1st Bank to Slash Overdraft Charges
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At last, and big thumbs up to Barclays, who have annouced that they are to “significantly reduce” their overdraft fees in a move that appears to undermine recent industry claims over the true cost of bounced payments.
From August 18 the Barclays bank customers will only have to pay £8 for a returned or guaranteed transaction, which although still not cheap, is darn sight better that the current charge which can and often is as high as £35, which the banks have always maintained is a fair amount. £35 to send an automated letter, nice touch, no wonder they make so much profit, I think there is a new business model there!
Barclays will also replace unauthorised overdrafts with a “Personal Reserve” which users can access for a charge of £22. HSBC introduced something similar a while ago at a cost of £25. It is worth noting that it is the access that you are charged for not the limit, so dont be taking it out in drips and drabs, if you need that reserve, take it all out at once!
Customers without this will see payments over an agreed limit bounced, but will still only have to pay the lower £8 charge.
Barclays says it has been able to reduce its charges as a result of breakthroughs in its handling systems, with a far greater automated service.
But the move is likely to be seized on by campaigners who say fees of up to £35 are exorbitant, and in my opinon so is £8, but its a good start.
They claim they do not represent the actual cost to banks - which they believe could be as little as £2.50.
Hopefully the UK’s other High Street banks will follow Barclays and announce similar cuts in their overdraft fees, But it is not all good news for Barclays’ customers. It is also scrapping interest on standard current accounts and interest on overdrafts is going up from 15.6% to 17.9%.
Lets face that facts, and im sure some of you wont like what I say next, but for good for for worse, banks are not going to tollerate a loss in revenues. they will all just make it up in stealth taxes, just like our government does. So instead of being open about it all and charging those who miss use their accounts, basically, everybody is now punished for the people who cant for what ever reason keep their bank accounts in good order. In the long run this good for those who dont keep the accounts in order as it will help reduce the punishment they are put through, but in the long run we all lose out and the only winners are the banks.
08453665604
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if you see this phone number calling you it is the Egg collections department
08453665604
Egg Boss Quits and about time too!
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Ian Kerr has resigned, and good ridance, may he never get a job in charge of customers again!
Egg have just announceed his resignation after a row over the bank’s appauling decision to withdraw 7% their customers cards (161,000 credit cards).
Egg is the online bank, owned by Citigroup, and they said we were customers with poor credit, but many of us affected paid our bills in full every month. Egg then denied this and said the customers might become a high risk in the future. How can they predict the future like that i hear you ask? Well I know, a secret source has told me that Ian Kerr invested in the same technology used in the Minority Report.
Apparently Mr Kerr’s resignation was not related to the credit card cancellations. Well Mr Kerr, it should have been! Mr Kerr, who ran Egg since November 2006, is to be replaced by Bert Pijls, Citigroup’s country manager for the Czech Republic.
Labour MP Nigel Griffiths, a former consumer affairs minister critical of Egg’s actions, welcomed Mr Kerr’s resignation, as do we all!
“Egg presided over a PR disaster, withdrawing cards from thousands of perfectly respectable customers and failing to give full and honest reasons,” he said.
egg’s response to my complaint
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Not only have I consistently paid off my Egg Card in full and have never even touched the credit limit, but I have also recently had my credit rating checked for a new mobile phone contract and was told that I have an “excellent” credit rating, so I wrote to Egg stating:
and asked them to
“explain to me on what grounds I exceed ‘the acceptable level of risk’ asap.”
After one letter informing me that they would be addressing my complaint, I received the following letter:
RE: Your Egg card Account xxxx
Thank you for your secure message regarding the notice that your Egg Card agreement is ending. We have conducted a review of this decision on your behalf.
I have set out the summary of my findings below.
What I understand about your complaint
You are unhappy about the notice that your Egg Card agreement is ending, and wish to appeal against our decision.
What my findings are after investigating it
Our decision was made following an extensive review of our credit card portfolio. Unfortunately, this placed your account within a category of accounts on which we are not prepared to advance further credit.
Egg is not required to provide specific details relating to this decision.
As such, I am unable to change this decision and I have to advise you that I am rejecting your appeal request.
What you need to know
After the notice period has expired you will no longer be able to use your card and any regular payments, such as subscriptions, that have been paid from your card account will no longer be paid so you will need to arrange other means of payment.
We are not requiring immediat repayment of you[sic] account balance but you do need to maintain your direct debit and carry on making repayments in accordance with your agreement terms until the balance is repaid in full.
