Balance transfer showing on both credit cards

Manj09

Plz somebody help me! I did a balance transfer from my virgin money credit card to Santander credit card on April 27, I thought this was completed without any problems but i decided to check few days later and was horrified to find out that the balance is still showing on both cards. The sum was for £3700, I called virgin & Santander & explained what happened, they both blamed each other, Santander are recalling the money back which has been over a month now while I am still paying interest on my vigin card. I have 2 balances of £3700 now, both companies do not know where the money has gone or can give me a time scale, Santander can't even give me a reference number! Do I have to pay both balances if this is not resolved? I am stressing over this. Please help.

Tixy

How did you do the transfer? by phone? online?

How many days was a 'few days' later?
It is not unusual for the debt to appear on both cards for 3-4 days. As payments can take that long to be applied to your credit card account.

Definitely ensure you pay at least the minimum payment on each card until this is resolved.

What date did santander inform you that they would try to recall the payment they made?
Are you able to view your santander account online?

If it has been over a month and you are getting nowhere with phone calls then I would write to santander and ask them to explain exactly what has happened.

Manj09

I did the transfer online, I double checked the card number with Santander which is correct. I checked after few days & then left it for a week & checked again ( did a balance transfer on the 27th, realised there was a problem on the 8th may). The recalling process started on the 9th may, Santander told me this could take up to 30 days (so still waiting) but it may not resolve the situation as they don't know how difficult it will be to locate the money. I can still view the online account & have been still paying both minimum payments. Santander & virgin also told me that they are aware of the problem as it had affected few people. Thanks for your response.

scott_lithgows

Had this problem with post office/nat west,eventually got it sorted with £100 compensation but nothing happened till I took the matter to the next level.

Manj09

What you mean by next level? Letter? Who do I complain to virgin or Santander? Both blaming each other? Appreciate everyone's response.

smdabs

Complain to both - and also send a complaint to FOS - FOS will send notification to both companies to investigate and the banks are bound to look a lot quicker with a heads up from the FOS.
Also, address both complaints that you send to the banks to the chief exec - Usually much higher skilled and more competent advisors who are specifically designated to look at such complaints as soon as possible. (as they are actually often checked by the CEO)

As long as you input all the details correctly when doing the switch - this is certainly not your error. And the fact that both parties have admitted this is a known issue, suggests this is a known issue WITHIN the balancer transfer process.

Dont worry too much, as long as they find that it is bank error, any monies due will be refunded - also ask for compensation for the distress caused.

Also, even if you miss a payment, if it is found to be bank error - whichever bank is at fault can arrange for your credit file to be cleared.

scott_lithgows

Yes meant to name the fos,both blamed each other with me as well.i also bt to a diff card to stop interest,got bt fee back as well

Manj09

I think that will have to be the next stage, I am going to wait till Tuesday and see if the recalling process had solved the problem. This is stressing me out, I just hope locate the money.

SamGR

FOS wont get involved until you have exhausted the companies own complaints procedure.

Manj09

I just called santandar today and they told me to call back on weds as the recalling process should be completed. I hope this works.

gezkc

Hi Manj09,


I'm in exactly the same situation as you - I did a balance transfer from my Virgin Money card to Santander credit card on 16th April and ended up with the balance (£3000) on both cards too. Virgin Money can't find the money paid to them and Santander are refusing to recall their payment.


I've been complaining to both companies with no success so far. Santander have sent me a letter rejecting my complaint and refusing to recall the money as they believe they paid the correct card and so have done nothing wrong. They sent me a Faster Payment trace report to show that MBNA (who previously managed Virgin Money's credit cards) were paid on 16th April.


My understanding is that Virgin Money recently took over the management of their credit cards from MBNA and changed the bank account associated with their credit cards. As a result, other credit card companies are now paying the wrong Virgin Money/MBNA bank account when arranging balance transfers (in my case, Santander paid the correct bank account but the wrong sort code, so work that one out!). I believe the fault lies firmly with Virgin Money - the whole switchover from MBNA to Virgin Money has been a fiasco as far as I can tell - but, in my situation, I cannot believe that Santander are refusing to recall the money they have paid!


I have now taken this up with the Financial Ombudsman service and am waiting for them to get back to me. I hope you have better luck getting something out of Virgin Money or Santander. I can't get Virgin Money to even respond to my complaint!