Virgin Card - Missed Payment Advice

neilanthony

Hi, just wondering if anyone can give me any pointers on the following situation:

I took out a virgin card in August to take advantage of the 0% 15 month balance transfer offer. However I recently logged into my online account and notice the 1st payment had failed and £12 had been charged.

Now I was under the impression I setup a Direct Debit during the setup process (Isn't this standard practice?) so wasn't aware of the late payment. After contacting Virgin however, they advised they would not refund the charge and the rate has now changed to the standard variable. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Is there anything i can do about this?

Also just filled in a credit reference application for a new apartment. Will this late payment affect the outcome, considering my credit is generally good?

Thanks guys.

nickmack

neilanthony wrote: »

After contacting Virgin however, they advised they would not refund the charge and the rate has now changed to the standard variable. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Yes, you need to be very careful with special rates, one late payment and you lose it.

Tell them it was an oversight and now they have referred you back to the standard rate, the card is no value to you any more. Tell them you'll be tranferring the full balance away unless they can revert back to the 0% offer. Many issuers will rather have you as a customer even at 0%.

Also just filled in a credit reference application for a new apartment. Will this late payment affect the outcome, considering my credit is generally good?

If you paid the minimum amount before the next due due, so the payment was late rather than missed, it may not show up on your credit record.

neilanthony

Thanks for the response.

I do feel this is slightly predatory as both HSBC and Egg insist on a Direct Debit mandate for at least the minimum payment.

YorkshireBoy

Good advice from nickmack re making a payment before the next DD is called. I believe, with MBNA, you should be able to do this with a debit card over the phone.

It's best to check your statement for the message "your minimum payment will be collected from your nominated account on xx/xx/xx" before assuming that it is set up. Indeed, the 'Important: confirmation of your direct debit instruction' letter sent by Virgin would have stated this.

Sadly, MBNA are not known for backing down once they've removed you from the promotional rate, but good luck anyway.

neville72

Most credit card applications will ask for your bank details - this is part of the credit scoring process and NOT a direct debit mandate. There may be a separate DD mandate as part of the application process otherwise set the DD up when you call to activate your card.