💳 MIS-SOLD CATALOGUES, CREDIT & STORE CARDS — IT’S PAYBACK SEASON 💳

🔥 INTRODUCTION

Credit cards, catalogue accounts, store cards — they’re supposed to boost your buying power. But when lenders skip the reality check and hand out high-interest plastic like free samples, they’re setting you up to fail. Costs climb, limits leap, and suddenly your balance is bench-pressing you.

💸 UNAFFORDABLE LENDING

Under FCA Consumer Duty, lenders must match the product to your wallet — not squeeze your wallet dry. When rates sit north of 39% and the only direction is up, paying off the balance becomes a marathon in quicksand. Targeting customers with bruised credit can be fair — if the lender keeps limits low and checks affordability every time. But when they crank that limit without a fresh look at your finances, the “help” turns into a trap.

📈 CREDIT LIMIT HIKES

It starts small. Then, boom — your limit rockets from a few hundred to a few grand. No fresh income check, no affordability review, just a shiny email saying “Congrats, you’ve been upgraded.” That upgrade often shoves borrowers deeper into debt. Lenders have had to pay compensation out for exactly this: refunding every penny of interest and fees added after reckless hikes. If it happened to you, that refund could be your next big win.

⚔️ HOW TO COMPLAIN LIKE A CHAMP

First, gather every shred of proof — your agreement, monthly statements, all emails and texts, plus snapshots of your finances when the limit jumped. Next, hit the lender with a no-nonsense written complaint: spell out the reckless lending, attach the evidence, and ask for interest and charges back. Be aware of their eight-week deadline and if they stall, escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service. They’re independent, they’re powerful, and they don’t skip leg day.

📊 CREDIT SCORE IMPACT

Firing off a complaint doesn’t dent your credit score — it never hits the file. Only the lender and its sister companies see it. And when you win? Those late-payment scars and default bruises linked to the mis-sold credit must be wiped. Clean slate. Stronger stance. Ready to power forward.

Bottom line: if lenders treated your credit limit like a dumbbell drop, it’s time to lift it back up and make them pay for every rep of financial pain. Collect proof, complain hard, escalate fast — and reclaim your financial muscle.