In a meeting today at Whitehall, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is expected to warn the major credit card companies that they must put an end to their rip-off interest rates.

Despite a fall in the base rate, credit card companies are still raising their interest rates – a move that supposedly ‘appalls’ the Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Lord Mandelson and Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas are expected to demand an end to these aggressive interest rate tactics that come in to play when consumers fall behind on their payments.

A recent study in this area revealed that on average credit card interest rates have grown from 16.8% to 17.2% in the past three months alone.