Tesco Balance Transfer Offer - Misleading?

chris-j

Not clear from post if OP had any outstanding balance or not prior to doing BT. (She usually paid off in full but has not indicated if her previous statement before BT was cleared in full).
If it was not cleared then yes interest is due, but if previous statement was paid in full and statement with BT had only BT and new purchases on it then OP should not have been charged interest.

chris-j

andymd wrote: »

Just got a letter back from Tesco. As many of you have pointed out they refer to their terms and conditions and insist that have applied these correctly.

However, they did acknowledge that it was not made clear in the balance transfer offer that it could cause me to incur interest on standard balances and they have taken the 'feedback on board'.

They have refunded the interest charged last month and will waive any I incur this month and they also made a further 'compensation' payment for the 'inconvenience caused'. The basically covers the BT fee, so I will transfer the balance to another card next month so I can continue to use the card just for purchases going forward.

Would you not be better leaving the BT on this rather than incurring another fee and getting a new card for purchases. You are currently quids in so no point giving it to another provider.

andymd

chris-j wrote: »

Not clear from post if OP had any outstanding balance or not prior to doing BT. (She usually paid off in full but has not indicated if her previous statement before BT was cleared in full).
If it was not cleared then yes interest is due, but if previous statement was paid in full and statement with BT had only BT and new purchases on it then OP should not have been charged interest.

The statement prior to BT was cleared in full. The next statement that included the BT and purchases made that month was the issue as I cleared everything except the BT.

May consider getting a new card for purchases. Not sure if I want (or could get a new card) at the moment.

chattychappy

thenudeone wrote: »

Another "nanny state" suggestion.

Alternatively, people could just understand things when they sign them.

:T:T:T

The mistake here seems to be assuming that an offer must work in a way that benefits the individual cardholder. CCs make offers - it's up to the cardholder to decide if the offer benefits them given their intended usage pattern.

Gentoo365

If complaining worth referencing this case:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2003/pn_149-03

chattychappy

Gentoo365 wrote: »

If complaining worth referencing this case:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2003/pn_149-03

Don't think it helps at all.

frugalfrog

hmmm I dont think Tesco have taken this misleading information issue on board! I have a letter from them advertising a 0% on BT for 11 months. I was about to do a balance transfer from another card & spotted this forum post so thought I would have a read.

I use my card for normal payments (to get the tesco points) & pay off in full every month

I initally though this would be ok to do the BT as this is what it states on the back of my statement

"When you pay us we use it to pay off first those items which attract the highest interest rates. If there is more than one item at the same rate we pay off the item at the rate which ends first (for example if you have 0% on purchases for 12 months and 0% on
balance transfers for 9 months, we’ll pay off your balance transfer first). We always use your payments to pay off items which have
appeared on a statement you have received before paying off items which haven’t yet appeared on your statement .If account is in
arrears, we will pay off the arrears on your account (starting with the oldest) before we put it towards the amount due from your
most recent statement. If you have Buy Now Pay Later special offer items, we will pay these off after we have paid off everything
else on your statement you have received.

So I presumed the statement items paid off in full, therefore no interest and then any extra paid off BT...

I guess I am wrong, however, there is NO mention in the letter from Tescos stating any affect on the interest free period for purchases would be affected by this BT deal. It is not stated clearly in the T&C on the back of the CC statement :mad: This is very underhand tactics to mislead people!

grumbler

frugalfrog wrote: »

...It is not stated clearly in the T&C on the back of the CC statement...

I don't know what T&C are on the back , but the main T&C say this very clearly; so there is no point in repeating this everywhere:

thenudeone wrote: »

The current terms here http://www.tescobank.com/assets/sections/credit-cards/pdf/tesco-bank-cc-pur-summary-box.pdf state:

You will not pay interest on new purchases if you pay your balance in full and on time. Otherwise, the period over which interest is charged is as follows:
Purchases From date debited to your account Until repaid in full