Tesco CC Direct Debit Issue

mattrgee

Hi all,

I got a Tesco Credit Card in mid January, set up a direct debit to cover the minimum payment on the January 31st, received a letter from my bank on the 1st Feb confirming the direct debit had been setup.

The first credit card payment was due on the 16th Feb. I got a text today asking me to call Tesco urgently about my account, it turned out the account was in arrears as the the direct debit hadn't been taken. We are applying for a mortgage and the girl I spoke to reckons a late payment mark would have been added to my credit file which couldn't come at a worst time! The department I needed to speak to was currently closed.

I setup the direct debit specifically to ensure this didn't happen. The text I received today was the first communication I'd received about the payment being missed and the account being in arrears. Do you think I have any come back on this?

Thanks.

Tixy

What date was the first statement generateed?
Did your first statement say on it that the payment would be taken by DD? If not then you need to make the payment manually.
If you speak to them and apologise and say you thought you had set it up soon enough there is a reasonable chance that they will agree not to charge you a missed payment fee and not to mark your credit file. If its a 0% promo card they may also agree to reinstate the 0% period.

Obviously if your first statement did say the minimum would be taken by DD then its their error and just ring to confirm that they agree this and won't penalise you.

mattrgee

Hi Tixy,

That's a good question. I've just checked and the first statement and it was generated on 27th January, 4 days before I set up the direct debit. It doesn't refer to the direct debit (obviously), but does mention a minimum payment. So that doesn't really go in my favour. The latest statement does make reference to the direct debit. It doesn't help that they're all electronic.

Hmmm. It seems that had I setup the direct debit before the statement was generated everything would have worked out, what a nightmare. This could really screw things up with the mortgage.

As the direct debit was setup 16 days before the payment was due, is it unreasonable to think it would be used as the payment method? The letter from the bank confirming the direct debit only reassured me that everything was in place and sorted. Also, it took them 12 days to make me aware of the situation, had I known sooner I would have made a manual payment.

Grrrrr.

Tixy

I believe they cannot (or at least do not) take the DD unless it says on your statement that they will.

I would certainly ring them though, as lots of people fall foul of this with lots of different credit card lenders on the first payment and most card companies seem willing to give a goodwill gesture.

Bigmoney2

I always receive an email from Tesco CC saying they will be taking the DD on a particular day, I also get one saying payment is due, usually a couple of days before the DD goes out.

sparkesy

something similar happened to me about two years ago when I opened a Tesco credit card. I setup the DD at the initial acceptance but the first bill didn't utilise it as a payment method.
Luckily following arguing with their customer services and having copies of the DD setup details I claimed an amendment to my credit file to remove the default.

stulaunch

If I where you I would call them.
I took out c/c with them Jan, thought I'd set up d/d but received yesterday a letter saying I'd got a late payment on my account with £12 fee.
called them last night and they were great, they cancelled the £12 fee and said they would clear late payment mark against my credit file.

Obviously I'd forgo to set up d/d in Jan, but have done now.

dzug1

They can't take a direct debit until they have informed you on the statement that they will take a defined payment on or around a specific day. Otherwise they would be breaking the T&Cs of the DD system

Just having the DD set up is not sufficient

But as others have said for a first 'offence' they may well be lenient.

GooliesOfFire

Same thing happened to me with Barclaycard about 4 years ago.. That was one and the only late payment I've ever had. And it is still on my file! Needles to say I was seriously angry at Barclaycard when it happened. So last 4 years I've been paying my CC balances only with debit cards online (I don't miss payments because I always pay on the day when my wages get transferred to my account)
Luckily when I had that late payment I already had my mortgage.

Contact Tesco CC, explain yourself and maybe you will get lucky. Late payment will probably affect your credit rating especially for the first 6 months or so, then not so much. Just make sure you don't get any more late payments on your file.