Morgan Stanley £20 Annual Fee

g6jns_2

I have made a formal complaint and intend to follow it up with the Financial Ombudsman. Hopefully a few more people will do the same. Don't leave it to others!

g6jns_2

I have had a Morgan Stanley card for about two years with a credit limit of £3125. I spent an average of £1000 per month on it and paid it off in full by direct debit each month. Needless to say I never exceeded my credit limit and have, as their representative said an exemplary record with them. I phoned them this morning having paid off my balance. When I said I wanted to close my account and why the representative just said "OK I will do that today" with no attempt to try and get me to stay. I was also told that I would have to wait until my normal statement date for a final account including the cashback. It seems to me that MS simply want to get rid of all their classic card accounts and are quite indifferent to the bad feeling they will generate. An astonishing attitude for a large and succesful company to take. Sould I not receive the full amount of the cashback I have earned then I shall take the case to FSA. I urge everyone else to do the same. A number of complaints to the FSA will cosy MS money and set warning bells ringing with higher management

notbritishgas

g6jns Talking of MS higher management being made aware of customers ill feeling, I can confirm that Charlotte Hogg is still the Managing Director of MS card division (she actually signs the cashback cheque!!) .
I am going to write to her (no idea where she is based but will send to Glasgow) expressing my concerns, especially the holding back of cashback less than £15. I would urge others to write as well.

Rytoff

I applied for my £30 cashback, paid off my balance and even got accepted with the Halifax 0% purchases card. Then, I called to cancel my MS card (Calling early to ensure there was no 28 day clause that had escaped me). When the customer services agent asked my reason for closing my account, I told her that I wasn't going to pay their £20 charge.

To which I was told that because my credit limit was £4,000 (conveniently increased twice from £2,200 over the last 6 months), they could transfer me over to a platinum card which does not have the annual charge.

They closed my account immediately, and I am currently awaiting my new card and pin!

**UPDATE**

Just checked MS online, and the original account is still active!!!
Rang customers services and was informed that an upgrade is not possible with their system. (Although they did put me on hold first - Probably to credit 'score' me!!)

I expect that, similar to platinum card applications, I would have been left with my classic card account open until the fee was added.

My account is now closed (I can't log on to online statements) and am informed that a letter confirming such is in the mail.

Beware the conspiracy!!!

Shiggaddi

Rytoff wrote: »

I applied for my £30 cashback, paid off my balance and even got accepted with the Halifax 0% purchases card. Then, I called to cancel my MS card (Calling early to ensure there was no 28 day clause that had escaped me). When the customer services agent asked my reason for closing my account, I told her that I wasn't going to pay their £20 charge.

To which I was told that because my credit limit was £4,000 (conveniently increased twice from £2,200 over the last 6 months), they could transfer me over to a platinum card which does not have the annual charge.

They closed my account immediately, and I am currently awaiting my new card and pin!

**UPDATE**

Just checked MS online, and the original account is still active!!!
Rang customers services and was informed that an upgrade is not possible with their system. (Although they did put me on hold first - Probably to credit 'score' me!!)

I expect that, similar to platinum card applications, I would have been left with my classic card account open until the fee was added.

My account is now closed (I can't log on to online statements) and am informed that a letter confirming such is in the mail.

Beware the conspiracy!!!

Well, this behaviour at best is incompetent, and at worse corrupt.

I have already been told that I would have to wait 6 months if I want to apply for the platinum card.

What has happened with you, is that you have 1 more credit search against your name, so just at the time you might want to apply for another card, there is a greater likelihood that you will be rejected, or offered a lower credit limit than you would have done if you hadn't "applied" for the platinum card.

Also, had you not called back customer services, they would have added the £20 fee. However after a couple of weeks and no new card, then most people would have chased it up before the end of the month, but wonder what happens to anyone who calls up at the end of the month and gets offered the new card.

