Are Argos ripping me off?

keltbrat

I bought a coffee table from Argos for £22.74 last year on my argos card. After the six months interest free time had elapsed they started taking a small amount each month from my bank unfortunately when it came the date to take that small amount there were not enough funds to cover it. Argos charged me £35 each time. in light of the bank charges furore over unfair charges <i'm in the middle of claiming mine back from the woolwich> I'm wondering if these charges are also illegal. my £22.74 is now about to cost £131.74 Does anyone know if i can challenge these charges and if so how would i go about it?

Thanks

Tallyho_2

You bought a coffee table on interest free credit for £22.74 & then didn't have sufficient funds to cover the payments :rolleyes:
It is your own fault surely & Argos are just charging you under their terms & conditions ! Why would they be illegal ?
If you look at direct debit procedures it is up to the payee to make sure that there are sufficient funds to cover the debit . Sorry but you only have yourself to blame & the only course of action is to beg the Woolwich/Argos due to supposed mitigating circumstances . For the monthly payments that must be involved I would say NO CHANCE

NB

Is this a joke ?
I can't believe anyone would go interest free on £22.74:o

Busybody

I thought you could only get the 6 months free if you spent over a certain amount of money! say £100!!

Stubbarama

Keltbrat, regardless whether you should have or shouldnt have put the purchase on credit, the charge would seem to be punative in nature.

You should write to Argos asking them to justify their costs, if they do not wish to, or cannot, then you should as you have with woolwich proceed with trying to claim through the county courts.

Tallyho_2

Stubbarama wrote:

Keltbrat, regardless whether you should have or shouldnt have put the purchase on credit, the charge would seem to be punative in nature.

You should write to Argos asking them to justify their costs, if they do not wish to, or cannot, then you should as you have with woolwich proceed with trying to claim through the county courts.

The charges would surely be in the signed credit agreement .
Why should they justify their charges ?
Do you write to BP asking them to justify the price of petrol ?


My company charges X amount per hour for my services . I think it is outrageous but the companies that use them pay because that is the going rate .

Diamonds_2

Flipping eck! I think I'd cry if that happened to me! :eek:

appleblossom

Most companies now charge though for a failed direct debit, at the bottom of one of my statements from a company it clearly states if I miss a payment, an admin charge of £15.00 will be paid, and if a direct debit fails, the same applies. Surely in the credit agreement, it advises you of what happens if you don't make the payment- the charges will stand if it does (which I am sure it will do in the small print) - sorry to sound harsh, but you don't really have a leg to stand on - on what grounds are you going to complain? you took out an agreement that you did not stick to, and they are charging you for breaking it?

angelfire

Doesn't sound like you're being ripped off I'm afraid - as unsympathetic :rolleyes: as Tallyho is, he/she is probably correct in as much as it's all probably in Argos's terms and conditions.

You could perhaps try calling to speak to a manager or writing explaining your circumstances and ask for a gesture of goodwill to perhaps halve the charges they've put on? It surely has to be worth a try and you've nothing to lose?

I truly sympathise with you on this and hope you can sort something out, please keep us posted...

Dee

jennybear

22.74 on 6 months interest free - I want to shop there - its for when you spend over £195!
Anyways, from the Argos FS website...

Typical 25.9% APR variable for all Buy Now Pay Later and Normal Credit plans

Your interest free period
Buy Now Pay Later plans (up to12 months) offer specified periods to opt out of interest. Deferred interest will be payable if you do not pay the balance by the due date.

Your minimum payment
4% of the balance each month or £2 (whichever is greater). No repayments are necessary in Buy Now Pay Later periods.

Annual fees
£0. There is no annual fee for the card.

Other fees
£0 if you pay on time. A fee will be charged if you have a late payment, returned cheque, returned Direct Debit or go over your credit limit.
A typical example

Spend £195 on a 6 month Buy Now Pay Later plan and pay nothing for 6 months (although you can if you wish) then settle the balance by the due date. Total payable £195. Or choose to spread the cost for longer and start paying the monthly minimum of 4% of the balance or £2, whichever is the greater. Your balance includes the deferred interest from the purchase date

It is written in the terms of the credit agreement which you would have signed. Sorry!

tin

I find most of the responses in this thread most strange. There is currently a lot of talk about disputing over-the-top charges with the banks, and most people (I think) seem to agree, and a lot of people are sucessfully challenging them. People have of course signed the T&Cs for their bank accounts and credit cards too, so I don't see what makes argos an exception.

Anyone can see that £35 charge for the admin associated with a bounced DD is far too much, so the charge is punative (as stubbarama says) factor in that the table cost less than this charge then it is clearly unreasonable.

TBH you have signed and they can charge you, but I would say you clearly have a very good cause for argument against the level of charges.

@tallyho - you are not comparing apples with apples. BP's prices or Your company's going rate are equivalent to this arrangement's interest rate. A penalty is an exceptional thing. Neither BP nor your company can factor in a penalty to their cutomer relationship so there is nothing equivalent to compare.

Tallyho_2

tin wrote:

Anyone can see that £35 charge for the admin associated with a bounced DD is far too much, so the charge is punative (as stubbarama says) factor in that the table cost less than this charge then it is clearly unreasonable.

Why is it ?
Are you privvy to the actual time & costs involved ?
The whole idea of charging people is to try & get them to act responsibly in the first place . The financial awareness of a lot of people in this country is " buy now , pay later " . That is fine but when you take out the contract you are then saying " Yes , I agree " to T&C's . If you miss the payment then that is your own fault if you don't have the money in your bank to cover it .