When your credit card or loan moves to another company

Credit card and loan accounts are bought, sold and moved between lenders all the time in the UK. Sometimes a whole card book is sold to a new owner, sometimes a brand is taken over, and sometimes a lender closes and its accounts are transferred elsewhere. When that happens, the company you deal with changes, but the debt you owe and most of your legal rights travel with the account. The new owner steps into the shoes of the old one, and the rules that protected you before still apply.

That said, a move is a moment when things can change, and the changes are not always in your favour. The new company may raise the interest rate, adjust fees or end a promotional deal, and there are deadlines you need to meet if you want to object. The most important one is the 60 day window to reject an interest rate increase and pay off your balance at the old rate¹. Your Section 75 protection for purchases between £100 and £30,000 also continues, whoever owns the account today².

What stays the same when your account moves: the debt and your agreement

The starting point is simple: the debt does not disappear, shrink or become optional because the name on the statement has changed. What you owe, the credit limit and the terms of the agreement are transferred to the new company, which then collects the payments and deals with any queries or claims. Your obligation is to the account, not to a particular brand.

This also applies when the original lender gets into difficulty. If a company that owns your loan, credit card or store card goes into administration, the debt still exists and can still be sold on. StepChange, the debt charity, notes that a loan, credit card or store card remains a qualifying debt in a debt relief order and that the company going into administration should not affect the order itself⁴. In other words, the legal machinery around the debt is unaffected by who holds it.

Who is liable stays the same too. Credit cards cannot be taken out in joint names: only one person is liable for the debt, and an additional cardholder is not liable for it⁵. An additional cardholder shares the credit limit and gets their own card, but has no legal responsibility to pay towards the debt⁶. A transfer to a new company does not create new liability for anyone, because the agreement, not the owner, determines who owes what.

One thing worth knowing is that credit cards do not create a financial link between the account holder and an additional cardholder on a credit file⁵. Financial associations on a credit report arise from joint credit applications, joint bank accounts or joint financial products, and they continue after divorce or separation until you file a notice of disassociation to end the link⁷. Where cards are held jointly, which can apply to some credit arrangements, any debts are the joint holder's responsibility, and repayment of such debts may have to wait until others have been settled, for example after a death⁸.

Interest rate rises: 60 days to reject and repay at the old rate

The change that matters most after a transfer is a rise in the interest rate, and this is where your strongest right sits. If your credit card company increases the interest rate on your card, you have 60 days to reject the increase and pay off your balance at the existing interest rate¹. Which? describes the same right: 60 days to reject the hike, cancel the card and pay back what you owe at the old rate³.

Notice must come in advance. Which? states that a card company deciding to increase your interest rate must contact you at least 30 days beforehand³, and its guidance on paying off debts repeats the 30 day minimum notice period⁹. A separate Which? news article reports the notice period as at least 60 days before the change¹⁰. The documents differ on the notice period, so treat 30 days as the floor and check the dates in the letter you receive: what matters is the 60 day rejection window that follows.

Rejecting the rise means the account closes and you repay the balance at the rate you had before. That is a real choice if you can clear or move the debt, but it is not free money: the balance is still due. If you do nothing within the 60 days, the new rate applies. The dedicated guides to rejecting an interest rate rise and to when a card changes its rate or terms cover the mechanics in detail.

Fees and charges to check after the move

A new owner may bring a new fee structure, so the first statement after a transfer deserves a careful read. The charges to look at are the familiar ones: Citizens Advice notes you will usually be charged for going over your credit limit, for using the card abroad and for late payments¹¹. Some cards also charge an annual fee for use of the card, which is added to the amount due¹².

Balance transfer fees are worth particular attention if you are thinking of moving the debt on. If you move a balance to another card you are likely to be charged a handling fee of around 2% of the balance¹¹, and National Debtline makes the same point: some credit card companies charge a balance transfer fee to take over your unpaid debt, either as a flat fee or depending on the amount transferred¹³. Most providers charge 2% to 3% of the amount you are transferring as a one-off fee¹⁴, and Business Debtline warns that most companies charge an initial percentage of the debt to make the transfer¹⁵. StepChange adds a sharp edge: if you move more debt onto a card after a promotional offer has finished, the transfer fee could be as high as 18%¹⁶.

