Whenever Barclaycard staff are recruiting new customers/borrowers/credit monkeys – usually at stations – I always turn them down on principle. The reason I give is that I already have one, which is true, but even if I didn’t I would refuse.
Because Barclaycard are Evil.
I am not, I confess, the sort of person to carefully pay off my balance every month and get the advantage of Nectar points/0% interest/cashback without paying any interest. For that reason, it’s all the more important that I have a sensible credit limit, so that I’m never tempted to book a round the world cruise on the assumption that I’ll pay it back one day when I’m rich.
A few years ago, when I was a student and very short of cash, I asked Barclaycard to increase my credit limit by £50 so that I could buy some new glasses (all the better to see things with, which was handy at the time). They duly increased my limit by several hundred pounds. It wasn’t long, given the option of some “free” money, that Student Me had spent it.
Occasionally, Barclaycard write to me and congratulate me on having earned another credit limit increase. These letters always insist that for “security reasons” they can’t tell me in the letter how much the increase is. I have to log on to their account management website or wait for a statement before I can find out, an implicit direction to just get on spending it without thinking.
I logged in this week to discover that they’ve increased my credit limit yet again – by £1,000. I’m now going to have to go out of my way to request they reduce back to what it was (and probably lower).
This kind of behaviour by credit card companies has fuelled the massive rise in personal debt in the UK, the sort of carefree lending that leads into a credit crunch. It’s irresponsible lending that will see families with existing debt problems getting further into trouble.
So boo to Barclaycard.
Barclaycard used to offer a card where you could define whether you ever got automatic credit limit increases based on an improved credit score. I’ve just looked on the website and couldn’t see it but perhaps you could ask about it next time you have to phone them. It would be a great shame if they’ve taken it off the market as I always thought it was a great product. Remember, they’re only delivering what they think customers want and so if you want it, tell them; there will be other cards still on the market that won’t increase your credit limit without permission, so move to them and tell Barclays why you’ve done it.
It’s a pain I know and not conducive to easy credit manangement but, and I’m well aware what a glass house I’m sitting here, but the best solution is to develop your own credit discipline!!! Not everybody is in a position to be able to do that, for sure, but if you’ve got the wit to work out what Barclaycard are up to you’ve probably got the wit to not spend every bit of credit that you’re provided with!! After all, you wouldn’t expect Cadbury’s to put you on a no chocolate diet, would you?
Meanwhile, as I spent 10 of my most formative years working for the Barclays Group I will mention it to the scores of really rather nice, as opposed to evil, friends that are currently working in Barclaycard (although none of them are in Marketing or Product Development)!!!
Thanks for the comment, Jo. I don’t doubt that most of the people who work there are good folk (and I’m relatively happy with my Barclays bank account).
I’ve never been offered a card that didn’t automatically increase its credit limit. The only time I ever call them though is to report a lost card.
I’ve got no intention of spending the increase, thankfully. Now that I’ve gone to the website to change my credit limit, though, it tells me I can’t currently handle my account online…
The chap I just talked to in their call centre was very helpful and has reduced my limit for me 🙂
Amusing to see a Google Ad for Barclaycard appearing next to this posting 🙂
I should add that when I asked the reduce my credit limit, the guy in the call centre sounded briefly incredulous…