Over 20% of cardholders unhappy with their credit card

Many people in the UK use their credit cards for day to day purchases as well as for special purchases, but despite the popularity of credit cards in the UK it appears that a significant number of consumers are still unhappy with their credit card provider.

A recent report indicates that twenty percent of credit card holders in the UK are actually unhappy with their card provider, but many do nothing about it and stick with the card through apathy, loyalty, or in some cases – such as in cases where the cardholder has bad credit and cannot get another card – because there is no choice.

Recent figures show that cardholders tend to stay with the same credit card company for around six years. However, twenty one percent of those with credit cards are actually unhappy with their card company for a variety of reasons.

This is despite the fact that UK financial regulators placed a ceiling limit on penalty charged applied by credit card companies last year, taking them to a maximum of twelve pounds. In many cases credit card holders were unhappy with the service that was being provided by the card company.

The research was carried out by price comparison website, Uswitch, and one official from the site stated that many credit card companies are exploiting customers, hence the high level of dissatisfaction.

He stated: "Credit card companies are relying on customer lethargy, and, with over half of consumers never comparing their existing deal with the rest of the market, clearly people are playing directly into their hands. This is allowing credit card providers to treat their customers like money-making cash cows and to completely disregard customer satisfaction."

Tom Smith
30th June 2007