I would chase the issue again with them, and insist that the offering of a platinum card was not a recorded search on your credit file.

baldyjunior

So they say always read the small print which i never have the time (or the eyesight) to read. So i got my latest statement with a note to say that they are to impose an annual £20 fee for the pleasure of using their card. As i have £28.45 built up in cashback i thought it would be the right time to cash it in and cancel the card. Oh no that would be too easy, i was told that i can only get the cash back reward in incriments of £15 so unless i can spend another £1200 on it by june then i will lose the £13.45 that i have built up to morgan stanley. Now i call that robbery and surely if the banks are being hammered for unfair charges, surely the cards must hold their hands up too and be counted. I am basically having this money stolen from my account by morgan stanley all because they want to charge me £20 a year to use their card and then only offering me £15 back out of my £28.45. Grrrrr are there any honest credit cards out there that don't play stupid games.
I am now looking for another card to use - any good ideas with no tricks attached welcomed.
From a very disgruntled Ex Morgan stanley card holder.

keeperbear

After dealing with MS customer services during the last six weeks, I would urge everyone to NOT trust what you are told on the phone. I was promised various things, and none of them were actioned. If you phone them and they agree to do something, follow it up if you do not get action within a week.

MS used to be an excellent credit card company, but I am no longer sure.

Shiggaddi

Another thing to take into account for those who are close to the £15 threshold, is that cashback is only added on the statement date, and not at the time of purchase.

Therefore if your statement date has been and gone already in May, or is due in the next few days, then the cashback will be added on your total in June, after the £20 fee has been taken.

Also, if the statement is due soon, and you pay by DD, then in order to close the account you need a zero balance, so you need to pay the balance earlier than normal possibly by debit card when closing.

I wonder how many people are spending on the card, to get up to the next threshold only to find it won't be paid either, and MS manage to rip off more than £15 off customers.

I have sent a written letter of complaint to them, and told them how I regard the non payment as cashback as a penalty for not agreeing to the changed T&Cs which were to my disadvantage, and that I should be allowed to cancel without penalty.

I also asked them that if they are not going to pay my cashback, then I would like justification as to why I'm not entitled, and to confirm that when I signed up to the card, there was no annual fee, and that my cashback earned was before they introduced the annual fee, and also to suggest another way of being entitled to my cashback without paying the annual fee. It means basically that they either send a cheque for the outstanding amount, or have to research a reply to the letter, or they just send out a standard letter that just states that they can do what they like without answering any individual questions.

humfer

baldyjunior wrote: »

So they say always read the small print which i never have the time (or the eyesight) to read. So i got my latest statement with a note to say that they are to impose an annual £20 fee for the pleasure of using their card. As i have £28.45 built up in cashback i thought it would be the right time to cash it in and cancel the card. Oh no that would be too easy, i was told that i can only get the cash back reward in incriments of £15 so unless i can spend another £1200 on it by june then i will lose the £13.45 that i have built up to morgan stanley. Now i call that robbery and surely if the banks are being hammered for unfair charges, surely the cards must hold their hands up too and be counted. I am basically having this money stolen from my account by morgan stanley all because they want to charge me £20 a year to use their card and then only offering me £15 back out of my £28.45. Grrrrr are there any honest credit cards out there that don't play stupid games.
I am now looking for another card to use - any good ideas with no tricks attached welcomed.
From a very disgruntled Ex Morgan stanley card holder.

Make sure you phone up and demand 100% of the cashback back. Don't take no for an answer, and refuse to put the phone down until they give it to you. You have earned this cashback BEFORE they introduced the annual fee. Therefore its yours. There are a couple of people on this thread, who after persistent calling have had all the cashback paid.

melbury

atesixate wrote: »

I just received a morgan stanley platinum card with a credit limit of £750.
I am sure it is Platinum as it says so on the front of the card.

When I phoned MS to try and find out what the difference was between a Classic and Platinum card, I was told that in order to have a Platinum card your credit limit - as determined by them - had to be over £3000, anything below that and a Classic card was issued. So how come you have credit limit of only £750 but a Platinum card?

They certainly seem to be telling some porkies! You just don't know what to believe anymore.

Like all of you, I pay my balance in full every month but my credit limit was set at £2,100. My other credit card is £8,500, but unfortunately doesn't pay cashback.