Lloyds removed promo rate

goatelope16

Hello

I have a 0% balance transfer card from Lloyds, and that should run until Feb 2019

In December I had pneumonia and for the first and only time missed a payment by 1 day. As soon as I realised this I phoned and explained and made a payment straight away. They said it was fine, reimbursed the 12 quid late payment fee and said it wasn't a problem and wouldn't affect my rate etc

Checked my statement today and realised in fact the promotional 0% rate was withdrawn without notifying me and I have been paying 22% since then

Phoned and they said they will pay me back and reinstate the rate

My question - can banks even do that?? Without telling me?? I was shocked they could withdraw the rate and charge interest without notifying me??

A4445

Yes they are within their right to remove the promo if you miss a payment it it clearly outlined in the terms and conditions of balance and money transfers. They have been good to reinstate your offer. Maybe an idea to set up a direct debit so not to miss any further payments.

goatelope16

Thanks - even when I was told on the phone that wouldn't be the case?

YorkshireBoy

goatelope16 wrote: »

My question - can banks even do that?? Without telling me?? I was shocked they could withdraw the rate and charge interest without notifying me??

They did notify you...no fewer than 3-4 times...on every statement since January.

But if you're sure you were told on the phone it wouldn't affect your rate, then raise a complaint with them and they'll listen to the phone call.

goatelope16

Charging the interest is not the same as formal notification. I still pay some interest on purchases and so seeing some interest on the statement wouldn't alert me to the fact they had started charging interest on the rest of the balance.

What I find strange is being told on the phone that this would not be happening and then this.

Dobbibill

If you are putting purchases on a BT card then your purchases are all being charged interest from the purchase date - do you not have a different credit card you can put purchases on?

A DD as suggested would be the best way forward to reduce the chance of this happening again. Also be mindful that payment dates alter slightly on different months so have the money ready.

Your statement is your notification of interest and/or other charges.

Your promo offer can/will be removed in line with the T&Cs of the account.

YorkshireBoy

22% interest (on your previous 0% BT balance) should have been noticeable back in January, and February, and...

Page 3 (of 4) on my Lloyds statement lists my promotional rates. I expect yours does too.

You've learned 3 valuable lessons here:

1. Best to check your statement each month. Indeed, your T&Cs say you must.

2. Never a good idea to mix purchases and BTs on the same card when one of them has a promotional rate. If your entire balance was at 0% you may have spotted it sooner...that's if you checked any of this years statements prior to the latest?

3. A minimum payment DD would have had a very good chance of preventing this issue arising.

That said, it would seem you have strong grounds for complaint...about the misinformation given, nothing else. The rest was down to you I'm afraid.