When big firms lecture you about ethics it’s time to reach for a baseball bat. I got a letter from Barclaycard telling me my “cash advance service” was being withdrawn for ethical reasons. This is the company, remember, whose former boss, Matt Barrett, told MPs he would rather get a loan from Doug and Dinsdale Piranha than use a Barclaycard. A company that reduced its interest rates by less than a third when national rates were down by two-thirds.
I’ve had a Barclaycard for 18 years and have never exceeded my credit limit. But because my balance (just) exceeds 50% of my limit, this contravenes its new ethical policy not to let customers get into debt too much — and so, without warning, the cash advance service is withdrawn for “a minimum of six months”. When I rang Barclaycard to say I was writing about this for The Sunday Times it was restored within 18 minutes. How ethical. If it was really worried about people getting into debt it would close down, or at least reduce its interest rates.
Look, I know that my presbyterian values when it comes to money pre-dispose me to a horror of debt. And I appreciate that Mr Liddle's domestic circumstances may be a little, how can I put this, fluid. Nevertheless, even a former producer on the Today programme and now a respected journalist can find him or herself in financial difficulties.
But it is financial folly to carry large sums on your credit card from month to month. And taking cash advances (with interest payable from the date of withdrawal) is madness. Pull yourself together, Rod - get a proper bank loan to cover your credit card debt. It's bound to be cheaper. And, in future, don't use your credit card as a means of long-term borrowing.
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