0% Credit Cards Are Evil

chattychappy

The ridiculous thread title says it all.

Typhoon2000

cjw wrote: »

It is alright when you know how the system works, but for people that don't this is when it bad.

Typhoon2000 - You would had noted that the end date for the offer was well before the monthly bill date was due hense the reason they have charged him interest.

Cheers

Unless this credit card is some way different from all the rest I have experienced, as long as you pay your monthly bill in full and on time there will be no interest to pay to 0% purchase offers irrespective of when the offer ended. Say it ended on the 2nd of the month, and you bill was due to be paid on the 25th of the same month- as long as your payment goes through by the 25th there is no interest to pay on the 0% purchase. But if your payment goes through on 27th (late) then there will be interest to pay from when the 0% deal ended.

Any

DGJsaver wrote: »

Thomas cook may brand the card but its ran by a bank , not the Thoms Cook credit card dept....

By branding it they can therefore change their T&C to suit themselves.. As long as they comply with the law. That is why I would be cautious and first read the T&C and not just rely on "what I think is the normal practice".

Because what the OP is describing is not normal credit card practice.

Not that it would matter, because the OP admits he or his father are not bothering with reading any T&C or know nothing about credit cards and are not willing to learn.

lisyloo

They do inform you, took me about 2 minutes to find it on google.

0% interest for the first 3 months from account opening on all purchases at Thomas Cook and Going Places.

4th point down in this link
http://www.thomascook.com/money/thomas-cook-credit-card/

They do NOT say your first 3 statements, they clearly say 3 momths from account opening.
The OP's dad ASSUMED this was the first 3 statements and didn't check.
This is what I mean when I they they assumed.
I've always checked the dates, and never had a problem.

Wyndham

The 0% is surely a red herring here? The problem was that the bill wasn't paid on time. So it doesn't matter what the interest rate was, there would still have been a charge of interest due to the late payment?

lisyloo

there would still have been a charge of interest due to the late payment?

Yes, but the OP and his Dad are expecting it to be 0% until the end of the 3rd statement, which is very clearly not what Thomas offer.
They offer 3 months from account opening.
You won't know when that date is unless you pick up the telephone or otherwise communicate with them.

I agree it would be better if they told you and offered it to you on a plate, but that's not an excuse for guesswork and being too lazy to check.

UsagiYojimbo

I think you're all being a bit harsh on the OP, fair enough he/his dad should have found out for certain what the terms of the 0% interest were but I'm sure he's learnt from his mistake now, there's no need to brand him "lazy" for not checking, he simply wasnt aware of the terms and conditions.

I think the thread title is what has caused more concern than anything else. I have a Tesco credit card with 0% interest for 12 months and it certainly isn't evil.

lisyloo

he simply wasnt aware of the terms and conditions

That's a common mistake, and quite understandable.
I would have no issue with someone who makes mistakes and learns from them as most of us here do including myself.

But this person is seeking to blame someone else for their mistake(s) and even brand the tool as evil, which is clearly isn't.
Many people manage to use these acrds to their advantage without issue.

Demonising someone else for your own mistakes is not uncommon and symptomatic of not wanting to accept responsbility.
You learn more and improve when you accept you were wrong.

there's no need to brand him "lazy" for not checking

Well if you don't want to risk paying interet then it's pretty lazy not to acquaint yourself with the terms and conditions that are put through your letterbox isn't it??

CannyJock

0% credit cards are evil?

Not according to my research.

It's generally accepted that to keep women happy takes time and money

Therefore: Women = Time x Money

Those of us in business appreciate that time is money.

Since: Time = Money

Therefore: Women = Money x Money

It's also true to say for many that money is the root of all evil

Since: Money = sqrt (Evil)

Therefore: Women = sqrt(Evil) x sqrt(Evil)
Therefore: Women = sqrt(Evil)2
Therefore: Women = Evil

:eek:

moneysavingmarrow

This thread could just as easily have been called "Debit cards are evil", as the op's old fella. fell foul of the old "not over £3k due to money laundering" excuse!
One might have thought, that if he be a regular debit card over the phone payer, he would have known about that one anyways!!!!
He does now. So thats another lesson learnt!
'Twas his own fault for not paying on time.
Why !!!! about paying by debit card over the phone?
Must be one of the most long winded ways of going about it?
Especially as he had the option of paying by online account anyways!

I can't believe that anybody who waits untill the 1st of feb, to pay a credit card bill in full, thats due on the 4th of feb, was not up for a bit of subliminal stoozing and as such, to state that he was not interested in the 0% offer is a red herring.
And if he regularily pushes things to the limit like that, he must be aware of the pitfalls.