Many credit card firms have increased their interest rates in the last three months. Interest rates are the charges we have to pay for failing to meet the minimum monthly payment on credit cards.
The list of UK credit card companies that have increased some of their charges includes not only American Express and Barclaycard, but also most of the UK's biggest banks, such as the Halifax, HSBC, NatWest and Lloyds TSB, plus a host of other major card issuers.
In March, the Competition Commission imposed rules to stop store card customers being overcharged. Most of the country's debt mountain is due to the accumulation of mortgage borrowing which has risen sharply, in line with house prices.
The British Bankers Association reported recently that borrowing on credit cards had fallen for the fourth month in a row, the first time there has been such a decline. It attributed this partly to borrowers being more cautious. But it might also be due to the continuing switch of spending from credit cards to debit cards.
