Card Protection Plans

Belzie

Hey Guys

Card Protection Plans...... the ones where I give details of all my cards, licences, passports and any other vital info I may need in an emergency or if my wallet is stolen or I lose my keys.

I've had a policy with CPP ltd https://www.cpp.co.uk for the last 3 years...... never had to use it but now its up for renewal £45 for the next 3 years........ sounds a lot..... I'd prefer to pay yearly.

Do any of you guys use these policy's?
Who's the best?
Who's the cheapest?

I'd relly appreciate some feedback on this.

Cheers

Belzie

Systemaddict_2

Do not renew your policy (with the same card). If you got another credit card get a new quote. It is often cheaper for 1,2 or 3 years than renewing your current one.

Card protection policy (particularly with Sentinal Card Protection) offers addition benefits, such as emergency cash. (read T&C for full benefits).

If you travel a lot or not very well organised it may save you a lot of time and trouble if your cards are lost or stolen, particularly if your abroad.

Card protection is like an insurance, you have to decide if you need it and if you are prepared to pay the going premium.

renegade

???I too need to check out all that is out there before I renew my plan. At the moment I am with M&S they are charging 35.00 for 3 year cover. I had a quote from my bank fd/hsbc and they charge 15.00 per year. As I only have my bank card, 1 cc, and 3 store cards I am now thinking, do I really need a cpp.? I am very careful with my personal property when out there but would be devastated if they got stolen ( Ive answered my own question havnt I) so I will keep looking for the cheapest deal and report here what I find.

Reaper

The search is made very easy by the fact that all the different companies seem to be selling policies run by just two main firms, Sentinel and CPP.

As has been said before if you are just buying this to notify credit card providers if your cards are lost then it really isn't worth the money. Write a list of your card numbers and beside each the phone number you need to call and that's it.

However they do offer some nice travel insurance stuff (eg lending cash to you to pay for your hotel room and buy return tickets if you lose all your money). It certainly is not a replacement for travel insurance though, it just fills in the gaps.

Read the list of benefits and see if you think it is worth the premium. I had a policy for a while but have canceled it now.

Smitty

Forgive me if this is incorrect, its just from memory

If you dont have card protection, and you lose your cards without knowing, and your cards are used before you inform the CC company they are lost, aren't you liable for the first £1000?

Reaper

No, as long as you inform your credit card company as soon as you are aware you are ok. According to cardwatch.org.uk in theory you are liable for the first £50 but I have never heard of any credit card company attempting to enforce this.

From cardwatch:

· If you discover that your card has been lost or stolen or that you have been the victim of a fraud you should inform your bank or card issuer immediately.

· If someone else uses your card before you tell your card issuer it has been lost or stolen or before you tell them that someone else knows your PIN, the most you will have to pay, in theory, is £50. In practice the bank or building society will usually refund the full amount lost. But if the cardholder is shown to have acted fraudulently or without reasonable care, for example, by keeping their PIN written down with their card, they would have to meet all the losses.

· If your card is used fraudulently but you still have the card in your possession you will not be liable to pay for any part of the losses. You would probably still have your card in your possession if you are a victim of card-not-present fraud or if your card has been counterfeited.

renegade

Thanks everyone for the help and advice. I have now decided not to take out these plans as I cannot justify paying out 15.00 per annum just for my 2 cards. Thanks for saving me some money.

ekrampf

In the process of turning over a new leaf so am looking into this myself.

I have 2 plans on 2 different credit cards at £15 each (I know very stupid of me, writing cancelation letters now so I don't waste any more money!). I am very surprised to see that my bank, Cahoot, offers a simillar plan at 40p a month.

I am currently weighing up if it is worth it as I hated going through the process of changing address last time I moved but didn't use either of the policy I paid for (even more stupid of me, paying the money and not using the service!)

JPS3290_2

Always just renewed mine (with Natwest) but the price has jumped up to £20.

Phoned up to cancel today and mentioned i thought it was too expensive compared to other companys and they offered to reduce it to £16. Still cancelled it to the guys amazement and annoyance i think.

I was going to renew with someone else but after reading up on here i think it would be a waste of money. My current CC gives me loads of additional benefits for travel arrangements etc so it seems im just paying for someone else to ring my bank if i lost the card