Franky on Finance

Egg annouced it was forced to make an unprecedented move to curb overspending after a review revealed 160,000 customers had a ‘higher than acceptable risk profile’.  The cardholders received letters within days warning them their Egg credit cards will stop working in 35 days’ time.  Those with a higher risk would typically mean people who spend over their credit limit or fail to make minimum repayments.  However, Egg’s actions backfired when hundreds of those affected say they settle their debts every month and incur none of the bank charges which make money for Egg.  But the lender defended the move, saying the ‘risk review’ was carried out after the banking giant Citigroup bought Egg last year and the decision was not prompted by the credit crunch.  The Office of Fair Trading has yet to receive a complaint. But sources indicated an investigation would be launched within days if a sufficient response is received from customers.