Posts Tagged ‘Credit Card Providers’

How To Make Sure You Dont Fall For A Credit Card Scam

Credit card fraudsters are having to up their game and are becoming ever more ingenious with the scams they try to pull off. As a UK credit cardholder you need to staying on your toes and ahead of the game. You need to ensure you keep up to date with all the different types of credit card scams that fraudsters might try on you. In this regard we are fairly lucky in the UK in that most UK credit card frauds have been tried previously elsewhere, notably the Unites States.

The following are some general tips to ensure that you do not fall foul of any fraudster:

Phishing Phonecalls

Never give your credit card number to anyone who phones you asking for these details unless you are certain that the call is a genuine call. Currently a number of fraudster are trying to get UK credit cardholders to give them vital information about their credit cards by cold calling and asking for these details on the pre-fix that a fraud has been carried out on the card. If you are in any doubt about the genuineness of a call, tell the caller you will phone them back and then independently check the number you need to call.

You Need My Personal Details?

Never respond to an email asking you for personal financial information. Always remember that banks and UK credit card providers will never solicit this information from you in an e-mail as theyre fully aware of the dangers of phishing scam e-mails.

Phishing Emails

Never click on a link in an e-mail if you are not sure of the genuineness of the e-mail sender. More and more fraudsters are obtaining vital personal information about credit cardholders by persuading them to click on e-mail links and complete bogus online forms.

Dispose Your Statemenst Carefully

Never throw your card statement away in the rubbish bin. It may be hard to believe, but it is known that credit card fraudsters are not adverse to checking through peoples rubbish to see if they have thrown away vital financial information that can be used to defraud them. If you really want to dispose of old credit card statements, then make sure you put these through a shredder at the office.

Take Command of the Situation

Never leave your credit card unattended. Today all credit card transactions can be completed via the Chip and PIN. There is no reason whatsoever why you should ever have to let your credit card out of your sight. If the salesman tells you then need to check something, tell them they have to do this in front of you.

Combating credit card fraud is the responsibility of every credit card user in the UK. If we can help to reduce the cost to UK credit card providers for losses arising from fraud the savings should trickle down to us as credit card users. More importantly, however, is if the UK credit card user can show that you did not act in a way that would have reduced the chances of your having been defrauded, then they may be able to hold you accountable for some of the loss incurred as a result of that behavior. So always remain vigilant and aware of any scam that UK credit card fraudsters may try on you.

As competition in the UK credit card industry has consistently increased in recent years, credit card providers have been searching for more and more ways to attract customers to their own package of products. Most have gone about this by dropping prices with credit card rates available today that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. It is now possible to find 0% credit card interest rates not only on balance transfers but also on purchases. While these rates may only be available for limited introductory periods of a few months, it is easy to see how prices have continued to drop across the market as credit card providers have been searching for new ways to attract customers.

Interest free and credit card may sound like a couple of words that really do not belong together in the same sentence. And the fact is that just a few short years ago, you would have been absolutely correct. There was a time not too long ago when there was no such thing as the 0% credit card. Now however, they are everywhere you look, literally. You cannot even open your mail any more, or answer you phone without being offered some amazing sounding deal on 0% credit cards. They are becoming more and more common and it is therefore important to realise the pros and cons of many of the most common deals that are out there so that you make sure that you get for yourself the very best deal on a 0% credit card possible.

The first thing to remember in any case is that there are two main types of 0% interest that you will be offered and these are very different deals. The first will be 0% on balance transfers and the second will be 0% on purchases. It is needless to go into the difference between a balance transfer and a purchase but suffice it to say that there is a very significant difference and there will be many cases where one of these offers will be of great value to you while the other will be practically useless. The trick is to make sure you make sure what you are being offered and only sign up to a deal that you are confident will fit your needs and benefit you as much as possible.

The best place to start looking for one of these 0% credit cards is on the internet. The fact of the matter is that in recent years the UK credit card market has really saturated itself with amazing sounding deals and the competition is so high among credit card providers now that it is really quite easy to get a 0% credit card.

The two exceptions to this and the groups that will find it more difficult to get a 0% credit card will be people with bad credit ratings and people with no income. Hopefully, in either of these two cases, the situation will not last forever and you will merely have to wait a little while until your position improves and then you will have no problem at all getting 0% credit cards. The only real thing to remember with 0% credit cards is that the free credit will only be for a couple of months and after this time you will have to pay interest. And secondly, everything you spend on that credit cad has to be paid back eventually so take care not to let that spending get out of control.

