Some relief for credit card users in U.K. Credit card companies in U.K. have slashed the penalty fee to £12 or less following a ruling earlier this year by regulators. Nearly forty main British credit providers such as Barclays and MBNA have slashed their default fees after the Office of Fair Trading stated that the fee of £25 was too high. On the other hand experts warn that this happiness would be shortlived as in order to cover this credit card companies were raising charges elsewhere and warned the customers to look for other hidden costs. A statement is expected to be issued by OFT within a few weeks confirming about the reduction of fees.
As per Samantha Owens, Moneyfacts:
While it is good news that the charges have come down voluntarily, we have noticed other charges being introduced such as fees for duplicate statements and for changing the date of monthly payments. These services used to be free, and it is possible more new costs will creep in as firms make up for the money they have lost on default charges.
So customers beware as the banks have found out other avenues in order to charge you.
