AA zero transfer fee card is a con from the AA

GingerBob_3

This seems like a good card - but - the ridiculous ID requirements militate against it. I wouldn't mind applying for the card, but I won't be doing so if documentation has to be presented, or even worse, certified. Is there a definitive answer as to whether or not all applicants must submit to this stupidity?

adindas

GingerBob wrote: »

This seems like a good card - but - the ridiculous ID requirements militate against it. I wouldn't mind applying for the card, but I won't be doing so if documentation has to be presented, or even worse, certified. Is there a definitive answer as to whether or not all applicants must submit to this stupidity?

There is. I read somewhere on another thread in this forum where a person claimed she did not need to send any document at all. She has had a product with AA / BOI in the past.

But keep in mind once you apply there is already marking on your credit file. It does not matter whether you withdraw your application or not. The way the letter is worded when they are asking the documents is also very interesting. Even you have presented them with the certified document they have asked, there is no guarantee it will be accepted.
The discussion is here ..
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5358966

john1002 wrote: »

It's been mentioned but if you send your contract of employment or any document with more than one page then every page has to be certified and wrote on, the post office say they can't certify every page like this especially when it's say 38 pages.
It's never explained why they are the only institution that seems to need this.
John

I can fully understand if the post office is asking each pages to be certified, as in general any document certification will need to be certified each page from the fist page until the last page. Otherwise it is useless exercise as it will open opportunity that the people will just present the last page to be certified and then falsify the rest.

Superscrooge

GingerBob wrote: »

This seems like a good card - but - the ridiculous ID requirements militate against it. I wouldn't mind applying for the card, but I won't be doing so if documentation has to be presented, or even worse, certified. Is there a definitive answer as to whether or not all applicants must submit to this stupidity?

I can guarantee that not all applicants have to submit proof of ID because I didn't have to. For me it was just like applying for any other bank account or credit card where I could do it all online.

BiscuitMuncher

I received requests for further info, ID, anti money laundering regs etc. after my initial application so chucked the lot in the bin.

chrish2015

yesterday 2ist Dec I got an email from the AA dept whose e mail address included the title chief exec complaints telling me that someone from credit cards would be in touch on the 22nd Dec well guess what that day has come and gone too despite me giving complaints and customer service my e mail address and mobile no and still no response.All in all a totally incompetent way to run an organisation

than_prutt

chrish2015 wrote: »

yesterday 2ist Dec I got an email from the AA dept whose e mail address included the title chief exec complaints telling me that someone from credit cards would be in touch on the 22nd Dec well guess what that day has come and gone too despite me giving complaints and customer service my e mail address and mobile no and still no response.All in all a totally incompetent way to run an organisation

Just out of interest, when you said you contacted AA, did you get through to people at AA or BOI? Surely the people at AA don't know how to run financial services!! Why don't they just stick to doing what they are good at??

adindas

BiscuitMuncher wrote: »

I received requests for further info, ID, anti money laundering regs etc. after my initial application so chucked the lot in the bin.

The problem here is that even you cancel your application, there is already mark on your credit file which will affect your short term credit worthiness.

But it is the right decision as the way the letter is worded is that, even you submit and satisfy the certified anti money laundry documents e.g.
ID verification,
Address Verification
Bank Detail
Employment detail.

No guarantee it will be accepted. Many organisations will only ask such kind of draconian paperwork’s in the very last stages and it is put as a condition subject to satisfy the criterias. But here there is no guarantee that it will be accepted even you have put a lot of efforts to satisfy the paperwork requirements that they have asked. The documents could only be certified by Solicitor, Accountant, Bank, Doctor or Staff in the Post office. To certify in post office they will ask you £8 per page. So it is sort of a gamble with the money you pay to certify the documens and your time to invest is the price to pay. For that money and time it is probably better to gamble it in Euro millions, where you have a possibilty to win a very good prize.

Many UK banks will use electronic online verification. For small bank / BS they sometimes still require the ID check but it could be certified by professionals with similar standing not only a handful of professionals. Also it is put in the very last stage where once you satisfy the document they have asked, you will be rest assured it will be accepted.

AA Financial Services Ltd and BOI subject to the UK regulation not the Irish one as explained here.

"AA Financial Services Limited (AAFS) acts as a credit intermediary and introduces customers to Bank of Ireland (UK) plc only as its exclusive credit card issuer."
http://www.theaa.com/credit-card/index-search.jsp?source=Google&ito=GAG17394548886&itc=GAC71901611526&itkw=%2Baa%20%2Bcredit%20%2Bcard&itaexid&itawmt=b&itawnw=search&itadvc=c&gclid=CKmDhL-U9MkCFUQUwwodnKEBCA

So the paperwork, ID check requirement should be no difference with any other UK banks / BSs.

Here is the rule set up by the UK government:
https://www.gov.uk/certifying-a-document

"When you apply for something like a bank account or mortgage, you may be asked to provide documents that are certified as true copies of the original.
Copies of documents that can be certified include:

• passports
• photocard driving licences
• letters from a government department
• bank/building society or credit card statements
• gas, electricity or council tax bills
• letters from a hospital/doctor

........

Who can certify a document

To certify documents, ask a professional person or someone well-respected in your community (‘of good standing’) like a:

• bank or building society official
• councillor
• minister of religion
• dentist
• chartered accountant
• solicitor or notary
• teacher or lecturer "

The doctor and Post office staff suggested by AA and BOI are even not on the list. Keep in mind the post office staffs though they are handling some finance related activities in the post office they are not officially a bank or building society officials....

It looks like an income generation exercise as Post Office is owned by BOI an no gurantee it will be accepted even you have spent money to satisfy the certified document requirement ??

adindas

Another Evidence that they are really incompetents...
After being asked to send a bunch of draconian paperwork’s for ID check with certification in which I did not do, I applied for Tesco No BT fee on 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card. Online ID verification only take less than one minutes. Final decision, your card is on the way with limit of £7,900. It only took me for less than 8 minutes for the whole application. Happy days as I also applied through Quidco where I am expecting to get £30 cashback.

So those who theorize that the people who have been asked to produce a draconian paperwork’s are the people who have a bad credit history, who are not trustworthy, etc. are wrong.

At least I could prove it in my case. I do not have any bad credit. In many cases my application get approved instantly online …

So how come AA credit card can not verify electronically even after withholding the decision, while other banks such as Tesco could even do it in less than one minutes where my cicumstances is practically the same.[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot] [/FONT]One of the plausible explanation for this is that AA are staffed by incompetent people.

Anyway this has been proved in many other cases.

I am hoping someone from official AA representative reply to this thread to counter this [FONT=&quot]statement. Otherwi[FONT=&quot]se th[FONT=&quot]ey are the same with their underw[FONT=&quot]riters, a bunch of i[FONT=&quot]n[FONT=&quot]competent people[FONT=&quot] just come on [FONT=&quot]MSE with[/FONT] hit[FONT=&quot] and run mission.[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[/FONT]

ElkyElky

It helps to type your posts in to a more readable format.

Punctuation, grammar and more importantly paragraphs. Reading one giant blurb of words not formatted in to paragraphs is painful.

adindas

Another Evidence of incompetence is here.


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5388952


I am aware that this case is From Post Office. But keep in in mind they are managed by the same guy, e.g. Bank of Ireland (UK).