Failure to do this will result in Egg invoking its standard colletions procedures.
You have the right to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsmand Service within six monthsfrom the date of this letter - further details are available on www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk. A copy of their leaflet is available so please contact us if you would like one sent to you.
Yours sincerely
Biz Sidhu
Customer Relations Adviser
Egg Plc
Since this clearly does not address my actual complaint, I’m assuming this is a standard response letter so has anyone else received the same letter? I am planning to pursue this with the Financial Ombudsman as I have now followed all the recommended steps in their complaints procedures and as Egg themselves state,
“Our aim is to resolve your problem ourselves. However, if you are not satisfied with our final response, or if eight weeks have passed since you first raised your complaint with us, you may have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman”
Obviously its more powerful if a number of people complain to the Financial Ombudsman, so if you are in a similar situation, please write to them
Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London E14 9SR
Telephone: 0845 080 1800
Fax: 020 7964 1001
Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Email: enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
The offending clause
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Just in Case you cant remember what you signed here is a copy of Egg’s credit card Agreement and more importantly here is the eggzact clause no 20.2 that they referr to in their letter of notice.
20.2 We can end this Agreement at any time. We will normally give you 30 days’ advance notice by post or email. However, if there are exceptional circumstances, or in any of the circumstances referred to in Condition 19.2, we may end this Agreement immediately and tell you about it afterwards, unless we are required by law to give you notice first. You can end it at any time by telling us to do so by post or email. In both cases, this Agreement will continue until you have repaid all amounts you owe us.
And now the full agreement is below :
CREDIT CARD AGREEMENT REGULATED BY THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 1974
This is a credit card agreement between Egg Banking plc of Citigroup Centre, Canada Square, London E14 5LB and you, the person who signed this Agreement.
KEY FINANCIAL INFORMATION
1. CREDIT LIMIT
We will set and tell you the Credit Limit from time to time.
2. REPAYMENTS
Each month you must pay by Direct Debit at least the minimum payment stated in your statement by the Payment Date. The minimum payment will be:
- the full Revolving Balance if it is less than £5, but otherwise the greater of 2% of the Revolving Balance and £5, or (if it is more) the total of (i) interest and (ii) the Card Repayment Protection premium, both as shown in your statement
Plus for each Transferred Balance made during an introductory rate or promotional rate period for Transferred Balances (but only for the duration of that period);
- the full amount of the Transferred Balance if it is less than £5, but otherwise the greater of 2% of the Transferred Balance and £5.
(See Condition 10 of the Egg Card Conditions for further details)
We will collect the amount you tell us you want to repay so that it is paid into the Account by the Payment Date.
3. APR
This version of the Egg Card agreement shows two sets of rates. You will either get the first or second set if your application is accepted, depending upon the information that you supply and we obtain about your personal circumstances, including your credit history.
The APR for your Agreement is 16.9% or 19.9% (variable).
OTHER FINANCIAL INFORMATION
4. INTEREST
4.1 We will charge interest:
- on Purchases put on the Account until 1 May 2008 at a monthly rate of 0% fixed until 1 May 2008, and thereafter at a standard variable annual rate of 16.9% or 19.9%;
- on Transferred Balances put on the Account until 1 May 2009 at a monthly rate of 0% fixed until 1 May 2009, and thereafter at a standard variable annual rate of 16.9% or 19.9%;
- on Cash Advances at a standard variable annual rate of rate of 22.9% if your purchase rate is 16.9%, and 25.9% if your purchase rate is 19.9%; and
- otherwise, at a standard variable annual rate of 16.9% or 19.9%.
4.2 If you fail to pay the minimum payment as required under Condition 2 or go over the Credit Limit during the introductory promotion period, we may charge interest on Purchases and Transferred Balances at the standard variable annual rate shown in the last bullet point of Condition 4.1 above instead of the rate applicable for that introductory promotion, starting on the date of the next statement after any failure to pay in accordance with Condition 2, or on the date of the statement showing you to be over your Credit Limit, as applicable. Once withdrawn introductory rates will not be reinstated. We may also vary the interest rates or Charges in accordance with Condition 17 of the Egg Card Conditions. The APR does not take these variations into account.
4.3 We will charge interest on all amounts making up the Balance on a daily basis at the relevant rate set out in Condition 4.1 above from the date each Transaction and Charge is made. Interest will be charged until the Balance has been repaid in full. We will not, however, charge interest on Purchases listed in your last statement, if you pay the Statement Total on or before the Payment Date. We may charge interest on interest if you do not pay your minimum payment.
