The costs and charges of credit cards

Summary

From 13 January 2018, you can’t be charged extra for using a credit or debit card. If you’re charged more, you should complain to the trader and ask for the charge to be refunded. If that doesn’t work, you can contact the Consumer Helpline \- they’ll tell you what you should do next. They may also report the matter to Trading Standards to investigate and take action against the seller. You can still be charged extra if your bank or the seller’s bank is outside the European Economic Area (EEA) - check which countries are in the EEA on Gov.uk. You can also still be charged if you’re using a business card. If you pay off the whole amount (the balance) owed on the card by the due date, you will not be charged interest on your purchases. But interest may be added for cash advances. If your credit card company increases the interest rate on your card you should be given 60 days to reject the increase and pay off your balance at the existing interest rate. You may want to set up a regular payment to pay off your bill in full or to repay what you can afford. If you pay less than the whole balance, you'll be charged interest. Check your credit agreement to find out how much of the balance.

Key information

• •payment protection insurance
• •card protection insurance.
• •From 13 January 2018, you can’t be charged extra for using a credit or debit card. If you’re charged more, you should complain to the trader and ask for the charge to be refunded. If that doesn’t work, you can contact the Consumer Helpline \- they’ll tell you what you should do next. They may also report the matter to Trading Standards to investigate and take action against the seller.
• •You can still be charged extra if your bank or the seller’s bank is outside the European Economic Area (EEA) - check which countries are in the EEA on Gov.uk.
• •You can also still be charged if you’re using a business card.
• •If you pay off the whole amount (the balance) owed on the card by the due date, you will not be charged interest on your purchases. But interest may be added for cash advances.
• •If your credit card company increases the interest rate on your card you should be given 60 days to reject the increase and pay off your balance at the existing interest rate.
• •You may want to set up a regular payment to pay off your bill in full or to repay what you can afford.
• •If you pay less than the whole balance, you'll be charged interest. Check your credit agreement to find out how much of the balance you'll be charged interest on. It'll also tell you when the interest will be added to your account. The most expensive debt on your credit card will always be paid off first.
• •If you can’t pay the whole balance off, you'll usually have to pay at least a minimum payment. You can check your credit card statement to find out how much your minimum payment is. Paying only the minimum amount each month increases the amount you have to pay overall.
• •You can use a repayment calculator to help you work out when you're likely to pay off your credit card bill and how much more quickly you could pay it off by making a higher monthly repayment. You can use the repayment calculator on the Which? website.
• •If you can regularly only afford the minimum payment, you may be running into money problems. Your credit card company should contact you to warn you of what might happen if you only make minimum payments.

Practical guidance

• •Source: [The costs and charges of credit cards](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/borrowing-money/credit-cards/the-costs-and-charges-of-credit-cards/)

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