MBNA charging late fees - are they correct?

whiterabbit_2

Apologies for the long post....

I signed up to a Fluid card for the 0% on balance transfer rate about 12 months ago and for the past 8 months I've been trying to reclaim some late payment fees.

I transferred a balance from a Santander card over the phone and while I was on I asked the advisor to close my other MBNA account and transfer the credit balance to my bank account - I then changed my mind and asked him just pay it to the new Fluid card and remember saying to him that will save me having to pay it back to you from my bank anyway.

Because this was a credit and over the minimum payment for the first month (due on 14th) I set up a standing order for the 20th of each month - I thought this actually meant I was sending my monthly payment 3 weeks early but it worked better for me due to my pay day.

The following statement had a late fee on it and I have to be honest I forgot to call them, but the third statement I received had another late fee so I called them. They told me I had made my first payment on the account a week late, so long story short (or shorter than it could be) I wrote to them to complain and they told me the money from the other MBNA account that I'd overpaid and they had transferred to the Fluid account at my request is classed as an "adjustment, not a credit".

I replied restating my case and they've come back to me again saying they are correct and that I subsequently had late fees totalling £84 up to the point I set up the DD for the min. payment in addition to my standing order so that they would stop charging me.

I don't seem to be getting anywhere with MBNA and I'm not sure if they are correct or not. Surely they should have told me at the time that it wouldn't count towards my payments?

Any help/advice would be appreciated! x

[Deleted User]

I'd agree that they are correct.

Aquamania

whiterabbit wrote: »

Apologies for the long post....

I signed up to a Fluid card for the 0% on balance transfer rate about 12 months ago and for the past 8 months I've been trying to reclaim some late payment fees.

I transferred a balance from a Santander card over the phone and while I was on I asked the advisor to close my other MBNA account and transfer the credit balance to my bank account - I then changed my mind and asked him just pay it to the new Fluid card and remember saying to him that will save me having to pay it back to you from my bank anyway.

Because this was a credit and over the minimum payment for the first month (due on 14th) I set up a standing order for the 20th of each month - I thought this actually meant I was sending my monthly payment 3 weeks early but it worked better for me due to my pay day.

The following statement had a late fee on it and I have to be honest I forgot to call them, but the third statement I received had another late fee so I called them. They told me I had made my first payment on the account a week late, so long story short (or shorter than it could be) I wrote to them to complain and they told me the money from the other MBNA account that I'd overpaid and they had transferred to the Fluid account at my request is classed as an "adjustment, not a credit".

I replied restating my case and they've come back to me again saying they are correct and that I subsequently had late fees totalling £84 up to the point I set up the DD for the min. payment in addition to my standing order so that they would stop charging me.

I don't seem to be getting anywhere with MBNA and I'm not sure if they are correct or not. Surely they should have told me at the time that it wouldn't count towards my payments?

Any help/advice would be appreciated! x

I don't know of any credit cards that allow a balance transfer between cards by the same issuer.(Ask yourself, what's in it for them if they were to allow it) As an MBNA customer myself, I knew MBNA definitely do not allow this and a quick google very quickly found this stated on the MBNA website

A balance transfer is where part or all of a debit balance (or debt) you owe to another lender is transferred from one credit card to another,...

Most credit card issuers charge a handling fee to do a Balance Transfer.

http://www.mbna.co.uk/understanding-credit/balance-transfers/

So no, the transaction is not a balance transfer in the usual sense, but rather what you say they refer to as an adjustment.

As such, it will not be acceptable to meet the requirements of a minimum payment. On a more positive note, nether should you have been charged any fee for this "adjustment".

Unfortunately, if you failed to make at least the minimum payment by the date stated, you will incur late payment fees in accordance with their tariff of default charges.

Whilst I would not argue that it would probably have been useful to remind you during the call that you were stiil required to make at least the minimum payment on time, there was no obligation for them to say so. Perhaps if you had asked them specifically whether or not you were still expected to make at least the minimum payment that month, I am sure they would have given you an appropriate response ... and in the unlikely event such a response was misleading, then you would have had good grounds for complaint.

whiterabbit_2

I'm not sure how I managed to get a Fluid card while I had a dormant MBNA account already existing, but due to the issues and the first payment effectively being late it no longer qualified for the promotional rate anyway, so I've tried to pay as much as I can off it since and only have a couple of months to go.

Thanks for your help guys - guess I've just got to put that one down to experience and not make the same mistake again!