Tesco credit card interest fees

sezzjp

I have tesco CC which I originally took out for a balance transfer and was paying off in monthly chunks. I used another CC as a debit card, which I was paying off in full each month. I then decided the tesco card offered better purchase benefits and reading the repayment info on the back of my bill I understood it that payments made each month would be made against the balance with highest interest first. Hence, I thought as long as I paid more than my monthly purchase, I would not incur charges as I would still, in effect, be paying chunks off the balance transfer AND the monthly purchases in full .

However, I have just realised that I have been charged interest the last 2 months and a call to the bank says that I have misunderstood the small print and because I still owe money on the balance transfer I have been charged for his, even though the balance should still be under offer. Is this right? Or do I have grounds to complain. Feeling a bit stupid right now.

I would like to continue using this card as a purchase card, because the clubcard benefits are good. I guess I will have to transfer the balance transfer (AGAIN) rather than incur fees each month. Feel a bit annoyed that the small print either did not explain this properly or I totally misunderstood it. I'm normally on the ball with this kind of thing

grumbler

Normally the interest on purchases is charged on daily basis from the day of each transaction.
It is waived if you pay the balance in full (not just the purchases balance).
As you haven't paid the balance in full, you've been charged the interest on purchases you made.

MSE article: Balance Transfer Credit Cards
>> The 5 golden rules

BTW, I think you are wrong about good "clubcard benefits" if you pay by a CC. IIRC, it's just extra 1 point per £4 spent.

sezzjp

Thanks for your mega quick reply!

I know it's not THAT many more clubcard points and tbh I rarely actually shop in tesco and was accuring the points on normal day to day purchases, but for £50 of clubcard vouchers I can get a £119 merlin pass. My previous purchases card was Sainsburys, but they wanted you to spend £160 of nectar points for the same pass. Maybe I should look again at best purchase only cards.

chattychappy

As usual Grumbler is right. But you don't need to feel stupid about this - many people fall into this trap.

The problem is that purchases do attract interest - it's just that this interest isn't applied if the balance is paid off in full. The misunderstanding is that by "balance" the CC means the whole balance, not just the amount of the purchases.

It is usually best to keep normal monthly spend away from a 0% BT card. If you particularly want to obtain clubcard points on a big ticket spend, then the best you can do is to time the purchase just before a statement date and then send the payment just afterwards. This way you could get the interest down to just a few days' worth. Whether the clubcard points outweigh the interest and hassle involved is another matter!

gil2625

Hi my message isn't entirely relevant to above queries but does relate to a Tesco 0% purchase C/C. PLEASE can anyone recall the offer on Money Supermarket in January and previous which was giving 1000 Tesco Points to an existing C/C holder who recommended someone. My Husband took up this offer whereby we both got these points and made our first purchase in March but have now noticed that interest is being accrued, Tesco insist he agreed to a 3 months 0% free purchase period. We insist we would not have agreed to such a short time CAN ANYONE REMEMBER THIS OFFER?