Gambling with Credit Cards

Lloyds TSB one of the banks that was bailed by billions of tax payers money is encouraging people to gamble with their credit cards. It is claimed that a letter that was sent out by Lloyds suggested that its customers can borrow 50% of their credit limit and spend it on ‘transactions such as gambling’ It also went so far as to include its Classic Credit Card holders saying they can buy gambling Chips.

This all sounds very irresponsible from such a big name in banking however it came to light when a letter was sent to a 22 year old, who no doubt remains anonymous. The 22 year old man was given a credit card with a spending limit of £1,000. In the letter is stated that the young man could use £500 or 50% of his limit on transactions such as gambling, the purchase of foreign currency, money orders and gaming chips. The interest charges on such a cash withdrawls is 24.9%

A Lloyds spokesman said ‘We treat gambling and cash-related transactions, such as the purchase of gaming chips, as a cash withdrawl, which is why its is included in the sentence, but we are concerned it could be interpreted as encouraging irresponsible use of a credit card.

Before all this is taken out of context it is common sense not to use your credit card this way. Lloyds no doubt have a red face over this one but these types of things do happen. The wording is important in the fine print but I don’t believe there would be many people who honestly believe the letter was intended to promote gambling. You make your mind up.