Inactivity fee Cash passport (Card)

barginmad

HI

Over a year ago when I was going on holiday to Italy I was talked into getting one of those cash cards where you put money on and then use when you are on holiday like a credit card. I was advised that it was like travellers cheques but easier and as safe.

So I put 200 euros on one and then I took it away with me but did not end up using it as I used the cash I had. I put it away for another holiday. But I havent been to Europe again since I purchased it in July 2009. Today I purchased one of these cards for my partner and I to use in the USA so put on money for dollars, when purchasing it I read the leaflet and it said that if you do not use the card within 12 months every month after £3 will be deducted from the card, I though this odd as I had never been told this when I bough the Euro card (over a year ago).

Anyway, this prompted me to check my Euro card and lo and behold 3 x £3 amounts have been deducted so far. However, I had kept the leaflet I was given at the time I purchased the Euro card and there is no mention (as it does on the leaflets now) of a inactivity charge, in fact the leaflet has less charges refered to on the leaflets they give out now.

I have sent a email of compaint that they have decuted £9 so far from my card having not stated this fee when I purchased it, and I have scanned in the leaflet I was given when I purchased the Euro Card in 2009 to show that there is no mention of it (so glad I kept it!)

I am awaiting a response from them. But any advise on where I stand, as my arguement is that at the time I purchased the Euro card there was no reference to an in activity fee, although purchasing cards now there is.

It is a good job I did buy a new one today for dollars or I would not have been aware that my euros on my euro card was going down each month! I now have to make a transaction using the Euro card to stop any more inactivity charges.

Not very happy

hollydays

Sorry I can't help,but the Post Office travel card is better.

willread

I didn't realise the fee was monthly, I thought it was annual.
Seems a great way to earn easy money. Needless to say, I waon't be using this type of card again.

purplepardalis

They should have emailed you giving notice about the fee and giving you the option to cancel. Have you checked the email address you used at the time to sign up?

What brand is the card? As in the company you bought it from?

paddyrg

Was there a term on the agreement along the lines of 'we can move the goalposts whenever we want to'? Sometimes agreements have these catchall waivers built in somewhere!

George_Michael

I don't think that "sometimes" is correct.
Every ongoing financial agreement I have seen has a disclaimer stating that the T&C's may change and if they do then the company concerned will notify me.
This is true with bank accounts, credit card accounts, ebay, paypay and many others.

westiea

Hi
I was worried about this so I emailed them and this was the reply I had

There are no annual fees for holding a Cash Passport card. The only fee you may be charged is an inactivity fee. This fee is charged only if you have funds on your card and it is not used for twelve months. On the 13th month you would be charged £2.00 and then a further £2.00 per month until the card was used.

As soon as the card was used then the inactivity fees would stop and not be charged until another 12 months of non-use had expired.

Reloading the card is also classed as usage of the card, so as long as you either spend money on the card or reload funds on to the card at least once every twelve months you would avoid any fees.

If you have a zero balance on your card and it is not used for twelve months, then the fee would not be applied to your account, so you could not go in to a negative balance and end up owing money to us.

If you wish to close your account, please provide us with the first 6 and last 4 digits of your card and your home address. We can then close it for you from here.

This was from a card I had for my son a few months ago.

DCFC79

willread wrote: »

I didn't realise the fee was monthly, I thought it was annual.
Seems a great way to earn easy money. Needless to say, I waon't be using this type of card again.

thread is from last year,

paddyrg

The inactivity charge is actually a pretty decent idea from their side, otherwise they have to accept the overhead costs for people leaving 20p on their cards - this is a nice gentle way to weed out the offenders slowly.

thedmk

I got stung with this too! To the tune of £40!
This is a scam - they have your cash to do what they like, and then charge you for the privilege!
Couldn't agree more with purplepardalis above - they have your email, so why can't they just let you know about this inactivity. They're happy to send promotional emails, but not ones that HELP the customer.
On the other hand, paddryg agreeing with the fee, when as I say they've got the use of your cash when you're not using it, seems bonkers. And if they want to ditch you as a customer, why don't they write to you or warn you that the fee will be applied.
BTW, I did get a 50% refund after emailing them. I took out the card in July 2009 and the T&Cs do clearly state the £2/mth fee, as well as the user guide - so once again, it does always pay to read the small print.

Enfieldian

The idea of the card is to load it with money and then spend it.

It is not a savings account.