Help - Virgin Credit card

clio

well done MDE getting them to reduce apr

Moggles_2

MDE wrote: »

I wrote to Virgin saying that I was very unhappy with the rate increase, pointed out I was a good risk, good job, never missed a payment etc etc. They reduced it from 29.9 to 19.9% as a way of thanking me for my loyalty!

Congratulations on getting your rate reduced.
:beer:

Were you in the middle of an introductory 0% promotion though? The OP has only had the card for something like 8 months.

GeorgeUK

Can i just ask as something similar came up before.
Were they announcing a change to the interest rate but you would still be paying the lesser of

3% of the statement balance or the total of any Payment Protection Cover charges, interest, handling fees and default charges plus £5, provided that it will always be at least £25.

It may be that they are increasing the interest rate, but until the promotional period has ended, the £25 may still apply.

Moggles_2

GeorgeUK wrote: »

It may be that they are increasing the interest rate, but until the promotional period has ended, the £25 may still apply.

Unfortunately, the OP made the mistake of spending on the card as well.

This is exactly the trap Virgin/MBNA calculates some customers will fall into and it's one of the main ways, IMO, this lender stands to make money! Those taking up the 0% balance transfer, are offered interest-free purchases for just 3 months and then bombarded with advertising aimed at persuading them to spend on the card (at their standard rate) which, as s/he's discovered the hard way, is variable.

clio

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between a standard effective apr and an applicable apr is please. ??

Moggles_2

clio wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between a standard effective apr and an applicable apr is please?

The standard APR is the annual interest rate that applies to all transactions of a given type. From time to time, this standard rate may be superceded for X months by a special 0% or low rate deal.

The applicable APR simply means the rate which applies at the time, whether this happens to be the standard variable rate or a special fixed rate promotion.

Note: There are broadly three types of transactions, (retail purchases, balance transfers and cash withdrawals) and these usually have different standard rates.

clio

Moggles so the applicable APR in my case it says 12.9 is this my apr unless they make changes to it?? and the mint standard rate now is 14.9% after the zero % offer finishes my zero % is still on my account it,s just i,m reading from the terms and conditions rather than a statement?????

Moggles_2

clio wrote: »

The applicable APR in my case says 12.9%. Is this my apr unless they make changes to it?

If this is the APR quoted on your monthly statements and you're not in a special promotion period, then it's reasonable to suppose that this rate applies to the stated transactions, unless you're told otherwise

Moggles_2

clio wrote: »

So the Mint standard rate now is 14.9% after the zero % offer finishes. My zero % is still on my account. It's just I'm reading from the terms and conditions rather than a statement.

That's it, exactly.

alixh7

Thanks MDE for your reply do you happen to have a template of the letter you sent at all??i am rubbish at writting letters so it would be a great help!