Virgin Money credit card rip-off

cheatthecheatingcheaters

Virgin staff "accidentally" failed to set-up a direct debit on my new card, which I applied for to take advantage of the interest-free period for balance transfers. As a penalty for my "error" of not making the initial payment, I was slugged with a penalty charge, and the interest-free period was canceled. Suddenly I was paying over £100 per month on the balance. After I managed to get Virgin to admit the error, I was refunded the interest and penalty charge. After a period of travel, I arrived home to check the statements, to find that Virgin had again revoked the interest-free status of the account, charging me £372.

Calling them provided no result, as I was given the line that only a "manager" can deal with my request, and that the "system" only allows me to communicate with a manager after I send a written request. I am still awaiting a call back. One word... Ombudsman.

td_007

Ombudsman will not step in unless you have made a formal complaint (written) and are unsatisfied with the outcome. So take the advice you have been give and write to their complaints department to get a resolution.

oscar52

cheatthecheatingcheaters wrote: »

Virgin staff "accidentally" failed to set-up a direct debit on my new card,

Am I correct in assuming from this part of your post that you put your bank details on the application form, or did you actually request this over the telephone.

The bank details on the aplication forms are used solely for identification purposes, and not setting up a Direct Debit.

Any

I am quite surprised the admitted it... because every card provider warns you to check for the first DD being mentioned on the bill or go out of your bank account because it takes while to set it up and it might not be done on time for your first bill...
Did your bill say "will be taken out by direct debit on or after xx?"

Debt_Free_Dreamer

Any - I had a statement from Virgin that clearly stated "will be taken out by direct debit on or after xx?" and then they did not and fined me.

I wrote and sent the a copy with the highlighed statement, but they still would not budge. I eventually got 50% of the fine back and the 0% interest back on my account, which seemed to be as good as it was going to get, so I just accepted it.

OK - I could have gone to the Ombusman, but I was just glad to get the 0% back.

cheatthecheatingcheaters

Thanks for your reply. I have made a formal written complaint, as advised by the call centre person I spoke to. I hope very much to get a satisfactory resolution (ie: a full refund of interest charged) otherwise the ombudsman will be the next step.

td_007 wrote: »

Ombudsman will not step in unless you have made a formal complaint (written) and are unsatisfied with the outcome. So take the advice you have been give and write to their complaints department to get a resolution.

cheatthecheatingcheaters

They admitted it under duress. I had a call centre person on the phone arrange to set up the DD, and I asked them (I don't know that much about credit card procedures, although I am learning fast!!), will this be OK for the first payment. They told me, yes, it'll be fine.

Then when it all went tits up, I called to complain that I had set up a DD in good faith, and I was told, none of our staff would ever tell you that the first payment can be made safely with a DD. I said, really, well, please review your recorded record of my conversation with that person and let me know if there is any evidence that I have been advised otherwise. Subsequently I was reimbursed the interest and penalty charge.

The problem now is, after all that, they have continued to revoke my interest-free status on the account, regardless of it having been determined that I have done nothing wrong. This is why I am fuming at these guys.

Is it paranoid of me to feel that I may have been set-up? That the banks perhaps have an unwritten policy of deliberately making "errors" in the bank's favour, in the realistic hope that a: some customers won't notice and b: some customers will eventually give up the fight with all the obstacles in their path when they choose to challenge the bank's "errors"?

Are the banks offering people tempting interest-free terms on credit cards and deliberately creating situations where the customer will, through no fault of their own, find themselves paying hundreds of pounds interest for no legal reason?

If someone steals your money in a break-and-enter, or mugs you in the street, they are justly prosecuted by the law. When the bank steals your money like this, after a long fight, you might get it back, and there is absolutely no chance of prosecuting them for the intentional theft of your money. They seem to be above the law. Or am I drawing a long straw here? I feel I have been robbed, just as if someone had pick-pocketed me on Shaftsbury Avenue on a Friday night.

I would like to know how many other Moneysavingexperts have been robbed like this. And I am thinking, should I not get a satisfactory resolution, the ombudsman may not be enough. I am thinking, Class Action. That's if I can find enough fellow Virgin Money customers to join me. I wonder if there has been a precedent for such a case.

Any wrote: »

I am quite surprised the admitted it... because every card provider warns you to check for the first DD being mentioned on the bill or go out of your bank account because it takes while to set it up and it might not be done on time for your first bill...
Did your bill say "will be taken out by direct debit on or after xx?"

Any

I think there was a case like this in Saturday's Times, in the "Money" part sometimes last year.
Where the Troubleshooter tries to solve problems for the normal folk.

As your statement said that it will be paid by DD I think you have very strong case to go to Ombudsman (now you wrote to them officialy).

I hope you get resolution without FO's involvement as a reaction to your letter.

Please come back and keep us updated.

ebsalita

Hi - they've been at this for years (happened to me in 2005/6-ish)- it wasn't until I saw your post that I realised this might be done purposefully. I suspected this at the time, but when I called to complain they fobbed me off. It was a real shame for me as I was stripped of the 0% deal I had qualified for when I had set up a direct debit with them over the phone which they failed to execute. I hope you have better luck than I did trying to sort this!

cheatthecheatingcheaters

Well, the ball is rolling. I received a response from a "Service Quality Analyst" at Virgin, who is investigating my case. I also tracked down an email address (yes, I know I will never find his real personal address) for Richard Branson at Virgin Atlantic, where I detailed for him my disappointment with Virgin's service, considering they are a leader in customer service in the quagmire that is the ineffectual, apathetic, indifferent attitude most UK companies have for their customers. I detailed my case and my disillusionment with the Virgin brand. I promptly got a reply from a genuine "Chief Operating Officer", promising to look into the complaint.

I should hope very much that they see sense and find in my favour, as I am one customer who certainly will not go away with his tail between his legs.

Any wrote: »

I think there was a case like this in Saturday's Times, in the "Money" part sometimes last year.
Where the Troubleshooter tries to solve problems for the normal folk.

As your statement said that it will be paid by DD I think you have very strong case to go to Ombudsman (now you wrote to them officialy).

I hope you get resolution without FO's involvement as a reaction to your letter.

Please come back and keep us updated.

cheatthecheatingcheaters

Result!

My campaign to win back my stolen interest has succeeded. On Friday, I made another call to Virgin Money, where I was put through to another department, which had a recorded message saying they were closed for the weekend. I was automatically hung up on.

Undeterred, I called back, urging the call-centre lady to find a solution that did not involve fobbing me off to another department, as I currently had an ombudsman's form online and was preparing to send it immediately should I not get a result post-haste. Experts reading this will of course remind me that the bank has eight weeks to resolve an issue before the FO can step in, however I was comfortable making the threat. Cheerfully putting me on hold to discuss the matter with a manager, the Virgin staff member returned to announce that I had just been reimbursed the full sum, and that it should show in my account within three days. My account was credited today. A very pleasing result, and one that somewhat renews my good opinion of the Virgin brand's customer service. However, it is a situation I should never have had to go through in the first place and it sure did waste a heck of a lot of my time and energy over two weeks.

The lessons here today are:
a: Never take an unfair decision lying down
b: Remain polite, professional, yet firm and assertive in print and on the phone
c: Always take the matter to the highest level you can in the company
d: Mentioning the FO may well have some power