Virgin - payment window/rant

mippy

I took out a Virgin credit card purely so I could do a balance transfer. As with every other card I've had, I set up a standing order on the day I get paid, so I know exactly when it leaves my account. With every other card I've had, the payment leaves my account on the 28th, and is applied to the following month's statement, so the minimum balance is covered and then some.

Apparently, not with Virgin. I checked my balance last month, and it was telling me the minimum had not been paid, despite my payment - for more than the minimum - leaving at the end of the previous month. Apparently, in order to pay the 'minimum', you have to pay between the 2nd and the 20th - any other payment you make does not count toward the 'minimum payment' and is classed as an extra payment. So, essentially, if my minimum payment was £5, and I paid £500 on the 28th, I'd still be classed as not having paid the minimum payment.

There are no paper statements with this account, and as my other two cards (yeah, I know, but I'm paying off my debt over the next year) simply apply my payday payment to the statements and quietly keep reducing my balance, I didn't know something was awry until I checked. I had to phone them to confirm, and had I not done this, I'd have lost my 0% balance. Essentially, I paid my credit card bill twice last month, which is irritating.

I've just logged on this morning to see my new statement, and found I was being charged interest - as the balance transfer I did fell in the window between my 'missed payment' and me phoning to sort things out. I've spent half an hour on the phone to someone who kept talking over me, didn't understand why this was so confusing when no other credit card I've had operates this way, and when I asked if I could have some written or online account confirmation that everything would be resolved, told me that 'well we record all our calls at this end'. Having dealt with a very incompetent current account provider until I switched, and given that a balance transfer rate going from 0% to 20% makes a significant impact on me paying off my debt at the rate I'd like, I didn't feel too confident about this - especially as the balance transfer I was charged interest on was one which the previous operator told me would be switched back to 0% as the 'late payment' wasn't my error.

I find it hard to believe that one only has a window of 20 or so days in which to make their payment, otherwise it isn't counted as 'the minimum payment'. It seems like a nice way to collect late fees from customers to me...

grumbler

mippy wrote: »

...Apparently, in order to pay the 'minimum', you have to pay between the 2nd and the 20th - any other payment you make does not count toward the 'minimum payment' and is classed as an extra payment...

I find it hard to believe that one only has a window of 20 or so days in which to make their payment, otherwise it isn't counted as 'the minimum payment'. It seems like a nice way to collect late fees from customers to me...

Why is it hard to believe? For all cards you have to pay after the statement was produced and before the due date, and the window is smaller than 30 days. What other way can this work?
By setting a SO for some random day convenient to you you can be lucky that your payment gets into the window, and you just were lucky so far. Instead of relying on luck you should have checked thoroughly what the bills say (online bill for Virgin I guess) and either set the date correctly or just set up a DD for minimum payment. If you want to pay extra you can do this by a SO at any time. Some cards can change the statement day if you ask.

StuC75

all cards will have a payment due date that is prior to the date it is prepared, its just that in the past that payment window has suited you fine. That's why cards vary in terms of the 'upto 5X days that they offer' for interest free when paid in full.. The online statement would have told you when the payment was due. Why not ask politely if the statement date can be moved ten days, that way the resulting payment window would suited, they did this for me a while ago..

mippy

I understand that due dates differ, but it seems odd to me that a payment only counts if it's made in a specific window, and not once a month. I have dyspraxia and bipolar disorder which is a double handicap when it comes to managing money, and assumed I could service this as I have any other card.

I've set up a DD with them rather than a standing order now, but my word they don't make it easy.

agrinnall

Madness to set up SOs for the day you get paid, what do you think will happen if for some reason your pay is delayed?

st999

The only way to ensure that your credit card bill is paid on time is to manually pay it 7 days before the payment date.

I pay all my credit cards manually, never had a late payment fee or paid a penny in interest.

Just in case anyone thinks I have something against direct debits I pay everything else with them.

Only bills that penalise me if I am late paying them do I not use DDs, like credit cards.

mippy

agrinnall wrote: »

Madness to set up SOs for the day you get paid, what do you think will happen if for some reason your pay is delayed?

That's never happened in ten years of me working full time - and even if it did, my SO pays his portion of our rent a few days before I get paid, so there is certainly enough to cover it in the unlikely case of an emergency.

Like I said, having a twin handicap means I need things to go out right at the beginning of my pay cycle so I can budget properly for the rest of the month. I'm probably not unusual in this!

mippy

If I paid my bill manually, the chances of me forgetting to do it would be high - I know from experience that it's all too easy to do.

opinions4u

Reading the key information, T&Cs and what it says on your statement.

Do that next time and you won't have this problem.

grumbler

st999 wrote: »

...Just in case anyone thinks I have something against direct debits I pay everything else with them.

Only bills that penalise me if I am late paying them do I not use DDs, like credit cards.

I am sure nobody will penalise you for some problem with a DD unless it's bounced because of the luck of funds in your current account.

...never had a late payment fee or paid a penny in interest.

Neither did I with DDs.