MBNA - an unusual dispute

Backbiter

MBNA always have tempting offers that I've been good at exploiting to my advantage over the years, but here's a weird situation that has arisen as a direct result of one of their offers.

They offered me 0% interest till next May on spending over £250 by the end of July. No fees or anything, so it was a genuine zero percent deal.

I am currently organising a trip to France for a large group of mates, so I used the card to book hotel rooms for next March. 8 rooms, total cost £370ish. This was a discounted, pay-upfront price, with 'full payment taken at time of booking'. I received emails on 13th July, confirming both the reservations and the booking conditions quoting "Advance Purchase Non Refundable Ex Vat Room Only - Credit Card Payment taken at time of booking".

Weirdly, however, the transaction did not appear on my statement until a month later, on 13th August, meaning that it did not qualify for the 0% interest period.

I wrote to MBNA, enclosing proof that the bookings were made before the end of July, and highlighting the above quote "Credit Card Payment taken at time of booking". I requested that they apply the terms of the 0% purchase offer to this transaction.

They have replied stating that the transaction does not qualify as it didn't appear on my statement by the end of July. They have asked me to prove that the error lies with the hotel chain.

Haven't I already done that? I have proved I made the booking in July. I have proved the transaction stated "Credit Card Payment taken at time of booking".

What more can I do? I have now been charged interest on a transaction that I only made in July because of their 0% promotional offer, having adhered to the terms of their offer.

YorkshireBoy

The current offer I have on my Virgin (MBNA) card states...

0.0% until 2 March 2011 on all new card purchases completed before 4 November 2010

...so I suppose the key word is "completed".

What does your statement say regards "transaction date" and "posting date" for the hotel room booking?

Re the interest...didn't you notice the "estimated interest next month" figure on the previous statement? That should have set off some alarm bells.

Backbiter

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Re the interest...didn't you notice the "estimated interest next month" figure on the previous statement? That should have set off some alarm bells.

That was the alarm bell that made me contact them. Several weeks have already passed since I first rang them and was told to write to them. Several weeks when I've been charged interest on an 'interest-free' transaction.

Since first posting, I've rung the hotel and been told to call back on Monday to speak to the finance dept. I'll be asking for a letter from them saying they erroneously failed to apply the terms of my reservation. I hope that will satisfy MBNA.

What does your statement say regards "transaction date" and "posting date" for the hotel room booking?

No mention of either "transaction date" or "posting date". Email is dated 13.7.10. Just states dates of the stay, room rate, booking terms as quoted in my first post, and the last 4 digits of the card number.

YorkshireBoy

Backbiter wrote: »

No mention of either "transaction date" or "posting date".

I meant on your MBNA statement, when the hotel booking first appeared on there.

Backbiter

Transaction date 11th Aug - so 29 days after I actually carried it out!
Posting date 13th Aug.

And another thing - each room (I booked 8 all on the same transaction) is charged separately, and yet the August statement only shows 5 bookings, not the 8 I have booked and have received conformation of.

Potentially this could add another spanner in the works, as the 5 rooms come to under the £250 needed to meet the terms of the offer.

Equally, the fact the hotel has only charged for 5 could add weight to my case that they have made an error.

And of course if the hotel totally fails to charge for the other 3 rooms it will offset the cost of the interest I've been charged!

YorkshireBoy

Maybe the other 3 rooms will come through on your next statement?

I really don't think MBNA, being as they've done nothing wrong, owe you anything here but some goodwill. I hope you get it. Best of luck.

One other point...I don't think you'll be getting any section 75 protection with this either, because there are 8 (or 5?) separate transactions, all under £100 each.

Backbiter

Cheers. You're right that MBNA haven't themsleves done anything wrong, but equally I as the cardholder did meet the terms of their 0% offer, so i shouldn't be charged interest.

Here's another weird MBNA incident. Back in August I was phoned by them and offered a good 0% period on a balance transfer. I had a balance on a Barclaycard that was about to reach the end of the 0% period, so I agreed to transfer some £1500. I gave them all the details and was told it had gone through.

There is no record of this anywhere. No transfer has taken place, and as it was all done on the phone I have no paper record. I've done this with no problems before. Bizarre.

Jammi

Backbiter wrote: »

Potentially this could add another spanner in the works, as the 5 rooms come to under the £250 needed to meet the terms of the offer.

Indeed it could, as your argument is now two-fold. Firstly that you intended to spend more than £250, and secondly that it should have "completed" before the end of july.

I can almost see this one going back and forth, meanwhile with interest accruing that you may or may not get back. Since you've probably already got the funds from your mates, if I were you I'd be looking for a very speedy resolution to this one, or clear the balance, as the potential loss on this deal (depending on your Interest rate) would far outweigh any gains.

Missing out on an MBNA deal is like missing a bus, another one will be along pretty soon.

davidgmmafan

I can see where the OP is coming from, they are essentially being penalized for something outside of thier control. However the fault does not lie with MBNA, although I suspect it wouldn't be the end of the world if they agreed to re-instate the offer as a goodwill gesture.

It is a bit strange they have asked for proof that the hotel messed up, as that implies they would be happy to do the above if such proof is provided. Worth a shot.

chattychappy

Well... MBNA made an offer and the OP did all in his power to perform his side of the bargain. The merchant and MBNA are not independent of each other - the CCA sees to that. It may not be MBNA's "fault" that the merchant delayed, but it is probably something they should take responsibility for. The essence of the deal is clear - make a purchase during a specified period of time and you get the deal. Likewise, AFAIK the OP made a single transaction. How it is processed is just an internal matter, again between the merchant and MBNA.

It may not be worth the struggle, but I think the OP has a good case. Contracts with credit card companies go beyond the simple technicality of the language. They exist within a regulatory environment - part of which are notions of treating customers fairly. It is not fair if you get an offer such as this when its impossible to be certain that having taken it up you get the benefit - particularly as the "third party" is connected with the MBNA (albeit via the visa/mastercard network).

It seems MBNA are taking a sympathetic approach (albeit not very efficiently). I think they should.

Backbiter

Jammi wrote: »

Indeed it could, as your argument is now two-fold. Firstly that you intended to spend more than £250, and secondly that it should have "completed" before the end of july.

I can almost see this one going back and forth, meanwhile with interest accruing that you may or may not get back. Since you've probably already got the funds from your mates, if I were you I'd be looking for a very speedy resolution to this one, or clear the balance, as the potential loss on this deal (depending on your Interest rate) would far outweigh any gains.

Jammi - you've hit the nail on the head. I could clear it now, although I am a couple of hundred short, as I have a few mates who told me they couldn't pay up front, and I said it was no problem as we could settle up in the New year!

The annoying thing is I have another 0% that ends next month, so I could do with the £370 or so it'll take to clear this bill (plus the interest) to clear that card.

I think the best thing is to clear it and then fight for repayment of the interest they've already charged me.