VANQUIS - Scam or poor service?

Eh999

I am in the process of moving house at present.

As part of this, I called Vanquis earlier to change the billing address of my card. They told me it was not possible to change billing address until mid May due to a change in their system. When I questioned who would take responsibility for any fraud committed as a result of communications sent to my previous address, they hung up on me!

Of course, I called back!

I was then told that as I could not remember my security password, they would reset it for me. I said that was fine. I was then asked what they could help me with, asked to change my billing address and was then told they couldn't do this without proof of my address.

I questioned why I had been given two completely different responses and ended up with a supervisor as I had threatened to cancel my card. I was told, the original agent had misunderstood me ("I would like to change my billing address" - tricky request, clearly)

As it stands, I have to prove the original copy of my tenancy agreement to Vanquis before they will allow me to change my address. I have changed address with nearly two dozen other organisations without having this level of hassle!

Even after all the complaints, the supervisor then tried to sell me some sort of payment protection insurance! These guys have absolutely no shame! Even after saying I wasn't intersted she launched into the sales pitch.

Not having anything to do with Vanquis after this. What an horriffic display.

[Deleted User]

Scam? Unlikely. I think you may have been watching too much 'Watchdog'.

moonrakerz

Yes, VERY poor service - but why on earth call it a "scam" ?

FOURCANDLES_2

Well I would cancel the card from what I have just googled why on earth have a card with these guys?. I would also add whats the cost of the calls to these guys?. In the current climate I would scrap c,cards no need for them the less you have around your neck in the current climate the better.

[Deleted User]

I'd imagine if he's got a Vanquis card, then his options are pretty limited. Few people go with Vanquis out of choice.

FOURCANDLES_2

Get rid of the card and save an emergency fund that you can dip in to when needed.

[Deleted User]

Worthy intentions, but then he won't then build up his credit report, so will be stuck with sub prime credit and mortgage rates in the future.

If the card's used properly, his situation should improve. Though whether the card will be used properly, from the tone of the original post, I have my doubts.

FOURCANDLES_2

Under stand building a good credit report for mortgage but to access credit I must say I am not a fan of Saving is the real answer.

NekoZombie

They did exactly the same to me ; it's to prevent fraud. No scam involved, but a right royal pain in the A***

dtsazza

FOURCANDLES wrote: »

Under stand building a good credit report for mortgage but to access credit I must say I am not a fan of Saving is the real answer.

I'm a saver myself (it's definitely better than debt), but there are still many benefits to credit cards that you seem to be overlooking:

• Stoozing. The old Super Balance Transfer days are behind us at the moment, but may come bank in future. Plus quasi-stoozing by buying everything on a 0% purchases card, sticking the cash in a savings account and just paying the card's minimum balance is still free money.
• Cashback. Getting 1% cashback on purchases is 1% more than you'd get on a debit card, and can be hundreds of pounds over a year.
• "Payday loans". Being able to buy something and pay it off out of next month's pay, at zero cost to yourself, is a great option to have available when used responsibly. For me it acts as an emergency fund of sorts, for unforeseen expenses that are more than one month's residual money but less than two (e.g. taking old friends out on the town at short notice coupled with a couple of birthday presents that admittedly should have been planned for but weren't). This frees up cash deposits to go in generally more desirable restricted access accounts (e.g. cash ISAs or long-term fixed-rate savings).
• Section 75. You don't get Section 75 on debit cards.
• Safety from fraudulent use. If your credit card is used fraudulently (intercepted on the internet, or cloned) you just refuse to pay for those transactions and the credit card company takes them up as their own liabilities. If your debit card is used fraudulently, your money is already gone when you find out, and you then face a tougher battle to actually get it back.

And as well as the above, there's no reason not to have a good credit history, and many compelling reasons to build up a good one. Even if you're not using lines of credit in the traditional sense, being able to get better rates on a mortgage can save literally thousands of pounds, and having access to cashback cards/0% cards/larger credit limits will magnify the above benefits (which aren't all available to someone with a low credit limit at Vanquis). Plus there's the "situations change" thing too - who knows whether you'll want a £10k personal loan in a few years for something or other? The ability to get one at a good rate (but not the obligation) can't be said to be a bad thing.

If you have a direct debit to pay off the balance every month (and don't do something like withdraw cash), you'll never pay a penny in interest, and the interest rate is irrelevant. In fact until recently I was using a Barclaycard Initial at 29.9% as my everyday internet purchases card for that reason - I only stopped when I swapped it for a cashback card.


Anyway - misuse of credit cards = bad. Credit cards themselves = quite a few positives when used correctly.

[Deleted User]

Sounds unusual to me. I changed my address over the phone with Vanquis a few months ago and was not asked to provide any evidence. Always use the free number to call them: 0800 781 6314.