4.4 We will charge interest on any late payments both before and after any court judgment.
4.5 If any interest is payable, there is a minimum interest charge of 50p. This means that if the interest amount is calculated to be less than 50p, the amount of interest shown as payable in your monthly statement will be 50p.
5. HOW YOUR REPAYMENTS ARE USED5.1 If you pay up to the full minimum payment, we will apply the amount you do pay to reduce what you owe us in the following order:
The amount apportioned to the Revolving Balance will be divided equally between the categories within that balance. 5.2 If you pay more than the minimum payment, we will apply any amount over the minimum payment in the following order:
5.3 If we change this order for any Special Promotion we will tell you in the details of the Special Promotion. 6. TOTAL CHARGE FOR CREDIT If you use your card to make a Purchase of £1500 and then repay that Purchase in 12 equal monthly repayments you would pay interest of £130.37 if you pay 16.9% or £152.99 if you pay 19.9% based on the annual interest rate which will apply for Purchases after the introductory promotion period for Purchases. KEY INFORMATIION 7. CHARGES 7.1 If you break the terms of this Agreement we may charge you the following, where relevant, to cover the additional cost caused to us:
7.2 We will charge:
MISSING PAYMENTS Missing payments could have severe consequences and make obtaining credit more difficult. IMPORTANT - READ THIS CAREFULLY TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS The Consumer Credit Act 1974 lays down certain requirements for your protection which should have been complied with when this agreement was made. If they were not, we cannot enforce the agreement without getting a court order. The Act also gives you a number of rights: 1) You can settle this agreement at any time by giving notice in writing and paying off the amounts you owe under this agreement. 2) If you received unsatisfactory goods or services paid for under this agreement, apart from any bought with a cash loan, you may have a right to sue the supplier, us or both. 3) If the contract is not fulfilled, perhaps because the supplier has gone out of business, you may still be able to sue us. If you would like to know more about your rights under the Act, contact either your local Trading Standards Department or your nearest Citizens’ Advice Bureau. THEFT, LOSS OR MISUSE OF EGG CARD If your Egg Card is lost, stolen or misused by someone without your permission, you may have to pay up to £0 of any loss to us. If it is misused with your permission you will probably be liable for ALL losses. You will not be liable to us for losses which take place after you have told us about the theft, etc, as long as you confirm this in writing within seven days. |
| Egg Card Conditions8. Introduction
8.1 In this Agreement: Account means the Card account we open in your name. Additional Cardholder means a person you have asked us to give a Card to so that they can use the Account. Agreement means the Egg Card Agreement and these conditions as varied by us from time to time. Balance means the amount you owe us on the Account. Card means any Egg Card we give you or an Additional Cardholder which is linked to the Account. Cash Advance means obtaining cash, foreign currency, travellers’ cheques and postal orders, gambling transactions that we allow, using a Card or the Card number. Cash Back is a cash payment made under Condition 11 as a reward for using the Card for Purchases. Charges means the interest and charges payable by you as set out in Conditions 4, 7 and 10 of this Agreement. Credit Limit means the limit on the amount you can borrow from us on the Account at any time. This will be a limit set by us or a lower limit you choose from time to time. Existing Egg Customer means (a) an Egg Card holder who has an Egg account or another eligible Egg product and had that account (or product) before applying for a Card and (b) anyone who is permanently employed by Egg Banking plc. gambling means a transaction that we recognise as having been made at an establishment where gambling is carried out, whether or not the purpose of that transaction is for gambling activities. Group means Citigroup Inc.and its group of companies, including Egg Banking plc. Linked Supplier means a person or company which provides additional benefits or services to you under an arrangement with us. Payment means any payment you tell us to make by direct bank transfer or other available method from the Account for, or to the account of, any person in the UK. Payment Date means the date by which you must make payment in accordance with Condition 2, as shown on your statement. Personal Information means the information described in Condition 21.1. PIN means your personal identification number. Promotional Balance means the amount (including interest on that amount) you owe us on the Account for Transactions made under a Special Promotion. Purchase means a purchase of goods or services using the Card or the Card number. Revolving Balance means the Balance excluding Promotional Balances and any Transferred Balances on which interest is charged at an initial reduced rate. Secure Area means that part of our operation which can only be accessed on the Egg website, or by telephone by Egg customers who have been through our security checks. Secure Message means a message we send to you and you send to us from the Secure Area. Special Promotion means a promotion we may make available to all or some cardholders from time to time (excluding introductory offers available to new card holders). Statement Total means the total amount you owe us on the Account on each statement date. The Statement Total will be stated in your monthly statement. Transaction means any Purchases or Payment made or Cash Advance taken by you or an Additional Cardholder, using the Card or the Card number including any payments you ask us to make under Condition 9.3. Transferred Balance means the amount you owe us on any sum you transferred to us under Condition 9.3. UK means England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. we, us our means Egg Banking plc of Citigroup Centre, Canada Square, London E14 5LB, and any business or other person we transfer any or all our rights and responsibilities to under this Agreement. you, your means the person who signed this Egg Card Agreement. 