Tesco Credit Card Scam!

LindieR

So Tesco bank seem to have adopted a practise of charging you an over limit fee if you go anywhere near your limit. If you are £8 below they will wack on a £12 pound over limit fee, which will then take you over, giving them an excuse to do the same thing the following month. The cheeky customer service lady tells me I "must be careful not to go over my limit", I explain "I didn't, they went over ...my limit," she say's "yes but you where very close maybe try not to get so close to the limit" I ask "whats the point of a limit if that's not the limit but the limit is somewhere else?? then change the bloody limit!!"

So long story short, check your statments from Tesco's carefully they seem to think that near the limit is the same as over the limit!!!!

They also seem to like to add this little fee at the end of the month just before you make payments on the card and after you have done a months spending on it!

Sorry needed to rant!! feel better now!

TakingControl

So they added £12at time of statement as a overlimit fee? I assume the balance (close to limit) + the months interest would have caused the overlimit charge?

exel1966

So you couldn't control your spending, went as close to/over (we don't know the facts) the limit as you could, forgot about interest charges or some another charge being added and now want to rant at TESCO. What a load of old TOSH about being charged for going near your limit!

Follow one simple rule and you'll never need to rant at Tesco, never need to put ludicrous suggestions of a scam on this board or get additional £12 charges.

Control your spending and your tone until you understand how cards work.

meer53

You only get charged an overlimit fee if you go over your limit. Check your previous statement to find out when this happened. You will have been advised of the overlimit fee on your statement and should have made sure that there was enough available credit on your card to account for this. Then you wouldn't have incurred another fee the next month. If you're so close to your limit that £12 will take you over, it's not a scam, it's your fault for not monitoring your balance.

LindieR

Nope wasn't over my limit until overlimit fee was added, after interest and everything else was still £8 short of limit. then fee added. Have spoken to Tesco and they have appologised and refunded the money. so less cross now. I have no problems paying a fine if I was in the wrong, and to be honest a couple of times I have been and have paid up without protest. Was also not caught out those times as I expected it.

fudgecat

If that is truly the case and you have the paper trail to prove ite, then copy paper work and go into writing raising a dispute, giving them 14 days in which to investigate and reply.

LindieR

Probably a bit harsh calling it a scam, but definatley and error

mynameistallulah

LindieR wrote: »

Nope wasn't over my limit until overlimit fee was added, after interest and everything else was still £8 short of limit. then fee added. Have spoken to Tesco and they have appologised and refunded the money. so less cross now. I have no problems paying a fine if I was in the wrong, and to be honest a couple of times I have been and have paid up without protest. Was also not caught out those times as I expected it.

So no "scam", just a simple mistake.

Mulder00

How sure are you that there are no transactions which haven't cleared yet and don't show up on your statement yet?

I suppose Tesco has some "fuzzy-logic" computer systems which they have programmed to charge a fee when it feels that you are too near your credit limit.

I don't think it's a scam and even doubt that it's a mistake, but good that it's sorted out now.

...and then in two days time that transaction clears and you realise why you were charged the fee...

pheonixrising21

fudgecat wrote: »

If that is truly the case and you have the paper trail to prove ite, then copy paper work and go into writing raising a dispute, giving them 14 days in which to investigate and reply.

I agree with this. Does your statement show a running total? I.e a new balance after every transaction, in or out? Go back at least a full month before the first charge was placed and check the running totals never go above the limit.

If the statements don't have a running total, then take a copy and work them out for each line in the statment and write them on. Send this to Tesco and if indeed you are correct they should refund your £12 (and also further charges if the charge only has sent yu over your limit again).

Its not a scam. Its either an error on their part for which they will refund or an error on your part for mis-calculating and going over your limit.

Oh, and this month, pay at least £20 extra off your bill to make sure you are further from your limit and then you won't have this issue any more.

Mulder00

On Tesco online banking there's no running total, no opening balance, so very difficult to calculate anything until you actually receive a proper statement.

It's very easy to lose track of spending, as it usually takes 2-3 days for transactions to clear, although the available balance sometimes include recent purchases (probably only those above individual stores' floor limits).