Cash Advance charge on charity donation?

lea_t88

Hi all, just wondering if anyone can confirm if this is correct (I'm sure it will be but just in case...)

On Friday I was in Tesco and there were 2 people inside selling scratchcard type tickets for the charity Dream It, Believe It, Achieve It. Raising money for sports equipment to help athletes with disabilities.

I decided to support and got 4 tickets at £5 each. Bit steep but I like to do my bit every now and then.

I paid with my Visa credit card so £20.50 after the 50 pence card charge.

I've checked my statement today and the transaction has gone through as a gambling transaction and I have also been charged a £5 Cash Advance Fee.

I was all along made to feel this would be a donation - should the cash advance fee have been charged? Or does it depend what the retailer/charity puts the transaction through as?

Many thanks!

grumbler

If a lottery is run by a charity this doesn't stop it being a lottery (=gambling).
The transaction was processed correctly - as at should be.

bris

It was a cash advance as you didn't buy any phyisical goods, a scratchcard is a gamble.

lea_t88

Darn it, thanks Grumbler.

I've never had a cash handling fee on any of my accounts before- I pay this card off in full by DD every month. Do you know if this £5 fee will accrue extra interest before it comes out or will it just be the flat £5?

bris

It will just be a flat £5, if you pay the balance in full every month you won't pay any interest on anything.

opinions4u

bris wrote: »

It will just be a flat £5, if you pay the balance in full every month you won't pay any interest on anything.

My cards would all charge me interest from the date of cash advance.

lea_t88

opinions4u wrote: »

My cards would all charge me interest from the date of cash advance.

Thanks opinions4u, that's what I am expecting to be honest.

Do you think if I called and paid this cash advance fee ASAP tomorrow that might stop the interest on it?

grumbler

Any money you pay has to go towards the balance attracting higher interest first, i.e. towards the cash advance balance.
However, there are other ways to pay besides calling them, e.g. online by a debit card or by a bank transfer.

opinions4u

lea_t88 wrote: »

Thanks opinions4u, that's what I am expecting to be honest.

Do you think if I called and paid this cash advance fee ASAP tomorrow that might stop the interest on it?

The sooner you clear the balance in full (and a bit more) the sooner the interest will stop accruing.

That said, the amount will be less than 30p on a typical card rate.

lea_t88

Thanks again Grumbler.

Last time I did a debit card transaction it took a few days to go through. Will look for their account info and do a faster payments transfer.

zerog

lea_t88 wrote: »

Thanks opinions4u, that's what I am expecting to be honest.

Do you think if I called and paid this cash advance fee ASAP tomorrow that might stop the interest on it?

You won't pay interest on the cash advance FEE but you will pay interest on the cash advance itself.