Other charges behave as before. You cannot be charged extra simply for using a credit or debit card, although exceptions remain where your bank or the seller's bank is outside the European Economic Area, or where you are using a business card¹. Cash is expensive in a way a transfer does not change: when you take cash out on a credit card, interest is added to your account straight away, even if you pay off the balance by the due date¹⁸, and cash transactions will always charge interest¹⁹. The guide to credit card fees and charges lists the full set.

Promotional and 0% deals when the lender changes

Promotional offers are the part of an account most easily lost in a move, because they are commercial promises rather than permanent terms. Many balance transfer deals offer 0% interest on the amount you move²⁰, and many credit card companies offer 0% transfer fees to encourage applications¹⁶. But most 0% interest deals only last for a number of months²¹, and introductory rates work the same way: you start off paying a low rate of interest or none at all, and the rate then increases after a certain amount of time¹².

If your account moves, check in writing what happens to any promotional period that still has time to run. The safest assumption is that a 0% deal ends on its original end date and the standard rate takes over, but a new owner's terms may differ, and a lender may be able to end a 0% deal early if you fall behind with regular payments²¹. Missing a payment on a promotional deal can cost you the offer itself, not just a late fee, which is covered in the guide to missing a payment on a 0% deal.

For context on how long offers run, the longest 0% balance transfer deals on the market were 38 months as of September 2026¹⁷, while Which?'s guidance from earlier in 2026 reported deals offering up to 34 months interest-free⁹. These figures describe the market, not your account: your own offer end date is on your statement and original terms. When a 0% offer ends, the card moves to its standard rate, explained in when a 0% offer ends.

Section 75 protection: purchases from £100 to £30,000

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is the strongest protection attached to a credit card, and it follows the debt rather than the brand. It applies to items costing between £100 and £30,000, even if you are only paying some of that amount on your credit card². Citizens Advice gives the same range for used car purchases: you get protection for goods costing between £100 and £30,000, even if you only paid for a small part of the cost on the card²². ABTA summarises the rule as payments between £100 and £30,000 made by credit card being protected if the goods or services paid for have not been provided²³.

Because the protection is tied to the credit agreement, a purchase made under the old owner is still claimable after the account moves. The claim is made against the lender, so after a transfer you would claim from the new company. Citizens Advice confirms you can apply for a Section 75 claim if you paid with a credit card, and that you cannot apply if you paid with a debit card²⁴. The same protection extends to buy now pay later agreements regulated as Deferred Payment Credit, where the Financial Conduct Authority notes Section 75 is available, so you may be able to get a refund from the lender if something goes wrong with what you have bought²⁵.

There are edges to know about. The Financial Ombudsman Service notes that Section 75 might not apply if you used a credit card to put funds into a standard e-money account and then used that account to buy something²⁶. The narrow guides cover the £100 to £30,000 threshold, when Section 75 does not protect you and how to make a claim step by step.

Your credit file and credit score after the change

A transfer of your account to a new company should not, by itself, damage your credit record: the debt, its balance and its payment history are what the file records. What does affect your score is what happens next. If you miss payments after the move, your credit file will show that you did not make your agreed payments, and this impacts your credit score²⁷. A default or missed payment record can affect your ability to get credit for years, so the weeks around a transfer, when direct debits and payment details may change, are a time to be careful.

Applying for new credit around the move can also leave marks. Citizens Advice warns that applying for too many cards or regularly switching cards can affect your credit rating¹². A lender looking at your file sees your recent applications, and a cluster of them can look like financial stress even when each one was sensible.

Two points from earlier are worth repeating here because they shape what a transfer does and does not do to your file. Credit cards do not form a financial link with someone, even if they are an additional cardholder⁵, so a transfer does not create a new association on your file. But financial connections that do exist, from joint applications or joint accounts, continue after divorce or separation until you file a notice of disassociation⁷. The guide to how credit cards affect your credit file explains the mechanics.

Paying the new company: minimum payments and missed payments

After a move, the practical priority is making sure your payments actually reach the new company. Check the new payment details, confirm any direct debit has carried over or been set up afresh, and keep an eye on the first statement. Minimum payments usually only cover the interest and charges on a debt¹⁴, so paying the minimum keeps the account in order but makes slow progress on the balance itself. Your credit card company should contact you to warn you of what might happen if you only make minimum payments¹.

