Tesco Credit Limit Auto Increase

mjllanwales

Advice welcomed please.

Back in July I received a letter from Tesco saying 'We're increasing your credit limit'

Dear Mr Jones,

We're please to let you know that the credit limit on your Tesco Bank Credit Card is being increased from £2,100 to £5,100.

We'll automatically increase your credit limit on 12th August 2015. In the meantime, just don't exceed your existing limit or you may be charged.

Contact us if you'd prefer to keep your existing limit.

etc etc

There is no small print and no disclaimer to say this offer can be withdrawn at any time.

12th August arrives and i check my balance only to discover the increase has not been applied. A phone call to a customer services representative followed by a department manager i find the same standard reply of 'Since we first offered you this, we've received additional information, which means that you’re no longer eligible for this increase'

Seems rather fishy to me there was no communication received prior to 12th August indicating this.

Complaints via their Facebook page have the same reply as do other members i know are experiencing the same issue

I am normally a very careful person and read the letter many times and noted the lack of small print and disclaimer and was therefore expecting the increase to be applied.

Now Tesco Bank have left me in a very difficult position and i am wondering if other people are also affected and also if anyone has actually received the increase they were promised?

Would really like to hear from anyone else experienceing the same problem and actually wondering whether Tesco can actually withdraw the offer without any form of disclaimer on the letter?

Regards

MJ

KikiCupcake

Same problem here. Letter in July was identical and I put off buying something to take advantage of buying and getting clubcard points, instead this card is getting closed as I am angry with their lack of communication and customer service.

Candyapple

mjllanwales wrote: »

Now Tesco Bank have left me in a very difficult position and i am wondering if other people are also affected and also if anyone has actually received the increase they were promised?

How have Tesco left you in a difficult position by not upping your credit limit?

The 'additional information' they received I'm guessing is monthly updates from the CRA's. I know Lloyds operate this way and from one month to the next depending on what data has been reported back can affect their decisions to lend to you.

Have you had any missed/late payments? Applied for or opened any new accounts lately?

How long did you hold the Tesco card for before they sent the letter?

It's a bit crap but ultimately it's their decision to lend to you or not so it's a case of like it or lump it. If you are really upset with them, vote with your feet and move to a different card provider who preferably won't treat their customers that way.

mjllanwales

They left me in a difficult financial position as after receiving the letter i budgeted for August and was going to use the increased limit to buy my childrens school clothes and back to school gear, which if you have children will know can amount to £100's

My credit rating is no different from the time i received the letter. I have had the card approc 12months.

The fact remains though there was no discalimer on the letter saying the offer could be withdrawn at anytime, and i personally feel sorry for those customers who may not have checked the increase had actually been applied before going out and trying to purchase something.

Why also has it taken a phone call to them for them to realise and say a letter will be in the post. All smells like a cover up to me. Surely if they had received the information before the 12th from whatever source they use, then it is polite to contact the customer and explain the situation.

I am happy to post a picture of the letter for you to see for yourself and make up your own mind if we are over reacting?

Candyapple

If as you've said there have been complaints on their Facebook page from other people with the same issue, then perhaps it was an internal mistake as in someone in the department sent out the credit limit increase letters with either too much of an increase, or perhaps they were never supposed to go out at all? I'm clutching at straws here, trying to think outside the box.

Or perhaps something has flagged up on your credit report(s) that you aren't aware of but the monthly feed to them has set off something within their systems to decline your increase?

I would obtain copies of my credit report from all 3 of the CRA's and then send a strongly worded complaint letter to Tesco complaints department with an edited out version of the report(s) to back up your story that nothing is amiss. At the very least you would likely receive an apology and possibly some small monetary compensation, but ultimately if they stick to their guns, all you can do is vote with your feet and go to another provider.

cakeforbrains

Reading between the lines you must be at, or nearly at, the current maximum limit for the Tesco card. Maybe this is what they didn't like? Or did you go over the limit slightly??

If you're struggling to find more credit to buy things you need then have a think about coming over to the Debt Free Wannabe board and posting your situation. People are super nice there and might be able to offer some good advice.

bengal-stripe

mjllanwales wrote: »

We're please to let you know that the credit limit on your Tesco Bank Credit Card is being increased from £2,100 to £5,100.

Could that be a computer error?

I have never heard anyone having their limit increased to almost 2.5 times the existing one. 50% or so more ls a pretty generous increase.

Nada666

mjllanwales wrote: »

Now Tesco Bank have left me in a very difficult position

In which case Tesco Bank were exactly correct in their decision.

Nada666

mjllanwales wrote: »

They left me in a difficult financial position as after receiving the letter i budgeted for August and was going to use the increased limit to buy my childrens school clothes and back to school gear, which if you have children will know can amount to £100's

Yup, as I thought. They were correct in their decision.

Don't budget for money you don't have until after you actually don't have it.

mjllanwales

Reading between the lines you must be at, or nearly at, the current maximum limit for the Tesco card. Maybe this is what they didn't like? Or did you go over the limit slightly??

never been over the maximum limit. My circumstances have not changed one bit since i orginally received the letter

Could that be a computer error?

could possibly be, but the fact is the letter was sent and received by hundreds of customers.

I have asked Tesco many times over the past 24 hours why there was no disclaimer on the letter stating the offer could be removed at any time, guess what, no reply apart from the standard BS everyone is receiving.

It frustrates me how they can cover up an error and not be accountable for putting peoples financial status in jeapordy, and everyone here seems to think it's ok for them to do so.

I for one am out of pocket by a good amount which i will not disclose. Is it partially my own fault for taking it on the back of a letter, possibly, but there was no reason to suspect otherwise as nowhere on the letter does it state the offer could be reviewed and withdrawn at any time.

cakeforbrains

The thing is, they were not offering to give you the money, they were offering to sell you the money. You have now overspent (ie, maxed out your card) on the basis of thinking you had access to even more borrowing.

I am not judging - god knows I have been there myself - but this suggests that you are living quite far beyond your means. In the long run it's probably a good thing that you can't get yourself into more debt from here although I can completely appreciate that it doesn't feel like that right now for you.