Saga: Credit card APRs

Roger Ramsden, Chief Executive, Saga Personal Finance responds to the Moneyfacts report regarding increasing APRs on credit cards: "It is disappointing to see that despite a series of cuts to the Bank of England base rate, many credit card providers have increased the APR available on their products. The current difficult economic climate means that customers are in greater need for competitive deals to help maximise their financial resources, which makes it all the more disappointing that in the past six months, 12 cards from large providers have had their APR rates increased.

"At Saga, we have always put the needs of our customers first. As a result, the APR on our credit card went down from 16.9% to 11.9% in April 2009, a reduction of almost a third in two years. We also continue to maintain a fair order of payment system, ensuring that customers are not unfairly forced to keep the more expensive debts on their cards. We are able to offer such competitive deals as a result of building good relationships with suppliers and maintaining a responsible lending programme which gives our customers great deals for the long term and not just for an initial joining period."