The Royal Bank of Scotland group slash the interest free periods on all of their credit cards.
If you have an RBS, Natwest or Mint credit card you could be in for a shock when you open your post- Christmas statement. As of January 1st 2008, these financial providers are cutting the interest free period available on all of their cards from a generous 56 to just 45 days. A move that means you could be left with just days to pay your bill if you don't want to incur interest charges.
Rather ironically, this change is only going to hit credit card users who clear their balance in full each month as payment will now be due only 15 days after your statement has been issued. In basic terms this means that you'll have less time to pay your bill and will potentially be more likely to get caught short making you subject to a £12 late payment penalty on top of additional interest charges.
RBS has written to all credit card account holders to notify them of this change. However, if you do hold balances on one of these cards make sure you note down your payment date as soon as your statement arrives in January and change any pre-scheduled direct debit payments accordingly.
As of yet no other UK banks have made similar announcements so for the time being interest free periods of up to 59 days are still available. However, lenders do seem to be tightening their belts so watch this space and your inbox just in case more decide to follow.
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