Barclaycard set to charge a fee for those who do NOT use their card

May 23, 2007

Barclaycard are targeting those people who have not used their card for 12months or who are not considered to be spending enough on their cards in their attempt to lift profits after banks were forced to cut back illegal penalty charges.

It is estimated that they could draw in approximately £30million per annum from around a million or so customers. They plan to do this by introducing annual fees of up to £25, commencing in September.

They realise that some customers may choose to go elsewhere, but they are of the opinion that if they are the people who do not use their cards in the first place, then that is not a particular concern to them.

This has been rumoured to take place in the industry for some time now, but it is just a case of who is brave enough to go first. It is commonly expected that the first institution to initiate this may receive bad press and substantial loss of customers, so there is a chance Barclays may just hold off until a couple of other banks/lenders take the plunge to test the waters.

That said, Lloyds TSB have already introduced a £35 charge to some of there customers who either seldom use their card or whose card has been inactive for some time.

Barclays believe this is another way for them to ‘provide a better service’ and state that this is a ‘last resort’ and only a ‘minority’ of customers will be affected by the introduction of a ‘fee’.

In response, consumer watchdog “Which” are urging customers to “vote with their feet”.