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Credit card rates soar despite static Bank of England rates
Credit card companies have been accused of "cashing in" on customers by a consumer body.
Martyn Saville, senior researcher at Which?, said that the average credit card rate is forty times the Bank of England's base rate and "the level of defaults cannot be justifying that kind of rate".
Mr Saville also claimed that lenders are not making enough money from current accounts so invariably credit card customers are an "easy target".
Figures from the Bank of England show the increase in total net lending to individuals in April (£1.3 billion) was higher than the March increase (£0.7 billion) but below the previous six-month average.
According to research from Moneyfacts.co.uk, published last week, the average credit card purchase rate continues to increase, and is now standing at 18.1 per cent for June 2009, up from 16.3 per cent two years ago.
Michelle Slade, analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: "The increase comes from a combination of card providers raising rates, withdrawing competitive deals and the launch of new cards onto the market with higher APRs than we previously may have seen."