Dont despair if you are not accepted for many of the credit cards on offer. It may be your credit rating is not what some credit card companies are looking for. If this is the case you will have to do a little more work and that starts by aiming a little lower. Try applying for a run of the mill credit card with no 0% deals, use it for a while. During this period your credit rating will be building up. Once your credit rating is up to scratch you can then apply for these mouth watering 0 per cent introductory deals.

Nowadays, many services have been improved to lessen the number of step for processing them and make it more convenient for consumers. Credit card business is also developed to satisfy customers need. Credit card applicants generally should not worry if they comply with all the requirements set by their card issuer. Some of the things that are checked include income ranges, age and current addresses. For potential owners who have moved, they must make sure that they indicate correct information on their previous place of residence, including when and how long they stayed at their former address.

Individuals who want no fuss credit card applications should expect to have their credit ratings given a thorough review. This review will be conducted by issuers to establish if the applicant poses any risk. Such a check will include the individual’s ability to remain consistent with monthly rental payments or repayments and mortgage or loan profiles. An applicant with a history of financial troubles will have problems getting their applications processed, as this issue will have an impact on their credit rating.

There are many details that the credit card providers have to check such as delayed payments on recent or previous cards, utility bills or loans, and the number of rejected applications, if any. Companies can also probe deeper to the extent that they check the voter electoral register to verify an applicant’s address and even the county court to find any judgments against or records on file.

Credit card applicants should realize that low interest providers are more likely to impose a higher number of restrictions and possibly accept only individuals with perfect credit histories. In such cases, the more likely option is for an applicant to consider cards with higher interest rates.

Since borrowing money entails charges, a credit card applicant should make an exhaustive review of all terms and conditions related to their application, preferably across different credit or charge cards. Among the key terms potential card owners must consider are the annual percentage rate, the free or grace period, transaction and annual fees, and adjusted and previous balances.

To verify that the applicant has provided correct information, the credit card providers will sometimes mail a credit card application to their home. Credit card applications are now more convenient than ever, they can be applied for by telephone and internet-based processing.

It is important to know that credit card applicants should always exercise extreme caution when providing their social security number and other personal information during the application process.

It is one of the joys of the UK credit industry that prices of credit, and in particular of credit cards, have continued to fall over the past number of years. Today you can get zero per cent on balance transfers, and even zero per cent on purchases, offers that were simply unimaginable just a couple of years ago. This is all the result of increasing competition in the market place from alternative lenders and banks from abroad, particularly US banks. However, there are still many charges out there and it takes some care and consideration to make sure that you dont end up paying far more than you should for your credit cards.

The main charge associated with credit cards continues to be interest charged on outstanding balances. This is traditionally how credit card providers have managed to rake in the massive profits that they have become associated with. It doesnt take much research to discover that the interest rates on credit cards are among the highest on the market. While mortgage rates and personal loan rates can easily be as low five or six per cent, credit cards rates are easily over twenty five per cent. This is due mainly to the convenience and flexibility of credit cards as a source of needed money. If you find that you are carrying over large credit card balances from one month to the next, you are probably paying far more than you need to for your credit. The best way to remedy such a situation is to consolidate this credit.

Debt consolidation loans, typically secured over your home, offer far lower rates of interest. You can then reduce your outgoings to a single monthly figure that allows you to pay off the debt at a reasonable rate.

Another way to avoid credit card interest rates is to take advantage of zero per cent balance transfers. These can be great opportunities and are offered by credit card providers who are ever more eager to increase their market share and add you as a customer. You will benefit from low or zero per cent rates on any balances that you transfer over to the new card from other credit cards. A word of advice however is to make sure you close the original account. This avoids the temptation of racking up further spending and improves your credit rating by reducing the over all amount of credit available to you.

Other charges such as subscription fees are by and large a thing of the past. Some credit cards still charge annual fees on the basis that they offer other rewards or are more exclusive cards but the general advice these days is that you can get just as good results on cards that do not charge these fees so if you are paying a fee, perhaps you will want to switch to a card that is free in this sense.

Late payment fees and other penalties are incurred if you fail to keep up with your repayment obligations and you should make every effort to avoid these as they are completely unnecessary.