases.

Barclaycard attributes their success somewhat to the purchase of Goldfish, which has a higher quality card. It has left them better able to handle the changes in the economy. What does this mean for consumers? Well, Barclaycard is one of the only cards to offer a life of the balance transfer as well as the 0 percent deals. They are also one of the more fair cards when it comes to credit card interest rates and reducing them at certain intervals.

Online Bargains or Disguised Transactions

billybobbrown — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:30:29 +0000

The holidays are about to begin and most of the UK consumers have already been out shopping for their gifts. Online bargains seem to be a great way to get a product cheap. You also get to use your Debit or Credit Card online. It saves you in gas and having to visit a couple of stores for the comparison shopping; however not all online bargains are what they seem.

Credit card companies and the National Cyber Security Alliance have holiday shopping tips they are offering consumers. This year, if you want a safe holiday season using credit cards online you might consider some of the tips.

Before you go into the world of online shopping with your credit card, you need to consider your computer security. You need to have all firewall, anti virus, and anti spyware software installed and updated. Without this protection, using your credit card online could cause a fraudster to get the details.

Check the company you decide to shop at out. Sure, the company may have a great deal on a television, but is it real? Will you get your product or end up releasing your credit card details to a fraudster? The best way to check out the websites you are on is by doing a search for the company name. Look for reviews of the site and make sure anytime you enter your credit card details you have the https instead of http. The S stands for upgraded site security.

You should also take advantage of the security options you have with your credit card company. For example some credit card companies offer a one time use credit card number for online sites. You should get your “credit card number” and use it the one time for purchases. This way your details can’t be taken.

Bargains are only as good as the site is honest.

More Time to Pay off Credit Cards in the UK

billybobbrown — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:09:40 +0000

The economy around the world struggles to keep up with all its payments and it seems that the credit card companies in the UK must now give people some help. The government in the UK has taken the problem directly to the credit card issuers. The effort of the government is to have the credit card companies give the customer an additional sixty days to reduce or pay off their debt. The confirmation from the credit card companies suggests that they are willing to go along with the government in the hopes that some stability will return to the economy. While this is surely not a proper fix to the economic woes that the UK customer faces, it is a possibility that it will allow them the time to examine their options.

The stimulus package that was debuted recently was done in the hopes that the UK consumer will take stock of their debts and adjust accordingly. There may be more options available to the consumer if they can look at consolidating their credit card debt. The government is interested in what the credit card companies are doing to help in this crisis because they fear it is not enough. They fear that the credit card companies are not reducing the card holder’s debt because the interest rates are still high.

If the credit card companies continue to raise the APR’s on customers who are already in trouble, they risk the customer defaulting altogether on the money that is owed. The increase in credit card rates has continued even though the Bank rates have fallen. There is concern from the UK government that the consumer is not being treated fairly despite their best efforts to pay off their credit card debt. The financial troubles of many consumers could be greatly helped if these fair principles are instituted.

Escalating Changes in the Credit Card Industry

billybobbrown — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:04:17 +0000

The credit card industry has had a hard time according to most companies getting their money from consumers. Many consumers in the UK are struggling to pay their regular bills, and let their credit cards be paid last. Even those who pay attention to their credit cards may soon find pleasant deals gone. “Rate tarts” as these individuals are often called may find the 0% credit cards off the market at least to them.

Credit card issues stated that they may not allow credit card consumers to do balance transfers if they are considered a rate tart. The providers are actually going to share more consumer information between themselves in an effort to stop the consumers from getting the deals. Barclaycard, Capital One, and MBNA are just three of the companies willing to share their consumer information about promotional deals. For example if a consumer signed up with Capital One to get a 0% deal the information as to whether they paid the card off in full or just made minimum payments will be shared. This gives the credit card issuer more information on accepting a new customer wishing for a balance transfer or special deal.

These escalating changes are making it more difficult for the consumers to pay their debts. Consumers are already up in arms about the increases to interest rates and fees they have been subjected to. In fact many consumers feel that those who pay on time or more than the minimum payment are being punished for consumers who default. After all the credit card companies are making on average 17.9 percent interest per card with balance transfer fees of 3 percent.

Some critics over this new change the issuers are instigating believe it is a way to weed out the safe consumers who are not very profitable, so they can get more money out of a consumer.