Comedy guinea pig adverts they might have, but many of you are not finding Egg's latest policy very funny at all.
We've mentioned Egg before when their savings account gave a few of you cause for concern.
Now, Egg is withdrawing 161,000 credit cards from those of you who it believes pose an unacceptably "high risk".
The internet bank has given 7% of its credit card customers 35 days' notice that it is ending their card agreements. If you are an Egg cardholder, you will be able to continue making minimum monthly repayments on your balances but will not be able to spend any more after the deadline.
"Egg is not asking for immediate repayment of balances or making any changes to their current terms and conditions or interest rates," Egg said. They also defended their latest move by saying:
"The credit profiles of affected customers had deteriorated between the time they joined Egg and the acquisition (by Citigroup) in May. The decision to end these customers' agreements was taken after conducting a one-off, extensive risk review of our (customers)..."
The move follows a "one-off" review after Egg was bought by US-based Citigroup for £575m last year and is just another example of how lenders are revamping their lending criteria due to the ongoing
credit crunch.
The 35-day notice period starts on receipt of the letter, which also provides details of how to appeal against the decision (although we have heard rumours that when you call them to appeal they tell you that you can't).
Egg says that those of you who are having your card cancelled have been told that you have had a deteriorating credit profile since you signed up. This could include those who have missed repayments or exceeded their credit limit.
However many of you have said that you had had received a letter informing you of the withdrawal, despite having an excellent credit history and have complained that you are not 'high risk' but settle your debts every month and incur no banking charges. Many of you feel that you are being axed simply because you do not make any money for Egg.
You only have to read why people are saying about Egg on blogs to see how messed up this situation is.
And because of this, many of you are considering switching to another credit card; if this is you, why not compare other credit cards here?
Egg's decision could be a signal of the tightening credit market, with consumers facing more difficulty in repaying debts and cutting spending.
Egg are keen to point out that credit card holders who have had their accounts cancelled were being told that the move would not have a bad effect on their credit rating.
Credit reference agency Experian said that cancellation of a card by the issuer would be recorded on a credit report as a "settled" account, once any outstanding balance had been cleared.
Any lender checking the customer's record in future would not see the name of the card issuer, only that the card had been settled. This is the same as if the cardholder had cancelled the card himself.
James Jones at Experian said:
'[Lenders] all make their own decisions on whether they want to grant credit or a credit card, based on credit reference agency information and other information provided by applicants. "In fact, depending on the circumstances of the individual and policies of the lender, it could have a positive effect on your credit rating as a lender might view an application from someone with a lower number of cards as more attractive."
So, are you an Egg customer who has had their card cancelled?Why not tell us how you feel in the comments below?
If you are looking for a new credit card, below are a few options you should consider:
Barclaycard Platinum Card (6.3% interest on balance transfers until paid in full with no handling fee, 14.9% APR typical variable)
Capital One Bank Platinum MasterCard (0% on balance transfers until 1st November 2008 and 0% on purchases until 1st November 2008, Free Identity Theft Service, A low 9.9% APR typical variable)
Claim back your credit card and mortgage exit fees