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Virgin Minimum payment changes - can I do anything?

2

Comments

  • YorkshireBoy
    YorkshireBoy Posts: 31,541 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 14 May 2011 at 10:58AM
    smiffy wrote: »
    Any advice much appreciated.
    To be blunt, when MBNA send you correspondence read it!

    They informed me of the change 3 times:

    1. Once by dedicated letter in February
    2. Again with a flyer that came with my March statement
    3. My April statement showed the revised new minimum (I was on £25 but mine jumped to ~£180)

    You appear not to have received/read any of the above?

    The way forward?...

    Call customer loyalty on 0800 783 1116 (ideally during office hours), and plead your case. Offer to set up a minimum payment direct debit there and then. You have several points to negotiate:

    1. Reinstatement of the 0% rate
    2. Refund of interest already charged
    3. Refund of £12 late fee
    4. Removal of late payment marker

    I'd suggest point 1 is your main priority. Anything else you get will be a bonus!

    And finally, the chances are you wouldn't be in this situation now if you'd had a direct debit set up. You might want to bear that in mind with your future dealings with credit card (and other) providers.

    Good luck with the phone call.


    EDIT...
    Am I within my rights to reject these changes to T&C's and stick with the original agreement / promotion rate?
    No.
  • chattychappy
    chattychappy Posts: 7,302 Forumite
    No.

    I think a more accurate answer is that the T+Cs allow MBNA to make these changes and as far as we know, this has never been challenged.

    My view is that the legality is dubious because of unfairness that can result.

    I suggest the OP adopts the approach recommended (grovel), but if this fails then by all means write a complaint and go to the FOS if necessary. I have a feeling MBNA would prefer this not to be challenged.
  • YorkshireBoy
    YorkshireBoy Posts: 31,541 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 14 May 2011 at 3:32PM
    I think a more accurate answer is that the T+Cs allow MBNA to make these changes
    So, in other words, no (the poster isn't within his rights). :)
    ...go to the FOS if necessary. I have a feeling MBNA would prefer this not to be challenged.
    MBNA are not alone. Halifax, for example, went from 2% to 1% plus interest. Unless you were on a 0% offer your payments with that provider would also almost certainly have gone up.

    And Halifax are not alone...a great many providers seem to have switched to this new calculation method. There is some irony though...those changing from 2.5%/3% minimums may well have seen their payments reduce (unless they were on very high APRs)

    MBNA are, or rather were, unique in offering £5/£10/£25 minimums, and that is what seems to have caused all the furore now that they've moved to 1% plus interest. It's a classic case of they're damned if they do and damned if they don't (comply with regulation/best practice/guidelines/etc).

    BTW, thank you for not mentioning "DD squad" in referring to my post. ;)
  • chattychappy
    chattychappy Posts: 7,302 Forumite
    edited 14 May 2011 at 7:59PM
    So, in other words, no (the poster isn't within his rights).

    No, it's "don't know" !

    A few years ago, CCs charged £25 for a missed payment and the T+Cs said they could. People thought there wasn't much they could do. It later turned out that CCs weren't within their rights to do so and people were entitled to complain.
    It's a classic case of they're damned if they do and damned if they don't (comply with regulation/best practice/guidelines/etc).

    Disagree again!
    BTW, thank you for not mentioning "DD squad" in referring to my post. ;)

    You're welcome... did you miss this one? A treat for the DD squad.. (not that I'm a grass..) :D

    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3228856
  • antrobus
    antrobus Posts: 17,386 Forumite
    You're welcome... did you miss this one? A treat for the DD squad.. (not that I'm a grass..) :D

    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3228856

    Interesting. But what's that got to do with DD?
  • YorkshireBoy
    YorkshireBoy Posts: 31,541 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    antrobus wrote: »
    Interesting. But what's that got to do with DD?
    If the OP in that thread had a DD set up he wouldn't be in the situation he is now...and the situation 'smiffy' finds himself in on this thread.

    chattychappy is 'DD averse', just as much as I am 'pro DD', so it's a bit of a running theme between us (and between him and others in the so-called "DD Squad").

    I do respect his viewpoint though...it's just that I'll never agree with it. :)
  • fozmcfc
    fozmcfc Posts: 3,098 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker PPI Party Pooper Debt-free and Proud!
    DD in this case Direct Debit, not Dear Daughter (although I'm sure they can't all be dear lol).

    Anyway if the person in the other thread had had a DD set up, then they wouldn't have been charged a late payment fee.

    Numerous posts, where DD would have prevented problems far outweigh the problem cases where DD have cause a problem, yet chatty still thinks it's good sense to tell people that DD are are pretty much a waste of space.
  • smiffy
    smiffy Posts: 173 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Ironically I set up a SO three+ years ago because I wanted to pay more then the £5 minimum that they were proposing to collect!
  • fozmcfc
    fozmcfc Posts: 3,098 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker PPI Party Pooper Debt-free and Proud!
    smiffy wrote: »
    Ironically I set up a SO three+ years ago because I wanted to pay more then the £5 minimum that they were proposing to collect!

    As I said before on other threads, I hope someone challenges MBNA and the result is that those on the previous terms are able to to stick to them.

    As for the SO nothing wrong in that as long as you have a DD set up for the minimum as well or make at least the minimum payment to them ontime.

    A lot of people contacting MBNA on a first offence of missing payments, if they are humble and agree to set up a minimum DD payment, usally get the £12 refunded and the 0% re-instated.

    I'm a fan of MBNA but still think that such a sweeping change has caused a lot of issues.

    Good Luck.
  • smiffy
    smiffy Posts: 173 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    fozmcfc wrote: »
    A lot of people contacting MBNA on a first offence of missing payments, if they are humble and agree to set up a minimum DD payment, usally get the £12 refunded and the 0% re-instated.

    I'll post feedback on how I get on tomorrow when I give them a call.
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