MBNA Balance Transfer Fee

Amanda65

Hi
We phoned MBNA last Friday to transfer a balance from an Egg card that had just finished its birthday 0% rate. My husband has had the card for ages but we have not used it for about 18 months and they keep writing to us, with 'easy to complete cheques' inviting us to transfer balances across. We were originally offered an interest rate of 3.4% but after some haggling on my husbands part he was offered a 'preferential' rate of 1.9% until August 2006, which we accepted.

I have gone onto the MBNA website today to see if the transfer has taken place and found that not only are all balance transfers at 1.9% (they weren't last Friday cos I checked to see if we really were getting a deal!) but that they have charged us a £50 balance transfer fee. We phoned to query this charge as at no point during my husbands conversation with MBNA was this mentioned and were told it was standard and we should have been informed. To try and get a refund we now have to write to an unnamed person in their customer services department at a PO Box address!

Has anyone else experienced this and if so were you successful in getting a refund? And how many more people are being ripped off in this way?

pigeonpie

Also rang MBNA about a possible balance transfer and was immediately told about the fee of 3% of the amount (or I think 50 quid, yes).
However have had other misleading - don't think it was deliberate,just the person wasn't up to speed - info from them before, once relating to a credit on a returned item which they made us pay for even though the credit was reflected in the account!Spoke to a different person about it who said no, if you give 7 working days notice of the credit (despite it being there) we can take it off the next amount owing. So usual story: it's who you get to speak to and how experienced they are.
Their customer service is pretty good so good luck with the refund.

YorkshireBoy

Amanda65 wrote:

I have gone onto the MBNA website today to see if the transfer has taken place and found that not only are all balance transfers at 1.9% (they weren't last Friday cos I checked to see if we really were getting a deal!)

If you mean your secure area 'snap-shot' view, then this will only now show 1.9% APR because you accepted their offer. All balances you transfer to the card between now and August will be at 1.9% APR.

but that they have charged us a £50 balance transfer fee...at no point during my husbands conversation with MBNA was this mentioned and were told it was standard and we should have been informed.

Check your original T&C's. Certainly old Virgin (also run by MBNA) T&C's stated that "we may charge a BT fee but will always tell you what it is before it is applied". If you have this condition, and your T&C's have not been updated/superceded by this or any other offer, then mention this in your letter. If you're 100% sure the fee was not mentioned, ask them (in your letter) to 'review the tapes'.

skipton

YorkshireBoy wrote:

T&C's stated that "we may charge a BT fee but will always tell you what it is before it is applied".

Has anyone ever not had to pay BT fee with MBNA.
I have always asked about this and always been charged even after quoting the above.

From 1st April the fee is going up to3%/max£75. How long will it be before others follow suit as they did when MBNA first brought the BT fee in?

Amanda65

We have BT's to MBNA in the past and not paid a fee. We did receive a letter this morning about the 3% BT charge after 1 April and felt very smug as we had done our transfer before this. Just goes to show that being smug never pays!!!