Credit card firms are pushing up interest rates by as much as 7 per cent ahead of Christmas.
The move by Capital One means some customers will be paying almost 40 per cent interest on their Christmas gifts and January sale purchases unless they clear the balance on their cards.
The American-owned finance giant said the rises were to reflect the higher risk of certain customers and ‘market conditions’.
But there are concerns that Capital One, which has 4million British customers, will be followed by other banks.
The decision has angered customers, who described the increases as ‘legalised extortion’.
