The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed that its crackdown on credit card fees has saved Britons £80m.
The authority’s work on unaffordable debt highlighted that those struggling with credit card debt were facing multiple charges for missed or late payments that increased the severity of the problem, including a number of different penalty charges on the same bill.
The FCA partnered with firms to identify a solution, with many of them either removing or capping certain fees, while improved communication has, in some instances, allowed individuals to avoid additional charges altogether.
Commenting, Hargreaves Lansdown personal finance analyst Sarah Coles: “In December we spent £18.16 billion on credit cards, and for most people the thought of living without one is tantamount to living without a mobile phone - or running water. But there’s a big difference between manageable credit card borrowing that’s paid off each month (or in a planned way over a specified number of months), and credit card debt that has got out of hand.
“The cutting of punitive fees is a good start, but if you’re struggling with credit cards, this is far from your only problem. If you’re just paying off the minimum on your credit cards each month – or missing payments entirely - you’ll be spending a small fortune in interest too: plus there’s a real risk you’re running into serious financial difficulty.
“The solution starts with working out exactly where you stand. In some cases, you’ll be able to switch your debts to another card or a loan charging a lower interest rate. At the same time you should draw up a monthly budget of everything you earn and spend, and look at where you can cut costs in order to free up enough money to pay off your debts.
“In other cases, things will have gone beyond this stage. But if you find yourself in trouble, don’t panic. You can contact a debt charity like StepChange or National Debtline, and they will talk you though your options and help you get back on track.”
Latest News
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories