Honeymoon ruined by CC (Not overspending)

YorkshireBoy

djkaizen wrote: »

Halifax_T&C's wrote:

7.6 You must not make payments or transfer funds from another credit or store card to your account that would leave a credit balance on your account.

The transfer was from a current account within the Halifax, not a credit or store card. Thefore non-applicable?

If you strip out "or transfer funds from another credit or store card", you're left with "You must not make payments to your account that would leave a credit balance on your account". ie, it would have been absolutely clear if they'd used some punctuation.

djkaizen wrote:

(setting aside the fact that the transfer was on the banks recommendation)

Therein lies your ammunition. They actually recommended you breach your T&C's, and this should form the basis of your complaint. Good luck.

regularsaver1

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

You're ever so loyal to your employers RS1. Most other moneysaving mavericks (with 1000's of posts to their name) would have used Nationwide products.

.

lol Yorkshireboy - I never intended to use my card as I had taken cash and travellers cheques - but then the duty free diamonds were calling ( I wasn't very MSE). It was worth it. Now fully paid off though

My bro is in Oz - I advised him to get a Nationwide card whilst on his travels so he uses that, but it wasn't worth it for my two weeks holiday when I had no intention of using my card - oops

regularsaver1

djkaizen wrote: »

I didnt know about the 2.75% charge. I'm less happy now.

Credit card conversion charge I think is 2.75% though

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/credit-and-loans/article.html?in_article_id=420884&in_page_id=9


HALIFAX
Debit card

ATM Charges: 2.75% exchange rate transaction charge and £1.50 fee
Cost per £100 ATM Withdrawal: £4.25
Retail Charges: 2.75% exchange rate transaction charge and £1.50 fee

Credit Card
ATM withdrawal: 2.75% (increasing to 2.95% )exchange rate transaction charge and 2.5% transaction fee (Min £3)
Cost per £100 ATM Withdrawal: £5.75%
Retail Charges: 2.75% exchange rate transaction charge (increasing to 2.95%)

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/credit-and-loans/article.html?in_article_id=422218&in_page_id=9

Tirian

I think that Yorkshire boy has almost certainly hit on the nub of the problem here. All banks are required by law to have systems in place that will flag up "suspicious" transactions for anti-money laundering purposes.

Any transaction that triggers these means that the bank is required to prevent any activity being carried out on the card / account until they get a go-ahead from SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency) that they are happy for the activity on the card / account to recommence. In addition they are required by law to not give any indication to the person involved of the reason for this.

Since it can take a matter of days to get a response from SOCA, you end up with a situation like the one which you experienced - where lots of people give you lots of excuses and promise to make notes etc - but in actual fact they cannot allow you to use the account until they get their approval through. If they did, then they could end up facing fines of hundreds of thousands of pounds - and possibly other penalties as well.

As has rightly been pointed out, your complaint should focus on the fact that you were advised to carry out an activity that contravened your t&c - and one that the advisor should have known would trigger AML procedures that would result in your account being frozen. I'm afraid that the likelihood is that the staff you dealt with over the phone weren't incompetent, but in fact doing their job entirely properly - and probably sympathised with you immensely, but were legally bound to give the responses that they did.

inmypocketnottheirs

Lesson to be learnt.....

Don't ever rely on a bank to apply common sense when there is a manual to rely on!

SOCA....... Talk about a nanny state.....!

PAULUK08

wondering how the original oster got on with this and the bank?

Also bumping up as someone has just mentioned this scenario.

Any

People, why don't you go on the internet, as you obviously have an access to it and do some research?
There is Nationwide, I have one, never had any problem. Never blocked, never declined and no fees for foreign currency.
There is new "passport" thing or something like that it's called which is card you can charge up and withdraw cash abroad, for one off charging fee per holiday. Don't remember how is it called but I got it offered at my Travel agent but I declined as I have debit and credit card from Nationwide. There are Travelex cheques.. Can someone add to this list? How about doing a "Sticky" about cash abroad? That would need bigger expert then me though

Mikhail

I’m NOT sympathetic with that person. It was a stupid idea to load money to the credit card, it was stupid idea to use hotel phones, but I guess you’ve been lucky in this respect as I think that British mobile company would charge you considerably more. Only one advice to such ‘travellers’ – don’t travel!

pipsi_2

It seems odd that they would suggest you put your credit card that far into credit, but i'm no expert. Didn't you have a mobile phone with you? It would have been cheaper to make the calls via your mobile (as long as you were on the best overseas calls plan you network offers) than calling from the hotel phone. I know this from personal experience having been stuck in the Middle East after a terrorist incident and needing to frequently contact the UK - mobile phone charges can be high but hotel phone costs are huge!!! Thankfully our hotel let us use their phones for free a day or two after the incident so i no longer needed to use my mobile. I don't understand why you wanted to rely on your credit card so much, why not take travellers cheques or at least keep some money available on your debit card despite the charges you may have incurred by using it. Paying for you hotel before you left the UK would have also been an idea in hindsight.

medic1978

Mikhail wrote: »

I’m NOT sympathetic with that person. It was a stupid idea to load money to the credit card, it was stupid idea to use hotel phones, but I guess you’ve been lucky in this respect as I think that British mobile company would charge you considerably more. Only one advice to such ‘travellers’ – don’t travel!

Why bump a 2 year old thread, that started off 3 years ago? Or is there some point to your random bump and advice