Unbelievable phone calls from mbna

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain

They've done nothing wrong in the slightest... If you call to get the charge returned you need to be grovelling and explaining the situation and in NO WAY suggest they've done anything incorrect (they havent!) else you wont stand any chance of getting a refund.

Two lessons for everyone here.

1) Minimum Payment DDs - You can always top up via internet banking
2) You get a statement for a reason. You should check it to ensure its all your spend AND it clearly tells you the amount you have to pay and by when.

canidothis

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Well technically it's in your interest because it pays down the balance quicker. However, many are up in arms because the increase could be significant on a high balance (my own has gone up from £25 to ~£180 per month).

MBNA wrote to customers a few months ago to say the new calculation would apply from April.

If your interest rate has increased you would have been given 60 days notice. Check your recent statements.

Goodness thats a big big hike - :eek: Is this right? Is the change showing up on Mays statements or was it reflected last month?

YorkshireBoy

canidothis wrote: »

Goodness thats a big big hike - :eek:

It's an inconvenience for me that's all.

The circa £18K 'debt' (that I bought for a 2% fee for just over 12 months 0%) is partly offsetting my 3.75% mortgage, with the rest sat in LTSB making me 3.2% after tax.

Is this right? Is the change showing up on Mays statements or was it reflected last month?

The change came into effect from the April statement date, so affects payments first due in late April to May.

canidothis

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

The change came into effect from the April statement date, so affects payments first due in late April to May.

so my statement dated 19th april with amount due by 16th may should include the new rates then?? I blimmin well hope so cos Im not quite as sorted as some guys over here:o and it would be much more than a slight inconvenience for me.

chattychappy

Yep similar thing happened to me as with YorkshireBoy. Mine trippled. Generally the lower the interest rate you're paying, the great the relative effect.

I'm sure MBNA are very pleased with themselves that people who paid an upfront fee for a generous LOB rate are now having to pay it back faster.

briankelleher

triciaP1 wrote: »

I'll think about that. I always resisted setting up direct debits because I like to pay off any extra amounts of spare cash I have and it saves frequent trips to the bank.

I'm not being funny but do you actually know what a direct debit is? If anything, a direct debit means no trips to the bank, it's an automatic payment that you set up once and leave run, hence meaning you don't have to make "frequent trips to the bank".

thenudeone

I am certainly no fan of mbna but in this case they are technically correct.
The change in how minimum payments are calculated has been notified to you in advance. (you chose to ignore it)
The statement showed the minimum payment required. (you didn't check it)
You chose not to have a direct debit set up to pay the minimum (if you had, you could always pay any extra manually if you wanted; the minimum would still be taken by direct debit).
It's the cardholders responsibility to keep on top of this sort of administration.

Set up a direct debit and then nicely ask them to refund the charges as a gesture of goodwill.

Rupert_Bear

thenudeone wrote: »

I am certainly no fan of mbna but in this case they are technically correct.


I'm a great fan of MBNA. I have held a card with them for a long time now and have never once encountered any issues. They are one of best for promotional offers and provided you stick to their terms and conditions you cannot go wrong.

Anacrusis

I haven't read all the replies (sorry) but I would call them and let them know how upset you are with yourself for not checking the statement + be very apologectic about not having paid the minimum amount. They might refund the £12 charge as your track record is so good and it's been an honest mistake. I don't think they're obliged to though so getting angry with the call centre person might not be helpful...

I did something very similiar with credit card payments in the past (might have been MBNA but not sure) and the call centre person did something helpful like maybe refunded the charge or gave me back the special interest rate that I'd lost by paying late.

[Deleted User]

The harassment by phone seems over the top.