Missing payments is costly in several ways at once. Extra charges are added if you miss payments¹⁴, and your credit file will show that you did not make your agreed payments, which impacts your credit score²⁷. If you were on a promotional deal, a missed payment may end it early²¹. The typical minimum repayment is around 3% of the balance due or £5, whichever is higher¹², so it is worth knowing what your new company asks for and by when.

Cash borrowing behaves as it did before the move: you are charged interest from the day you took the money out¹⁹, and cash transactions will always charge interest¹⁹. The guides to minimum payments, paying your bill and missing a payment cover each of these in detail.

Balance transfer or consolidation: moving the debt yourself

If you do not like the new owner's terms, one option is to move the debt yourself. Credit card consolidation is when you merge debts so you only have one bill to pay²⁸, and the main routes are taking out a personal or consolidation loan, or transferring your balances onto a low interest credit card²⁸. A consolidation loan works by paying off your creditors with money you borrow, then making monthly payments to pay off the loan instead of your credit cards²⁸.

Debt consolidation in general means taking out new credit, such as a consolidation loan, and using the new credit to pay off your existing debts in full¹⁵. NI Direct, the official Northern Ireland service, also lists alternatives: making new arrangements with your existing lenders, making best use of existing credit options such as an overdraft, credit or store cards, a personal loan or mortgage extension, or borrowing from relatives²⁹. Moving the debt to a card with low or 0% interest could help you pay off the debt faster¹⁴.

The costs need weighing before you move anything. You usually have to pay a fee to move a balance to a different card³⁰, typically 2% to 3% of the amount transferred¹⁴, and the fee on transfers made after a promotional offer has finished could be as high as 18%¹⁶. Consolidation can also extend the time you are in debt, and the total interest paid can end up higher even where the monthly payment falls. The guides to balance transfer credit cards, balance transfer fees and help with credit card debt set out the sums.

If you are struggling to repay

A transfer is a good moment to take stock, because the new company is a new relationship and repayment problems are common. StepChange reports that two-thirds (67%) of its clients with a high interest credit card missed at least one monthly repayment on it, with half (52%) doing so in three or more months each year³¹. Missing payments brings charges and credit file damage²⁷, so getting help early is cheaper than waiting.

If your financial situation gets worse, for example you lose your job, you can try to negotiate another arrangement with your creditors; if your circumstances improve, your creditors may expect you to increase your repayments³². An informal arrangement of this kind costs nothing to set up and can give breathing space, though it depends on the creditor's agreement and is not binding in the way a formal solution is.

There is also a regulatory backdrop worth knowing. StepChange has called for work to restart on increasing the minimum credit card repayment, so that payments are set at a level that is affordable and prevents expensive long-term debt³³, and it has criticised the "low and grow" model where credit limits start small and are increased as customers borrow more³³. Free, impartial help is available: StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice all offer free debt advice, and MoneyHelper is the government-backed service. The guides to credit card debt help, debt in Scotland and debt in Northern Ireland cover nation-specific options.

Complaints: the lender first, then the Financial Ombudsman

If something goes wrong after the move, a wrong charge, a mishandled promotional rate, a payment that vanished in the transfer, there is a fixed order to follow. The Financial Ombudsman Service is clear that you need to complain to the financial business first, or it cannot get involved³⁴. Talk to your lender or broker, because they need to have the chance to put things right³⁵, then make a formal complaint to the company involved³⁶.

Once the company has given its final response, or if you are still unhappy, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Your case will be assigned to a case handler who will contact you when they start to investigate, using evidence from you, the financial business and any relevant third parties³⁸. The service is free and independent.

Complaints about credit cards are common and are taken seriously. Ombudsman data shows 5,783 complaints about credit cards opened in the first quarter of 2026/27³⁹, and in the first quarter of 2025/26 there were around 6,600 new credit card complaints with a 25% uphold rate⁴⁰. In other words, roughly a quarter of credit card complaints that reached the ombudsman in that quarter were decided in the consumer's favour.

Two special cases are worth knowing. Where a complaint passes through a credit broker, FCA scheme rules require the broker to forward the complaint to the lender and inform the consumer that it has been forwarded³⁷. And if you spot unusual transactions on your statement at any point, inform your bank, building society and credit card company³⁹; if a card issue is not resolved by your card issuer, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service⁴⁰. The guide to complaining about a credit card provider walks through the process in full.