New Rules Imposed on Store Card Issuers
Competition Commission imposes new measures on expensive store cards
7th March 2006
The Competition Commission has published its final report into the store card industry, and has concluded that customers are being overcharged by at least £55m a year. The report says that the average store card APR is 10 to 20 per cent too high because of a lack of competition in the market, and also a lack of consumer awareness of the true costs of using the cards compared to other forms of credit.
The report imposes new rules intended to remedy the situation, including a requirement that any card with an APR of 25% or above must include a prominent warning on cardholders' statements that there may be cheaper alternatives available.
There must also be a general improvement in the information on costs and charges shown on statements, says the commission.
The new rules follow the introduction of similar measures in the credit card industry nearly 2 years ago.
Read More: Competition Commission Report (PDF file)
|
More on Store Cards : Lack of Competition Makes Store Cards Too Expensive (News, 15/09/2005), Commission's Concerns Over Store Cards (News, 12/01/2005), Store Cards : Staff Ignorant of Costs (News, 02/12/2004), Store Cards Inquiry - More Details (News, 22/09/2004), Store Cards Probe (News, 18/03/2004), See all 7 Store Cards stories >>> |
Home - Credit Cards
