When 0% Isn't Free.

ErikTheViking

I'm somewhat peeved at Barclaycard, and wondered if anyone else is aware of this little trick that they've played on me.
I always clear the spending on my Barclaycard like a good little MSE soldier. I've been moving around a 0% balance whilst paying it off and decided to go with Barclaycard's 12m 0% offer for existing customers. I was surprised to see that on my first statement, despite clearing all except the balance transfer, I had been charged interest on that month's purchases. I rang them and was told that unless I clear the FULL STATEMENT balance, I will be charged interest on the purchases. So, the options are to move the balance again (incurring another ~3% fee) or stop spending on the card, if I want to get a genuinely 'no interest' card.
Has anyone else seen this on Barclaycard or other cards. It's cleverly listed in the terms & conditions (making specific comments about standard & statement balances), but I've never seen it clearly mentioned in the MSE newsletter.
To me this feels like at best false advertising. Is this a common thing and I'm just being naive?

[Deleted User]

It's common across all cards. A lot people are being caught out by this though.

Percy1983

Did you ready the terms and conditions of the card?

Its happened exactly how I would expect it too if i did the same thing.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Percy1983 wrote: »

Did you ready the terms and conditions of the card?

ErikTheViking wrote: »

It's cleverly listed in the terms & conditions

Looks like Erik did, but not soon enough.

CLAPTON

well I don't really see that having an 0% BT facility is some sort of human right
it's just a financial incentive for you to take their card and they hopes will make money for them

so it's just a game; you try to outwit them and they try to screw you

just get a second card

chattychappy

ErikTheViking wrote: »

but I've never seen it clearly mentioned in the MSE newsletter.
To me this feels like at best false advertising.

I wouldn't really call the MSE newsletter "advertising".. though perhaps that not what it meant.

Purchase interest rates are pretty clear. The rule on "no interest if if you pay off your balance in full" is also pretty clear. I'm afraid it seems you just got used to not paying interest and forgot the key condition for it to apply.

Look on the bright side - at least your payments will be applied to the purchases first so you will only pay interest from the transaction date to when payment arrives. So you can still benefit from the BT deal. In the old days you'd go on paying interest on all your purchases until you'd cleared the entire balance transfer amount.

ErikTheViking

Thanks for the comments folks. My 'advertising' comment wasn't aimed at MSE; it was directed to the Barclaycard 0% offer itself, as per their website.
It would appear that my knowledge of credit card rules isn't complete (not that I would claim it to be) and I'll just chalk this one up to my naivety. One more notch on the cynicism bedpost. It's a cruel world.

KiKi

If you have a 0% balance transfer, the golden rule is NEVER make purchases with that card (unless they're also 0%). When you make payments they're applied in a certain order...so that you're paying back the 0% BT first, and the purchases last, thus the purchases accrue interest. Definitely one of the things I picked up from MSE!

Bad luck, I hope you manage to sort something out with your CC.
KiKi

CLAPTON

KiKi wrote: »

If you have a 0% balance transfer, the golden rule is NEVER make purchases with that card (unless they're also 0%). When you make payments they're applied in a certain order...so that you're paying back the 0% BT first, and the purchases last, thus the purchases accrue interest. Definitely one of the things I picked up from MSE!

Bad luck, I hope you manage to sort something out with your CC.
KiKi

well no, the rules changed from Jan 2011

KiKi

CLAPTON wrote: »

well no, the rules changed from Jan 2011

Didn't know that, hadn't appreciated that! Thank you for the heads up.

KiKi