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Crack down on credit cards
The government will tomorrow outline a crack down on credit card operators in a bid to give customers a better deal. Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday said he wants to make “reform of the financial sector a reality” and force the credit card industry to clean up its act. Credit card debt in Britain has fallen in the past year by £2bn to £64bn – but Brown said that “sharp practices” like increasing interest charges on debt without explanation, issuing unsolicited credit card cheques and relaxing credit limits without being asked should stop. Among the new proposals will be higher minimum repayments to ensure cardholders clear their debts quicker and a ban on increasing borrowing limits without consent.