Virgin Mastercard Late Payment Catch

hurlej02

Thought I would warn everyone about sharp practice by Virgin. I recently did a balance transfer to Virgin and requested to move my payment date to the 5th of the month. No problem for all future payments, just not for the first month. Okay, I then asked if given the circumstances the £12 late payment fee could be waived. To my horror I was told that if I paid late I would lose my 0% on the balance transfer, it would revert to the standard rate of 15.9%!

So the moral is, DON'T EVER PAY LATE ON A VIRGIN CREDIT CARD!

Trembling_Turnip

Virgin caught me out with a 'late payment'. My first statement set the pay by date as the 15th of november 06. I set up a monthly transfer to them for the 10th of each month.

The next month the payment date had changed to the 12 December 06 and my payment didn't reach them in time. When i got my statement i had quite a shock to see the late payment fee and as i had broken the t&cs the 0% balance transfer interest offer had defaulted to the standard rate of 15%.

I rang them and explained that i presumed the date was fixed and i'd never missed a credit payment in six years. after much badgering they agreed to give me back the late payment fee of £12, and the interest charged and put my account back on to the 0% interest rate.

I then changed my payment date to the 5th of each month just to make sure it didn't happen again!

I've read similar clauses in other credit cards t&c's too, including Barclaycard.

King_Of_Fools

All credit cards do this, not just Virgin!

Moggles_2

Yes. Most lenders revoke 0% introductory rates and other promotional offers following a late payment and, in fairness, the terms & conditions state that special rates will be withdrawn if you break the agreement.

Originally Posted by Trembling Turnip
The next month the payment date had changed to the 12 December 06 and my payment didn't reach them in time

.

Particular care is needed with all cards run by MBNA (e.g. Alliance & Leicester, MBNA itself, Sony, Virgin).

One of MBNA's favourite tricks is to bring the payment due date forward a day or two. Unsurprisingly, notice of this change will be embedded somewhere in the small-print leaflet which accompanied your previous statement.

This wheeze has been mentioned before, but cannot be stressed too often

Neillgb

I have just recently got a virgin MBNA card, done BT. I was just wondering if there can be any problems relating to late payment with regards to the minimum payment direct debit i have set up.
Thanks

YorkshireBoy

Neillgb wrote: »

I have just recently got a virgin MBNA card, done BT. I was just wondering if there can be any problems relating to late payment with regards to the minimum payment direct debit i have set up.

MBNA *were* (are they still now?) notorious for their delays in setting up direct debits. You can take steps to protect yourself by...

1. Setting your statement date (and hence your payment due date) for as far in advance as possible, ie, if you call them to activate/action the BT on the 23rd, set your statement date to the 22nd. That way, you're giving them a full 8 weeks to get the DD set up.

2. Thoroughly check your first statement. If it doesn't say "your minimum payment will be collected by direct debit from your nominated account on xx/xx/xx", then make sure you pay by alternative means.

Neillgb

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

MBNA *were* (are they still now?) notorious for their delays in setting up direct debits. You can take steps to protect yourself by...

1. Setting your statement date (and hence your payment due date) for as far in advance as possible, ie, if you call them to activate/action the BT on the 23rd, set your statement date to the 22nd. That way, you're giving them a full 8 weeks to get the DD set up.

2. Thoroughly check your first statement. If it doesn't say "your minimum payment will be collected by direct debit from your nominated account on xx/xx/xx", then make sure you pay by alternative means.

Thanks for that,
To be fair they have made it clear that unless the statement says to be paid by dd then make alternative arrangements.

I was concerned as to whether , the dd being set up, I am responsible for checking any statement dates or the credit card co are responsible for changing dd collection date. I am off abroad for a while and I won't be in a position to check.

YorkshireBoy

Neillgb wrote: »

I was concerned as to whether , the dd being set up, I am responsible for checking any statement dates or the credit card co are responsible for changing dd collection date. I am off abroad for a while and I won't be in a position to check.

If the DD is set up OK, then you need do no more as regards ensuring your payments are made. MBNA will automatically take your payment each month on the correct date.

However, you may want to check your statements online (if you can while you are away?) each month. You can sign up from the Virgin site for online access at http://uk.virginmoney.com

NewbieMoneySaver**

You must read the terms and conditions.

You will get caught if you dont.

Thats one thing I make sure of (Paying the min payment at least)

Sorry.