Santander Credit Card Late Payment

smithyuk

Hi all,

I am hoping someone can give me some advice. I recently applied for a Santander credit card to use for balance transfers which were transferred with no problem. However, on contacting the customer services department I was told by a representative that I could not set up a direct debit to pay the minimum amount so as not to miss a payment! I then logged onto my bank account online to make the payment via a transfer.

This month I called Santander to make a payment over the telephone as I had misplaced my pinsentry reader but was told that they could not accept payment over the telephone but would have to contact my bank to make the payment which would take 3-4 days and cause the payment to be late.

What makes the situation worse was that I was informed by this representative that I could set up a direct debit! If the direct debit had been set up previously I would not be in a position to incur a late payment which may affect my 0% balance transfers.

Can anyone more experienced please let me know what I can do in this situation? Any help would be gratefully received!

YorkshireBoy

smithyuk wrote: »

...I was told by a representative that I could not set up a direct debit to pay the minimum amount

I was informed by this representative that I could set up a direct debit!

http://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/Satellite?appID=abbey.internet.Abbeycom&c=Page&canal=CABBEYCOM&cid=1210607166846&empr=Abbeycom&leng=en_GB&pagename=Abbeycom%2FPage%2FWC_ACOM_TemplateA2

I think you will find you have lost your 0% rate and as such speed is of the essence.

Can anyone more experienced please let me know what I can do in this situation?

Don't use the payment due date as a 'target to achieve'...it's an absolute latest date and is only achievable when using direct debit.

If you don't have a direct debit set up then your statement will detail the timescales involved when making payments.

smithyuk

Hi YorkshireBoy - thanks for the reply.....Have I got grounds for appeal though since I was initially told that I could not set up a direct debit? Would the FSA be able to help?

YorkshireBoy

smithyuk wrote: »

Have I got grounds for appeal though since I was initially told that I could not set up a direct debit?

You broke the T&Cs by not paying on time. Direct debit is only one method. Others are:

Pay at branch
Telephone banking
Internet banking
Cheque by post

Therefore you could have made the payment on time by other means. It's not their fault you lost your PinSentry now is it?

However, faced with the possibility of investigating your complaint (about conflicting advice from their staff) you may find they reinstate the deal and refund monies already charged/to be charged. The late payment marker, though, will probably remain on your credit file.

So, you're relying on goodwill. Can you plead?

Would the FSA be able to help?

No. You will be given the opportunity to appeal Santander's decision (if it goes against you) to the FOS, but to be fair I don't think they'll uphold your complaint because, as I said above, DD is not the only payment method.

smithyuk

Thanks for the further information.

Fortunately I managed to make a payment online this evening and contacted Santander to make known my disappointment at the mis-information originally given and ensure that the direct debit had been set-up. I have been assured by Santander that the dd is in place for next month and they also confirmed they had received my online payment.

Fairplay to Santander as they apologised for the initial mistake and confirmed that my 0% deals remains. I'll let you know if they uphold this! I would not like to think that as an ethical business they go out there way to try to catch customers out!

CannyJock

smithyuk wrote: »

I would not like to think that as an ethical business they go out there way to try to catch customers out!

e-t-h-i-c-a-l ...... is that a fancy word for incompetent?

They don't have to go out their way to mess their customers about, it's practically effortless Congratulations on getting yours resolved without too much pain.