Cashplus? Is there a catch???

leftatthelights

Hi all,

The question is in the title really but ive been looking at this card (and the credit builder add-on) and I would like people's honest opinion on this scheme.

Its says on their website: "It comes with free Purchase Protection, and our award winning Creditbuilder*, which could help improve your credit rating at no extra cost. It offers an easy way to budget and a great alternative to a bank account or credit card."

Now I know that you get NOTHING in this life for free, especially when it says AT NO EXTRA COST. So my question again......

Where is the catch??????

milothewestie

leftatthelights wrote: »

Hi all,

The question is in the title really but ive been looking at this card (and the credit builder add-on) and I would like people's honest opinion on this scheme.

Its says on their website: "It comes with free Purchase Protection, and our award winning Creditbuilder*, which could help improve your credit rating at no extra cost. It offers an easy way to budget and a great alternative to a bank account or credit card."

Now I know that you get NOTHING in this life for free, especially when it says AT NO EXTRA COST. So my question again......

Where is the catch??????

dont think theres a catch but there will be a monthly fee i would of thought or heavy transaction charges:D

mysterio_2

How Creditbuilder works:

• APS lend you a full year’s-worth of monthly fees in advance, interest-free. The loan is paid to AFL, so no money changes hands and it’s never available to spend
• Just repay the loan with 12 small monthly instalments and we pass on your payment history to the credit reference agencies
• Make all your monthly payments on time and you’ll have proved that you can manage credit responsibly

Assuming you manage other credit responsibly your credit rating should improve.
What’s more, on top of helping you to improve your credit rating, you’ll be able to use your Cashplus prepaid Gold MasterCard to make purchases and withdrawals wherever the MasterCard acceptance mark displayed.
There’s no catch

Creditbuilder works exactly as we’ve described it and has already helped thousands of people. Remember, you don’t pay a penny more with Creditbuilder than you would with a normal Cashplus account. Please see ‘All about credit’ for information on getting a better credit rating.

leftatthelights

Hi milothewestie,

Im thinking along them lines too! I really do want to repair my credit file as much as is possible.
I have just got all three credit files and there is some defaults on there which need to be resolved (im hoping I dont get any trouble removing the defaults but something tells me it wont be that simple)!!

Anyway, once the defaults are removed, the likes of this credit builder and/or vanquis card SHOULD slowly repair my file.

Are there any actual users of the credit builder on here who can advise me of how it works and if it is a good idea to take it on?:D

leftatthelights

mysterio wrote: »

How Creditbuilder works:

• APS lend you a full year’s-worth of monthly fees in advance, interest-free. The loan is paid to AFL, so no money changes hands and it’s never available to spend
• Just repay the loan with 12 small monthly instalments and we pass on your payment history to the credit reference agencies
• Make all your monthly payments on time and you’ll have proved that you can manage credit responsibly

Assuming you manage other credit responsibly your credit rating should improve.
What’s more, on top of helping you to improve your credit rating, you’ll be able to use your Cashplus prepaid Gold MasterCard to make purchases and withdrawals wherever the MasterCard acceptance mark displayed.
There’s no catch

Creditbuilder works exactly as we’ve described it and has already helped thousands of people. Remember, you don’t pay a penny more with Creditbuilder than you would with a normal Cashplus account. Please see ‘All about credit’ for information on getting a better credit rating.

I have read all this on their site but (in my opinion), it is just what most companies say to encourage you to sign on the dotted line.

That is why I wanted the opinion of an actual user of the card.

Thanks for the input though!!!:D:D

tigerfeet2006

I've got this card and love it, does exactly what it says and I have had no problems using it although I have not got the credit builder option yet BUT there are several members on here who do and all love it and report little green ticks popping up on their credit files very nicely, thank you very much

SSA

Hi LATL....my opinion as a cardholder is -

I have a Cash Plus card & used it since early 09.

Its a good little card actually IMO ...costs £4.95 a month, no transaction fees & that includes cash from ATMs (except overseas transactions of course).....I top up in the post office at no cost (& get a text to say when its loaded to the card - usually 24 hours) & have never been refused/declined anywhere.

I find that I put on the card spare cash so that I always have a backup in case cashfinder is not accepted. I do use it enough to warrant paying the fee...I find it very convenient.

LOL no one would know that I was BR for the number of cards I have in my bag....LOL more than before BR.....except thankfully non of them are credit cards.

leftatthelights

SSA wrote: »

Hi LATL....my opinion as a cardholder is -

I have a Cash Plus card & used it since early 09.

Its a good little card actually IMO ...costs £4.95 a month, no transaction fees & that includes cash from ATMs (except overseas transactions of course).....I top up in the post office at no cost (& get a text to say when its loaded to the card - usually 24 hours) & have never been refused/declined anywhere.

I find that I put on the card spare cash so that I always have a backup in case cashfinder is not accepted. I do use it enough to warrant paying the fee...I find it very convenient.

LOL no one would know that I was BR for the number of cards I have in my bag....LOL more than before BR.....except thankfully non of them are credit cards.

OK so it costs a fiver a month. Do you have to make sure that there is £5 loaded onto the card every month to make the monthly payment.
Sorry if I sound a little dumb here but Im about to apply and want to know for sure what Im letting myself in for!!:D

Thanks Tiger and SSA, just what I wanted to hear.

Ronnie_O

Hi. My experience so far has been overall excellent and intend to continue with it. I've used the Cashplus mastercard with creditbuilder for over eight months now and it's been great. Only costs £4.95 per month. I use it a lot and it works everywhere (never had it declined unlike a couple times with my Visa Electron) It has it's own online banking facility and I use my Co-Op online banking to top-up the Cashplus card which takes less than 24 hours to credit the funds or top up free at the Post Office. It's been reporting to the main UK credit reference agencies since the third month I've had the card. The first year you sign up for one year then when your card is renewed you sign up for two years. Their online customer service is great although they skimp on english speaking call centre agents but then again that's nothing new! I've phoned them twice and never actually had any problems I just always feel more comfortable speaking to a native english speaker. The only point to remember is that if APS were ever to go bust you'd loose your money. I copied the clause from their T&C's below.

13.9 The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is not applicable for this Card. No other compensation schemes exist to cover losses claimed in connection with this Card. This means that in the unlikely event that AFL becomes insolvent your funds may become valueless and unusable and as a result you may lose your money.

tigerfeet2006

Yes you need to make sure the card has the money on it each month especially if you go for the credit builder option.

SSA

leftatthelights wrote: »

OK so it costs a fiver a month. Do you have to make sure that there is £5 loaded onto the card every month to make the monthly payment.
Sorry if I sound a little dumb here but Im about to apply and want to know for sure what Im letting myself in for!!:D

Thanks Tiger and SSA, just what I wanted to hear.

I make sure that there is £4.95 for the monthly debit.....I don`t use the credit builder option though.

The way I see it.....it is better to have a card with `spending money `safely loaded on it rather than having £20notes in cash in your pocket....