9. Use 9.1 We will send a Card to you and any Additional Cardholder as soon as we have opened your Account and will renew it from time to time with the same type of card or replace it with a different type of card which you then qualify for and which is covered by this Agreement. If there are any changes to the services or new ways in which you can use the Card, we will deal with these under Condition 17, and Conditions 17.2 and 17.3 will then apply. The Cards belong to us. We can ask you to give them back or ask others to return them to us at any time. You and any Additional Cardholder can use Cards for Transactions up to the Credit Limit (and for any other use that we allow). To decide whether you have gone over the Credit Limit we can take into account the amount of any Transaction we have authorised even if it has not yet been charged to the Account. 9.2 We will convert all Transactions in other currencies into sterling. The exchange rate used may differ from the rate when the Transaction was made as exchange rates vary on a daily basis. 9.3 You can ask us at any time:
We may limit the amount that can be transferred under this Condition and will notify you when you ask to make a transfer. 9.4 The services we provide under this Agreement are for your personal use only. You must make sure that the Cards and the Account are not used to carry out Transactions on behalf of, or to receive payments from, any business or other organisation. You must also make sure that Cards are not used to carry out Transactions for illegal purposes or for internet gambling transactions. 9.5 We may limit the number of Transactions or amounts withdrawn in relation to any Cash Advance from time to time. Please see www.egg.com for further details. 9.6 As part of our responsible lending strategy, we will review your Credit Limit regularly .We will carry out appropriate checks before increasing your Credit Limit. You may tell us not to increase your Credit Limit, and may also tell us to lower your Credit Limit at any time. If a review of your Credit Limit leads us to decrease your Credit Limit, we will take account of all factors that we reasonably consider to be relevant and, in any event, we will set your new Credit Limit at a sum which we reasonably believe will be greater than your Balance plus Transactions that have been authorised but not yet charged to your Account when we tell you of the change. In accordance with Condition 1 of this Agreement, we will tell you if we change your Credit Limit. |
| 10. Repayments10.1 We may allow you occasional payment holidays. If we do this, we will still charge interest as if a payment was due during the payment holiday.
10.2 Where you make a payment into your Account by cheque, it will be applied to your Account when the cheque clears. The central clearing cycle applies to cheques paid into most clearing bank accounts (where clearance normally take three business days). As we are not a clearing bank, cheques paid into your Account normally take eight business days to clear. There may be a charge of £2 for cheque payments. 10.3 Where you make a payment into your Account (”on-account payment”) between the statement date and the date your Direct Debit payment for that statement is collected, and the total of the on-account payment and the minimum payment given in that statement exceeds that Statement Total, we will collect as the minimum payment for that statement the difference between the Statement Total and the on-account payment. 10.4 Where you make a payment into your Account by debit card it will be applied to your Account within four business days. 10.5 If you have more than one loan or card product from Egg and fail to keep up payments on those products, we will, unless you tell us otherwise, allocate any sums we recover from you to the product with the highest interest rate. If two or more products are being charged the same interest rate, we will choose how to allocate the payments between those products. 11. Cash Back, Special Promotions and introductory offers 11.1 For customers who applied before 1 October 2001, we will pay a Cash Back on all Purchases. Cash Back values may vary according to the type of Purchase and how it is made. We will set Cash Back values once a year and we will tell you what they are when we set them and when we open the Account. We will not change Cash Back values during the year but we can add to the type of Purchase on which Cash Back is payable. 11.2 Cash Back you earn each month will be shown in your statement. In September each year, the total value of the Cash Back for the preceding year (and when you close your Account the amount of Cash Back owed to you) will be paid into the account from which we take your Direct Debit payments (”Direct Debit account”). If:
then in these cases, we will pay the total value into your Account. In all circumstances we will not pay Cash Back if the total amount of Cash Back is less than £10. If, in any year, the Cash Back you earned is less than £10, it will not be carried forward to the following year. 11.3 If:
we can deduct the Cash Back we gave you that month or on the refunded Purchase. 11.4 Special Promotions If you fail to pay the minimum payment as required in Condition 2 or go over the Credit Limit during the period of any Special Promotion we may charge interest on Transactions subject to that Special Promotion at the applicable standard annual variable rate instead of the rate applicable for that Special Promotion, starting on the next statement date after any failure to pay in accordance with Condition 2, or on the date of the statement showing you to be over your Credit Limit as applicable. Once withdrawn, promotional rates will not be reinstated. |
12. Security12.1 You (and each Additional Cardholder) must:
12.2 You must never:
12.3 You must tell us as soon as you can about the loss, theft etc of a Card by telephoning us on 08451 233 233 from UK, +44 1332 395 919 from abroad. We may ask you to confirm by letter within seven days any relevant information. 12.4 You will not be responsible for any Transaction not authorised by you if it was made either after you told us under Condition 12.3 that your Card is lost or stolen or may be misused or by someone else using the Card number when the Card is not present (e.g. by post, telephone, Internet). 12.5 If you let someone have your Card, or we can show that you have acted fraudulently, you will be liable for all the Transactions which take place before you tell us that the Card is lost, stolen or may be misused. Unless we can show that you have acted fraudulently or without reasonable care, if your Card is used before you have received it, you will not have to pay anything. 12.6 If you want a third party to collect information about your Egg accounts from us so that it can be aggregated with information about other accounts you have, you may be asked to give your security details and passwords which have been set up to enable you to access the Secure Area (”Passcodes”) to that third party. Before doing so you must check that that third party is approved by us. We will not treat the disclosure of your Passcodes to such a third party whom we have approved as a breach by you of the provisions of this Condition 12. 13. Additional Cardholders You will be responsible and have to pay for all use of the Account by an Additional Cardholder (including any use which makes you break this Agreement) and for ensuring that the Additional Cardholder follows Condition 12 and any other instructions we give you about Card security and giving information to us. To cancel an Additional Cardholder’s Card you must comply with Condition 20.5 and 20.6. An Additional Cardholder has no right to enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. 14. Statements and other important documents 14.1 We will put your statements (which may incorporate notices that we have to give you by law, for example, arrears notices or default sum notices) on the Secure Area once a month and send you an email to tell you it is there. This will show the payments you have made, any Card refunds and all amounts we have put onto the Account since the last statement. If we cannot produce a statement we will use your normal monthly statement date to work out interest and the Payment Date. Statements will remain available on the Secure Area for 12 months. You should check your statement regularly. If there is an entry which seems to be wrong (for example if there is a dispute or transaction(s) you do not recognise), you should tell us as soon as possible within 60 days of the date of the statement. If we need to investigate a Transaction, you should co-operate with us and the police, if we need to involve them. 14.2 We may also, where permitted, give you any documents or notices that we are required to give you by law, for example, arrears notices or default sum notices (but not default notices which we will send by post) in the same way as statements, or otherwise by post or email. 15. Limits of Liability We will not be liable:
16. Refunds and Claims and Stopping Payments Once you have made a Transaction you cannot ask us to stop that Transaction. However, you can stop a continuous payment authority if you tell the recipient of the payment in time. Also, if we receive details of a Card refund from a retailer we will credit the Account or if we confirm a Transaction is unauthorised we will refund the disputed amount and any interest charged (unless you have acted fraudulently or without reasonable care), but we will not give refunds otherwise. You cannot use a claim against a retailer to make a claim against us, or refuse to pay us, unless you have a legal right to do so. You cannot transfer any rights against us to anyone else. 17. Changes 17.1 We can vary any interest rate (other than fixed rates)
17.2 We can make other changes to this Agreement from time to time, including introducing new terms and charges. If we do this, we will give you at least 30 days’ advance notice if the change is disadvantageous to you, otherwise we will give you at least 7 days’ advance notice. 17.3 All changes will be notified to you personally (for example, by statement notice, email, Secure Message or letter). 17.4 If you are unhappy with any change we make, you may end this Agreement in accordance with Condition 20.2. 17.5 If we have made a major change, or a lot of minor changes in any one year, we will give you a copy of the new terms and conditions, or a summary of the changes. 17.6 We may withdraw or vary any benefits we give you with the Card at any time. We will give you at least 30 days’ advance notice unless we have a good reason for not doing so. 17.7 If you change your name, address, telephone number, email address or the bank account from which we collect your monthly payment, you must give us the new details. You must also tell us if an Additional Cardholder changes their name. 17.8 From time to time, we may, for commercial reasons, change the insurers who underwrite all or any of our Card related insurance products. In this event, if you hold any of these products, we will contact you with at least 30 days’ advance notice by post, email or Secure Message to give you details of the proposed new insurer and policy, including any changes to your existing cover or its price. In these circumstances, you authorise us to transfer you to the new policy upon expiry of the notice period, however, you can withdraw this authority by calling us on 08451 233 233, writing to us at Egg, Pride Park, Derby DE99 3GG or by sending us a Secure Message. This may mean that we are unable to offer you alternative cover and we will tell you if this is the case. |
18. Limiting use of the AccountWe may, without warning and without ending this Agreement:
But we will only do this with good reason, for example, if you are in breach of this Agreement, to prevent such a breach, for fraud prevention purposes or for legal or regulatory reasons. 19. Early Payment 19.1 We will ask you to make an immediate payment of:
19.2 As long as we have sent you the correct notice as required under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, we can ask you to pay the full amount which you owe us under this Agreement if you:
19.3 If you find yourself in financial difficulties, you should let us know as soon as possible. The sooner we discuss your problems, the easier it will be for both of us to find a solution. We can also tell you where you can get free money advice. 19.4. We may use any credit balance on this Account to reduce or repay any amounts you owe us on any other account you have with us, either in your name or jointly with anyone else, and if we do this we will tell you as soon as possible. 20. Ending this Agreement 20.1 If you are not happy about your choice of Account, let us know within 14 days of sending your completed Agreement back to us and we will cancel your Agreement. If you want to cancel your Agreement then you should call us on 08451 233 233. You can also write to Egg Account Servicing, Point North, Waterfront West, Dudley, DY5 1LU, or you can send us a secure email from our website. You should quote your Card number in all correspondence. If you cancel your Agreement, you must repay what we have lent you, and pay all interest and charges applying before cancellation, taking into account any amounts you have already paid to us, within 30 days of cancellation and must cut in more than two pieces and throw away all the Cards we gave to you or an Additional Cardholder. If you do not cancel your Agreement, your Account will remain open until your Agreement is ended in accordance with this Condition 20. You may have extended cancellation rights in certain circumstances. If you do cancel your Agreement, and you exercise those rights, you will still have to pay everything you owe us for the period up to cancellation, including interest and charges. 20.2 We can end this Agreement at any time. We will normally give you 30 days’ advance notice by post or email. However, if there are exceptional circumstances, or in any of the circumstances referred to in Condition 19.2, we may end this Agreement immediately and tell you about it afterwards, unless we are required by law to give you notice first. You can end it at any time by telling us to do so by post or email. In both cases, this Agreement will continue until you have repaid all amounts you owe us. 20.3 We can end this Agreement early by giving you notice in writing if you seriously or repeatedly fail to meet your obligations under any other agreement you have with us and as a result:
This Agreement will continue until you have repaid all amounts you owe us. 20.4 Any benefit or services we provide will end when you give us notice or when our notice is effective unless the terms of the particular benefit or service state otherwise. 20.5 After this Agreement has ended you should ensure that no Transactions are made and that any continuous payment authorities or standing instructions are cancelled by telling the recipient of the payment to cancel them. 20.6 If you want to terminate your Additional Cardholder’s Card, please contact us. 20.7 If this Agreement (or an Additional Cardholder’s Card) is terminated or cancelled for any reason under this Condition 20, you must cut in more than two pieces and throw away all the Cards we gave to you or any Additional Cardholder. 21. Use and disclosure of Personal Information 21.1 So that we can provide products and services designed specially for you, we will collect and review all the information which:
This is to help us develop and maintain an up-to-date picture of you as an individual, which we and other Group companies can use to keep you informed about other products, services and special offers (including those supplied by third parties) which we or they think might interest you. We may tell you about these using a range of methods, including post, fax and electronic communications, such as the telephone, SMS, email. Please tell us if you prefer not to receive information about other products or services or you do not want other Group companies to be given your Personal Information. The information we collect (using a range of methods including cookies and similar tracking devices) will include information about how you manage and use your accounts, including the type of purchases you make from your accounts (whether by a card, Direct Debit or in any other way) and payments which are made into your accounts. This information will include the name of the payer (for example, your employer) and the supplier (for example, a shop) and the general nature of the goods and services paid for. We obtain this information automatically as part of operating your accounts. If you do not want us to have it, you should consider an alternative to using your Account. If you operate your Account by Internet, we also use cookies (small pieces of information which we send to your computer) and web logs (information about how you use our website) to improve the security of our service and obtain information. For more details about cookies and web logs, see the security and privacy pages. 21.2 As we develop and improve our products and services and introduce new ways of communicating with you, we will change this Agreement in accordance with Condition 17. 21.3 We will hold and process your Personal Information and disclose it to other Group companies for them to use:
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21.4 We and other Group companies may disclose your Personal Information (including former names and genders):
- to credit reference and fraud prevention agencies or registers. We will make searches of your details with credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies when we consider your application. If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information. We will also give details of how you manage your Account to credit reference agencies. (We do not use credit reference agencies in connection with applications for, or the management of, savings products.) The information that is given by us and others to fraud prevention and credit reference agencies will be recorded by them and shared with other organisations. We will use the information that credit reference agencies share with us for account management and credit assessment purposes. Organisations access and use the information recorded with fraud prevention agencies to prevent fraud and money laundering, for example when checking details on applications for credit and credit related or other facilities, managing credit and credit related accounts or facilities, recovering debt, checking details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance and checking details of job applicants and employees. You can ask us for details of the fraud prevention agencies we use and can find out more about how credit reference agencies use information in the Frequently Asked Questions section on www.egg.com. The fraud prevention agencies’ records can also be accessed and used by organisations in other countries.
- to our insurers, sub-contractors and persons acting as our agents who have agreed to keep your Personal Information strictly confidential;
- to Linked Suppliers to the extent that they need your Personal Information to provide additional benefits or services to you;
- to any bank, financial institution or company to whom we may assign or transfer our rights and/or duties under this Agreement;
- if we are required or permitted to do so by law.
21.5 We may transfer your Personal Information to a Group company, Linked Supplier or sub-contractor or person acting as our agent in another country so long as they agree that your Personal Information will receive the same levels of protection as we are required to give it in the UK. You consent to having your Personal Information (including former names and genders) transferred by us, or others processing on our behalf or their agents, to regulators, authorities and law enforcement agencies in other countries (including countries outside the European Economic Area having less stringent data protection requirements than those within it) if the disclosure is required by the laws or regulatory rules of those countries.
21.6 Under the Data Protection Act you are entitled to a copy of your personal data held by us on payment of a fee.
21.7 You have the right of access to your personal records held by credit and fraud agencies. Please contact Egg if you would like details of the agencies we use.
21.8 Some of our decisions are automated, based on information we hold about you. If you would like us to review a decision we have made about you (whether or not automated), please let us know within 21 days of being notified of a decision we have made about you.
21.9 An “association” between joint applicants and/or any individual identified as your financial partner, will be created at credit reference agencies, which will link your financial records. You and anyone else with whom you have a financial link understand that each other’s information will be taken into account in all future applications by either or both of you. This linking will continue until one of you successfully files a “disassociation” at the credit reference agencies.
22. General
22.1 We may transfer to any other person or business any or all of:
- our rights under this Agreement at any time;
- our duties (including, without limitation, our duty to lend to you).
We may do this without telling you. Your rights under this Agreement and your legal rights (including under the Consumer Credit Act 1974) will not be affected.
22.2 The Card is available to people aged 18 or over who live in the UK.
22.3 This Agreement is governed by the law of England and Wales which will also govern the relationship between us and you before the conclusion of this Agreement. We will always communicate with you in English.
22.4 Other taxes and costs may exist that are not paid through us or imposed by us.
22.5 We will comply with the provisions of the Banking Code. Copies of the Banking Code are available on request or it may be viewed online at www.bankingcode.org.uk.
22.6 We provide banking, credit and other financial products and services to consumers and are licensed for these and related purposes by the Financial Services Authority (reference number 205621) and the Office of Fair Trading (licence number 410357).
22.7 If we choose not to enforce, or delay enforcing, our rights under this Agreement, we can still do so later.
23. Complaints
23.1 If you think that we have made an error in relation to any product or service we provide to you or that we have not delivered the standard of service that you expect, please let us know promptly by calling 08451 233 233 or, if you’re an existing customer, by sending us a secure message via the Egg website so that we may investigate the circumstances as soon as possible. Further details of our complaints procedure can be found on the Egg website.
23.2 If we are unable to resolve any complaint through our internal complaints procedure, you may take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. In order to contact the Financial Ombudsman or obtain details of the Financial Ombudsman Service, you should write to The Financial Ombudsman Service at
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London E14 9SR
Telephone: 0845 080 1800
email: enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Egg Banking plc
Registered office:
Citigroup Centre
Canada Square
London E14 5LB
Registered number: 2999842
Contact address:
Egg
Pride Park
Riverside Road
Derby DE99 3GG
What the Press Association has to say about Egg
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I came across this its on the Press Association site hosted by Google and it reads :
Angry customers of internet bank Egg complained that their credit cards had been cancelled even though they always paid off any money they owed.
This would typically mean those who spend over their credit limit or fail to make minimum repayments.
Labour MP Nigel Griffiths, a former Consumer Affairs Minister, called on the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to investigate the bank’s move.
Gillian Cox, of Farnham, Surrey, said she was “absolutely furious” her credit card had been cancelled, telling the BBC:
“My husband and I have had an Egg card since 2001 and always paid the balance off in full each month. We are retired, no mortgage, no debts, joint income of about £35,000. I phoned Egg who were unable to do anything but recite the same paragraph as was in the letter.”
When Mrs Cox contacted credit reference agency Experian, she was told she had an “excellent” credit rating.
The bank began sending out the warning letters on Thursday to 7% of its two million credit card holders. It is not asking for immediate repayment of balances or making any changes to current terms and conditions.
A spokesman insisted the move was not linked to the credit crunch but followed a “risk review” of its customers which was carried out after investment bank Citigroup bought Egg last year.
He said:
“Egg is sorry that some customers are upset after receiving notification that it is ending their credit agreements. Egg has decided that it no longer wishes to offer credit to these customers, after conducting a one-off extensive review of its credit card book following the acquisition of Egg by Citi in May 2007.”
Read more here at Press Association
Egg on your Face
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Got an egg savings account and not sure what to do now?
If you are worried abouts eggs apparent problems, well in all honestly you i dont think you should be, especially where savingsd accounts are concerned. After all savings accounts are the reverse of credit card accounts. You are lending Egg Money!
What someone at Egg says:
‘We are not in trouble and are continuing to grow our credit card business and are taking on new customers in record numbers.’
But Philippa Gee, independent adviser at Torquil Clark in Wolverhampton, who I’m 100% in argreement with, says:
‘Egg’s savings rates are not the best. Why worry about Egg’s problems when you can move and get a better deal elsewhere?’
Egg savings accounts were convienient if you had an egg card. Now its not, so move it away to a better rate with an egg competitor.
Is Egg Alone?
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Egg is by no means alone and is not the first credit card provider to review its lending strategy. Just two years ago Barclaycard cut the credit limits of 80,000 customers, but it didn’t terminate the agreements! First Direct and Co-op Bank have also acted in similar ways in the past. What Egg has done which is different to all the others is handle it in a very bad way!
Steve Willey, head of credit cards at the moneysupermarket.com comparison website, says:
‘Banks and card providers are increasingly concerned about balance sheets and risk. The number of consumers being rejected for credit has risen steeply. I’m sure Egg’s move won’t be the last.’
Good Credit but a Bad Egg
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Do you have good credit and but have been judged a bad egg cutomer?
Egg, like most financial institutions, use their own credit scoring system, so it is virtually impossible to know precisely what factors were taken into account when choosing to end you agreement. You can though request every personal detail egg holds about you. Reasons for a bad credit score could be a result of missed debt repayments - and not necessarily just on an Egg card - exceeding agreed borrowing limits or even being rejected for credit cards and or loans from other providers.
James Jones, spokesman at credit reference agency Experian, says
‘other seemingly innocuous events can also have a detrimental effect on a credit score, such as moving house, changing job or bank, taking on more debt, or taking out a joint financial product with a partner who has a lower credit score.’
But some Egg customers believe they have been thrown out because they are not profitable for the bank.
What say you? Are you a well trained card keeper? Do you have your finances in order and think perhaps you are being treated rather unfairly? Speak Now!
Has Eggs Crack created a Credit Card Scramble?
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Egg, the internet bank owned by Citigroup, has annoyed a lot 7% of its customers by closing their credit card accounts. This amounts to over 160K ‘risky’ egg card holders. Egg, or more to the point Citigroup are claiming that it does not want to give them acces to any further credit.
But secret sources are claiming that some customers with spotlessly clean credit histories and those who clear their balance every month have also been discarded. Are these risky credit card customers? Or are they low profit making credit card customers!
So what about all the other service providers, can we expect them to follow suit? Should credit card holders with other credit card providers expect the same treatment and what does it mean if your lender stops your card?
Can you shed any light? Do you work in the industry and can give us some valuable insights?