Debenhams Mastercard

toolmaker54

My wife informed me this morning she was in Debenhams yesterday and signed up for what she thought was a store card to give her 10% off purchases. I looked at the paperwork and it is in fact a Debenhams Mastercard run by Santander.
What is now worrying us is I checked on the printed pink sheet she has and it says APR 19.9 Cash Rate 29.9 Purchase Rate 19.9 and the amount that is really worrying us is Total Amount Payable £1,322.43.

Does anyone know what that means as it looks like we owe them £1,322.43 when all my wife spent was £13.86.

We have tried to contact the store to no avail and all we get is an automated Santender message, has anyone had one of these cards and knows what the Total Amount payable means.

Any help greatly appreciated if only to put our minds at rest

Nebulous2

It is likely to be an example of real figures for people who cannot get their heads round APRs - so borrow £1000, repay over a year, total amount payable will be.............. There should be further details of the assumptions made if you read it properly. If it is a carbon copy that might be difficult.

There is no way on this earth that Debenhams / Santander are going to charge you £1322.43 for £13.86 worth of purchases. These types of branded credit cards are often not hugely competitive on rates, but they would never get off with that level of interest. In fact if you pay it off within the period from the bill to the due date it is likely there will be no interest - and you will have had 10% discount on your £13!

BonkersBonkers

I agree - if you don't want it - wait for statement to arrive - pay it off then write to them to say you want to close the account.

Before doing this though you do have a line of credit here which could be used for emergencies - you could just as well put the card in a drawer just in case as there will be no charge for holding the card.

ic

You are also mistaken on the incentive for taking the card out - there is no immediate discount as this is no longer allowed. Instead you'll receive some discount vouchers and points. See here: http://finance.debenhams.com/cards/store-card/benefits/

Fundamentally the card has a points scheme like Tesco Clubcard points - its pays at a rate of 3% on Debenhams shopping, and 0.5% everywhere else. For taking out the card you also receive bonus points worth £5. You must still have the card in order to spend the points when they are issued as vouchers, so close the card now and you miss out on the whole reason for taking the card.

As above its just like any other credit card - pay off in full when the statement arrives and you'll pay no interest. The information you are reading is probably explaining what happens if you only pay the minimum monthly amount on a fictitious amount.

Finally Quidco pays cashback on instore purchases too - you *might* be able to sign up this card and earn extra on top of the points: http://www.quidco.com/debenhams-in-store/?ac

chanz4

ic wrote: »

You are also mistaken on the incentive for taking the card out - there is no immediate discount as this is no longer allowed. Instead you'll receive some discount vouchers and points. See here: http://finance.debenhams.com/cards/store-card/benefits/

Fundamentally the card has a points scheme like Tesco Clubcard points - its pays at a rate of 3% on Debenhams shopping, and 0.5% everywhere else. For taking out the card you also receive bonus points worth £5. You must still have the card in order to spend the points when they are issued as vouchers, so close the card now and you miss out on the whole reason for taking the card.

As above its just like any other credit card - pay off in full when the statement arrives and you'll pay no interest. The information you are reading is probably explaining what happens if you only pay the minimum monthly amount on a fictitious amount.

Finally Quidco pays cashback on instore purchases too - you *might* be able to sign up this card and earn extra on top of the points: http://www.quidco.com/debenhams-in-store/?ac

you can 100% use it on instore with quidco

toolmaker54

Thanks to all the replies the information you all gave was very helpful

caileag

Another thing to consider - as a cardholder (I have had one for a couple of years) you will also be sent vouchers for additional discounts during sales, and can get free delivery on online orders.

I decided it was worth keeping the card, even just for these.

datlex

I have a Debenhams MasterCard. I got it originally to get 10% off purchases of over £100. If you pay it off as you use it then you don't get charged interest. I use mine to pay certain bills such as my council tax and rent (I'm fortunate in that I can pay mine by card) and then earn the points on these. You get additional money off discounts as well from them which you can use in conjunction with the vouchers and store discounts. Can mean quite big savings.