The move by Capital One means some customers will be paying almost 40% interest on their Christmas gifts and January sale purchases unless they clear the balance on their cards.

The American- owned finance giant said the rises were to reflect the higher risk of certain customers and ‘market conditions’.

But there are concerns that Capital One, which has four million British customers, will be followed by other banks.

The decision has angered customers, who described the increases as ‘legalised extortion’.

It also makes a mockery of claims by Gordon Brown, Lord Mandelson and other ministers that they would ensure credit card firms treat customers fairly.

For someone with a balance of £1,000, making the minimum repayment of £5 a month, the total interest bill will triple from £3,032 to £9,547. Som

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In the wake of an automobile accident most people are completely shaken up, even if they managed to escape without any visible physical injuries. But immediately following the accident, drivers who were not at fault – and are entitled to money from the driver who was – begin dealing with the other driver’s insurance company. If a claim is made, then stressful communication with insurance company representatives may continue for days, weeks, or even months. But what most consumers don’t know about these conversations is that the people on the other end of the phone – regardless of how nice they are and how helpful they seem – have one primary objective in mind. They want to save their employer, the insurance company, as much money as possible.

If you are entitled to a claim because the other driver was at fault, their insurance company is obligated to pay up. So one of t

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Consumers hoping for relief from credit card interest rate hikes will have to wait a few months longer. On Wednesday, Senate Republicans put a “hold” on a bill to freeze credit card interest rates immediately, in order to avoid further rate hikes before February 22, 2010 when the new Credit CARD Act steps into effect. The hold on the bill effectively freezes it, and for the time being, prevents further debate and a vote on the measure.

The bill was co-sponsored by Senators Chris Dodd (D.-Conn), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and Mark Udall (D.-Colo) in response to recent consumer outcry over aggressive credit card rate hikes over the past six months. Under the new Credit CARD Act, which was signed into law in May of this year, credit card companies can only raise interest rates on existing credit card debt if the cardholder is more than 60 days behind with payments. Car

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As you may have already heard, with the future acquisition of Revolution Money it looks like American Express is gearing up to make big moves within the financial industry. At one time considered to be a low cost alternative to American Express, the price tag set to acquire them is a hefty one at $300 million. With one of the reason for acquiring Revolution Money being their credit card called the RevolutionCard, here is a little information about the card and what sets it apart from its competitors.

When you look at the RevolutionCard you will notice that is very different to the credit card you may have in your pocketbook.

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Every day, we are bombarded with advertisements and promotions about credit cards. There is one thing common in them – low interest rates. With a wide array of advertised low interest credit card to choose from, you cannot afford to settle for anything less. Before choosing the right card for your needs, it is important to know what a card should have to be considered low interest. It is also necessary to know how to apply and get approved for that particular card. Most importantly, you need to know how to handle your card to keep interest rates low at all times.

At this point, we have to define what a low interest credit card is. Actually, it is difficult to look for a specific definition because it changes from time to time. A few years ago, any rate which is below 9% was considered low. N

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