Virgin Credit Card - Be careful

whiskerspanther

A couple of things to be aware of if you obtain a Virgin Credit card offering 0% interest for 15 months.
I moved my balance to a Virgin credit card to take advantage of the 0% interest for 15 months. Originally I opted for payment protection, then thought it was a waste of money as I wasnt going to use the card just pay the balance off. Even though I cancelled the payment protection they still charged me for it! When I questioned it the lady at Virgin thought it was strange that I was being charged for a service I no longer received.
Another thing to be aware of is if you pay late they automatically take away the interest free option because you have broken the terms of the contract and start charging you interest. This has happened to me twice now.I slipped up because I didnt allow for the three days it takes for my payment to be processed. Although it shows as going out of your account the recipient doesn't receive the payment for at least three days. I argued this with my bank but apparently that is how the Bank of England works!
Shame they do not take into account if you pay early!!
I certainly would not recommend a Virgin Credit card.

Moggles_2

Your comments apply equally to all credit cards, IME.

In particular, most providers ask you to allow 4-5 working days (depending on your method of payment) for funds to be credited to your credit card account. The time required is shown on the back of monthly statements.

You can pay faster than this via the Virgin website using your debit card.

Might be an idea to set up a direct debit to pay the minimum amount. That way, it's Virgin's responsibility, not yours, to make sure the monthly repayments get there at the right time

vet8

The biggest problem with Virgin is they keep sneaking the due date forward so unless you check the date the payment is due every month you can easily slip up. My due date has moved from the 16th of the month to the 3rd, sometime it moves forward by 4 days at a time.

That is really sneaky and I am sure they do it just to try and catch you out.

willsonline

Its your problem if you dont pay on time,why do people never learn? we all know that 0% deals get revoked if break the T&Cs...set up a DD and you cant go wrong.

SIMPLE!

staffie1

willsonline wrote: »

Its your problem if you dont pay on time,why do people never learn? we all know that 0% deals get revoked if break the T&Cs...set up a DD and you cant go wrong.

SIMPLE!

I agree with you willsonline, even though your remarks come across as very frank! A DD is fine if you want to pay the min amount each month, but if you want to pay a sum between the min and the full balance, Virgin can't do that. The only way to pay in this case is a standing order for a set amount (like I do) or to manually pay it either by a transfer from your current account or by debit card direct on their website, etc. It is easy to slip up when we've got busy lives, and the OP's comments are valid. But at the end of the day it's up to us to make sure we pay on time I agree. All cards operate on the same principle.

Moggles_2

vet8 wrote: »

The biggest problem with Virgin is they keep sneaking the due date forward so, unless you check the date the payment is due every month, you can easily slip up. My due date has moved from the 16th of the month to the 3rd, sometimes it moves forward by 4 days at a time. That is really sneaky and I am sure they do it just to try and catch you out.

This wheeze has been mentioned before, but cannot be stressed too often.

Particular care is needed with all cards run by MBNA (e.g. Alliance & Leicester, MBNA itself, Sony, Virgin). One of MBNA's favourite tricks is to bring the payment due date forward. Notice of this change will be embedded somewhere in the small-print leaflet which accompanied your previous statement. It's happened to me on three occasions now (Different cards, btw, but all underwritten by MBNA) I've not been caught out yet but, judging from the complaints to this forum, hundreds of customers are clobbered.

Let's face it, for every MSE who complains to MBNA and gets a refund, there will be many more customers who simply pay up. So, whether or not this is the intention, it's a nice little earner :rolleyes:

staffie1

Moggles wrote: »

Let's face it, for every MSE that complains to MBNA and gets a refund, there will be many more customers who simply pay up. So, whether or not this is the intention, it's a nice little earner :rolleyes:

Why would anyone get a refund if the cc company have told you about the change in advance?

tiff

My Dh phoned to activate his card last night and was told on the phone that the 0% is removed if a payment defaults. Its not hidden at all and seems fair enough to me.

Set up a DD (for the minimum) and then transfer over any extra yourself each month.

Moggles_2

staffie1 wrote: »

Why would anyone get a refund if the cc company have told you about the change in advance?

If it's a "first offence" and you ask nicely, you may get a refund

staffie1

Oh I see !

Richard019

staffie1 wrote: »

I agree with you willsonline, even though your remarks come across as very frank! A DD is fine if you want to pay the min amount each month, but if you want to pay a sum between the min and the full balance, Virgin can't do that. The only way to pay in this case is a standing order for a set amount (like I do) or to manually pay it either by a transfer from your current account or by debit card direct on their website, etc. It is easy to slip up when we've got busy lives, and the OP's comments are valid. But at the end of the day it's up to us to make sure we pay on time I agree. All cards operate on the same principle.

There's nothing to stop you having a DD in place for the minimum and then making an additional payment by the methods you mention*.

*Debit card might not be available if you have a DD but you can always send a cheque with the slip off the bottom of your statement.