Which Magazine welcomes Treasury Select Committees continued pressure on credit cards
Which (formerly Consumers Association) has long campaigned for a credit market where people are able to make real comparisons and not be hoodwinked.
Responding to today's Treasury Select Committee hearing and in advance of next week's final hearing, Laurence Baxter, senior policy officer, Which? said: 'We're glad that the committee is continuing to put pressure on banks. The main unresolved issues from today's hearing were how interest is calculated and data-sharing. 'It's clear that no real progress has been made on interest calculation. MP Nigel Beard's comments that banks are 'addicted to profits through deception,' is in no small part due to the lack of transparency when it comes to calculating interest. Currently there are at least nine different ways of calculating credit. Industry must standardise the way credit card interest is allocated so that people can compare cards using the APR and summary boxes are not the answer to this. 'We also urge the committee to pursue the issue of data-sharing, an idea to which the banks have 'committed to consider'. Poor credit sharing is one of the chief culprits behind the UK's credit card serial borrowing crisis. The banks repeatedly claim that they lend responsibly by undertaking credit checks. Yet how can they if they lack access to full information about the applicant's existing debt burdens? 'Today, summary boxes were much lauded as the panacea for all problems relating to credit card interest calculation. We think summary boxes are great for simplifying complex terms and conditions, but they are not the ultimate solution.' Financial News Feeds provided by OneCompare.com
Date published: 10/21/2004 11:37:57 AM
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