Tesco Credit Card - Devious conditions re credit limit

Parchester

I've had the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card for a year now and took full advantage of the 12 months interest free on all purchases, making the monthly minimum payments while paying the equivalent of the full amount into a savings account.

Anyone doing similar, just be aware that Tesco will not tell you when that 12-month period is coming to an end. It is not mentioned anywhere on the statements, nor anywhere that I could find on the online account management. You either need to keep a diary note yourself, or ring them up and ask them. Which is what I did in the course of a call complaining about something else...

With every other credit card I have ever had, if I went over the credit limit, they either offered to increase it (the usual approach), or they froze the card. Tesco do neither. They only freeze the collection of clubcard points, while leaving the card active, and they charge an overlimit fee of £12.

Fair enough. So after nearly a year of being a good boy, I was over the limit on my 25 April statement and was fined £12. I paid a chunk off, but spent another chunk, so I was over again on my 25 May statement and had to pay another £12. I made a large repayment on 3 June such that on my 25 June statement I was way below the limit. BUT... I got charged another £12.

I naturally wanted to know why I had been fined 3 times for breaching my limit twice. The ridiculous answer is that under their conditions I was over the limit in the June statement period, which commenced on 26 May and even had I made my payment immediately, just that one day triggers the fine. The moral of the story is that, if you are getting up near your limit, check your account in between statements, because if you are over on the actual statement date you will get hit twice.

The outcome of all this is that I have paid off the balance in full from my savings account and have changed my monthly direct debit from the minimum to the full amount. Tesco shall not be making any more cheap money out of me.

noah271007

All of this would have been avoided had you not gone over the credit limit!!! Call tesco and ask politely if they could waive one or two default charges. Are you aware that breaching the terms and conditions (i.e going over the CL) would mean adverse markers on your credit file?? I suggest you check your credit report.

Parchester

Well obviously I was daft for going over the limit not once but twice, and I did speak to tesco extremely politely but they weren't playing ball at all, just hiding behind their T&Cs. The point I was making was that even if I'd bother to read all the conditions, it would be by no means clear that an overlimit fee applied to a charging period would actually apply in 2 charging periods if you were over the limit on the statement date.

TFD_2

Seriously, you think they were devious? Sounds like you have handled the account very badly.

dmg24

Parchester wrote: »

The moral of the story is that, if you are getting up near your limit, check your account in between statements, because if you are over on the actual statement date you will get hit twice.

Surely the moral of the story is to stay within your account limit?

fozmcfc

Tesco do tell you when the 12 months is due to end, but it isn't possibly where or when you would expect it to be.

See post #18 onwards on this thread for how to find this information, on or offline.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/34205603#Comment_34205603

[Deleted User]

Parchester wrote: »

even if I'd bother to read all the conditions...

Sounds like you did you all you could. You seem to be completely blameless. Sue them.

Parchester

Thank you fozmcfc for the only useful reply. And thank you zx81 for making me smile.

The whole point of my post was to draw people's attention to (a) what happens if they go over the credit limit and (b) to watch out for when the interest free period ends; i.e. advising people to manage their account properly. I don't need people who delight in stating the bleedin' obvious to tell me that I didn't.

noah271007

Parchester wrote: »

Thank you fozmcfc for the only useful reply. And thank you zx81 for making me smile.

The whole point of my post was to draw people's attention to (a) what happens if they go over the credit limit and (b) to watch out for when the interest free period ends; i.e. advising people to manage their account properly. I don't need people who delight in stating the bleedin' obvious to tell me that I didn't.

Sorry if you feel my response is not what you are looking for.

Take it as lesson learned, and make sure you check out the credit report to ensure there's nothing adverse recorded. Thats the most important thing.

fitshase

You seem to be lucky that they only charged you a fee. Some cards which have interest free periods on them have in their T&Cs if you breach the terms, the promotional interest free period ends and you are charged interest.

TFD_2

Parchester wrote: »

Thank you fozmcfc for the only useful reply. And thank you zx81 for making me smile.

The whole point of my post was to draw people's attention to (a) what happens if they go over the credit limit and (b) to watch out for when the interest free period ends; i.e. advising people to manage their account properly. I don't need people who delight in stating the bleedin' obvious to tell me that I didn't.

If you go over the limit you get a fee, and when the interest free period ends you get charged interest? Wow, 2 really useful nuggets of advice.... please share some more!