Postal strike 2 new bal t/f cards NOT received

The one card I’m paying interest on just keeps going up & up. My fixed payment per my plan is exceeded every month. 
Being a big MSE follower, I applied and approved for a new virgin credit card with a good credit limit for a 0% balance transfer.  
My approval E mail was 10/11/22. Since then I waited 15 business days for the 1st card to arrive. This was the amount Virgin suggested to allow for strike. I must be coming up on another 15 days for the second card. 
I put it to the guy in Virgin that as the first one hadn’t even arrived (I know it’s cancelled), that maybe they have a contract with RM to pick up their post and that as it’s not just me that’s got this problem, maybe the bags are sitting uncollected in some Virgin office. 
Although he went to talk to a supervisor and at my insistence noted that I felt their organisation should investigate & do something about this as it’s affecting their business, he wasn’t that interested. 
Can anyone suggest a different way forward rather than waiting for a fictional 3rd card. Meantime wasting my 0% interest time and incurring big interest on the other card. 
They will not let me do the bt until I have the card & its numbers. They did not give me an option to do the t/f on application
All suggestions welcome!!
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Comments

  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 14,024
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    Cards are not dispatched by Virgin. They are produced & sent from the card production companies that handle lots of card providers.
    Sadly with RM strikes. The 10's of thousands of cards produced each day & may just be sat in a corner of a sorting office awaiting their turn to be processed. 

    So in reality nothing Virgin can investigate. Or in reality do. Couriers are suffering just the same. Can't get them to handle that sort of mail without a long term contract.

    Local company uses DPD for deliveries for dog food. DPD are cancelling postcodes everyday, as they can not handle the loads at the moment.

    Virgin should be able to see you card number & provide that so you can do your balance transfer.
    Life in the slow lane
  • this happened to me last year, the provider of the card offered to have the card pulled and sent out via a courier when it had not shown up after 15 working days

    virgin money are not exactly renowned for their customer service
  • Thanks for responses. That gives me some clarity on what’s happened the car. 
    Maybe I need to say I’m lodging a complaint because they have access to the card number but won’t let me do transfer. Guy on phone said u needed 3 numbers on back to do transfer. 
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 14,024
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    Ah well they will not see the CVV. Just the long 16 digit card number.

    Odd that unlike other providers you can not start the transfer process when you are approved for the card. As you do not need Virgin card number to transfer a balance from another card. Just the card number of the account Virgin are sending the money too...
    Life in the slow lane
  • Thanks for responses. That gives me some clarity on what’s happened the car. 
    Maybe I need to say I’m lodging a complaint because they have access to the card number but won’t let me do transfer. Guy on phone said u needed 3 numbers on back to do transfer. 
    This is nonsense, I have never provided the CVV on any balance transfer, only the 16 digit card number

    If the card was approved and shipped, they can do a manual balance transfer
  • The CVV is required to activate the card.
    Balance transfers can only ever be made to an activated card for security reasons.

    Even balance transfers that are initiated during the application process aren’t processed until the card has been activated.
  • DailyHail said:
    The CVV is required to activate the card.
    Balance transfers can only ever be made to an activated card for security reasons.

    Even balance transfers that are initiated during the application process aren’t processed until the card has been activated.
    I've activated cards on the app/over the phone before getting the physical card
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 14,024
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    DailyHail said:
    The CVV is required to activate the card.
    Balance transfers can only ever be made to an activated card for security reasons.

    Even balance transfers that are initiated during the application process aren’t processed until the card has been activated.
    But the thing here is.
    OP is transferring a balance from another CC to Virgin.
    So Virgin need to know the other CC card number to send the funds to cover the balance. NOT their own card.

    Me thinks someone has either not explained to Virgin correctly, or the rep is thinking OP wants to take cash from the Virgin acc & send it elsewhere, but that requires card to be activated 1st.


    Life in the slow lane
  • DailyHail said:
    The CVV is required to activate the card.
    Balance transfers can only ever be made to an activated card for security reasons.

    Even balance transfers that are initiated during the application process aren’t processed until the card has been activated.
    But the thing here is.
    OP is transferring a balance from another CC to Virgin.
    So Virgin need to know the other CC card number to send the funds to cover the balance. NOT their own card.

    Me thinks someone has either not explained to Virgin correctly, or the rep is thinking OP wants to take cash from the Virgin acc & send it elsewhere, but that requires card to be activated 1st.


    I think you’ve misread.

    Virgin will only process the balance transfer once the virgin card is active.

    In order to activate the Virgin Card, the OP has to be in physical possession of the Virgin card in order to know the CVV which is needed for activation.

    The Virgin card is being held up by Postal Strikes.

    I have never known a balance transfer not to be processed until after activation of the card the balance is to be transferred to.

  • For the avoidance of doubt.  I’ve never suggested that you can’t initiate a balance transfer during a credit card application. I’ve done so many times before.

    However, the OP didn’t start the balance transfer process at the same time as the application. He’s requested it after the application - so he has to wait for the card to be active (using the CVV to activate it).

    What Card did you transfer your NatWest and Santander balances to? As in, what card provider is completing balance transfers before activation of the card? Was it Virgin? If not… your post is still pointless.


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