Santander zero Credit card, use abroad

alice's_mum

Can anyone help me? We moved our account to Santander a while ago and got one of their Zero Credit cards, (never really use the thing to be honest) but the girl said that we could load it with money before we went abroad and just use the card like that...with no charges. So today went to the branch to load the card with some cash before we go away on Sunday and the girl there told me that we would be charged 27.9% for using the card in an ATM! now I am confused.

the MSE thing on Credit cards says" charge of 27.9% on cash withdrawals even if paid off in full" so my question is will I be charged 27.9% for taking my own money out of the atm when I am broad. or is that charge only if we spend more than we have put on the card?

Any one able to explain that to me. Thanks

alice's_mum

any one help??

dzug1

Their T&C say:

5.7 You should not make payments that place the Account in credit. If you do, we may still restrict the use of the Card and the Account to the amount of your credit limit

That doesn't directly say they will charge interest, but by a very convoluted argument could conceivably allow them to do so - ie they just ignore the advance payment and treat the account as if it wasn't there.

I suspect the only way you will find out is to try it and see.

alice's_mum

Thanks dzug1 still doesn't really make it clear does it.. The girl in the branch was adamant that we would not pay any fees infact she said she's done it herself! but the girl today on the "help line" when I was letting them know I was going away and to allow the card to be used said " you do know you get charge 27% for using the card in an atm... no charge if you use it in a shop or restaurant but at the atm you will be charged! Just dont see how they can charge me for using my own money.. I am not using credit! and they won't be able to bill me as the accoun won't go over 0.00 .... very confused.

Mrs_Jojo

Where are you going? I seem to remember hearing that the Santander Debit Card was free to use in Spain?

alice's_mum

we are going to Holland... we were planning on Spain but the ferry costs put us off. typical

dzug1

alice's_mum wrote: »

Just dont see how they can charge me for using my own money.. I am not using credit! and they won't be able to bill me as the accoun won't go over 0.00 .... very confused.

If the argument holds up (and I'm not convinced it does - it's a very sneaky way of thinking), you won't be using your own money, which they will ignore, but theirs.

kerri_gt

I honestly don't know the exact answer to this, although I am always wary of making withdrawals at ATMs abroad for the reason of charges. Did the girl on the phone definitely understand that your card is in credit? I suspect as it's a fairly unusual sitation with cc then she may have missed you saying this.

Failing that, i would suggest the best thing to do is go into your branch and speak to someone F2F to clarify - I know it's a total pain but it will give you peace of mind when you go away, plus, if it turns out the original advise was wrong then you have time to make a plan b and get some € out.

Degenerate

1. Don't pre-load the card. Whatever "the girl" said, credit cards aren't designed to be used this way, it's against the T&Cs and can cause all sorts of problems. You may find your card frozen and the money returned to the sending account.

2. You will not be charged any fees by Santander for using the card for cash withdrawals. You may be charged a usage fee by the local ATM provider, if so the ATM should warn you when making the withdrawal.

3. You will be charged interest at an annual rate of 27.9% from the moment you make a cash withdrawal. This is a high rate, but if you pay it off immediately (don't wait for the statement) then you can keep it minimal. Last month I drew out €500 on a weekend in Germany, paid it off immediately when I got home and paid 19p interest.

alice's_mum

Hi there, have been in to the branch today and the same girl told me that I couldn't load the card as it was against T&C's I told her I had only done it because she advised me and that the staff had been more than willing to do it yesterday. She agreed that I might be charged but she wasn't sure. I phoned the number on the back of the credit card to check with someone and they have guaranteed me that whilst the card is in credit and it is showing as in credit then I will not charged 27.9% for using the card in an ATM whilst abroad. She did also say as Degenerate says that this is against the T&C's but as I had done it on the advice of branch staff and in fact as the branch staff had done the transaction for me there would be no problem this time, but that it was not something that they recommended. So the upshot is I can use my card to get my money from the ATM and NOT be charged extortionate interest. Thank God...

dzug1

One hopes that the left hand knows what the right is doing - with Santander as with Abbey before them you can never be certain. After all it's what their computers have been programmed to do that counts, not what their staff think the computers have been programmed to do.

In all probability you will be fine - but I'd still have a niggling doubt until I'd actually seen it (or rather not seen it.....)on a statement