Does my bank have to honour an offer that was made to me by one of their telephone advisors?

missmococo · 12 January 2022 at 3:34PM

I called my bank to explain I was having difficulties making repayments to a credit card now that the card has come out of the 0% interest rate period. The first advisor I spoke to, clearly stated that I could get 3 holiday payments running consecutively but I would need to call a separate department to get it authorised. I asked if the interest would be frozen during these holidays and he said he thought so, yes. He gave me the phone number, I called, but that team (Financial Assistance) said payment holidays haven't been granted since the start of the pandemic. They refused me, then transferred me to a different department without any introduction or explanation where I had to repeat myself a third time. Unfortunately, the last person I spoke to had a heavy South Asian accent and I had real difficulty understanding a lot of what they were saying. In the end, I was given a 30-day hold period and told to speak with one of the charities that help with such cases. I also filed a complaint against being told I could have a payment holiday from one department only to have that offer retracted by the next department.

Today, however, I have received a letter from my bank stating that they agree with my complaint about how I was handled. They have given me 3-months interest-free payments on my credit card account (though I still have to make minimum payments), and a cheque for £50 as an apology. As I bank with them too, I am confused why they sent me a cheque instead of depositing the apology amount into my account and am now double-guessing myself wondering if, like stores that might price an item incorrectly, they are supposed to honour any offer made to customers, but if I cash this cheque, it will be accepted that I will not move on with my complaint?

I am waiting to hear whether I will be landing several big contracts (I'm self-employed) and I do have a job I am finishing up, with another lined up, but that won't start until earliest April, and even then, I won't see any payment until May or June. Until then, I am struggling and can't afford to pay both minimum payments and the interest which will double the monthly amount I have to pay so if I could get this 9-month interest free payment holiday that I was originally offered, that would help so much and save me a lot of stress.

Do any of you have any knowledge or advice on this matter?

[Deleted User] · 12 January 2022 at 3:39PM

No, if an error was made, they can fix that error. It seems as if they have also compensated you for the mis-information. so you've come out ahead.

You don't need to pay both minimum payments and interest - interest is already within the minimum payment.

If you can't keep up with even the minimum payments, the simplest thing is to default. You can't pay what you don't have and this will freeze the interest.