Virgin unfair interest charging?

sert

Before I give Virgin a ring, I'd like something clarified.

I received my Virgin/MBNA statement today. I noticed that although I pay in full every month, they have charged me interest. Looking back through my old statements, some months I'm charged interest, others I'm not.

Occasionally, (twice in the last 6 months, as an example) there has been a late payment fee, but other than that, I can't see why they are charging me when I pay in full.

YorkshireBoy

Do you make cash withdrawals on the card?

sert

That's unlikely. I pay in full by bank transfer and it always, well nearly always, clears in time. I paid late in December. That could be the reason for this month's interest?

What confuses me is that I have been charged interest when I've paid in full and on time. I'm wondering if I rang them and queried it, would they refund me?

sert

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Do you make cash withdrawals on the card?

No. Online purchases only.

noh

Yes it's because you paid you bill late. Here is an extract from the T+Cs

"...We will not charge interest on the card purchases shown on your statement if you pay off the whole balance shown on that statement, and on the statement before, by the date the payment is due. Otherwise, we will charge interest on all transactions, handling fees, service charges, default charges and interest starting on the transaction date and ending on the date you pay the bill in full. We work out interest each day, so the earlier you make a payment, the less interest you will have to pay."

Every time you make a late payment you will pay interest for the next two billing periods.

Nigel

YorkshireBoy

You only get the (up to) 56 days interest free if you pay your (purchases only) bill in full by the payment due date.

If you pay late, or don't pay the full balance by the due date, then you'll have to clear the next two statements in full before you stop the interest being charged. This is due to the interest accruing between your statement production date and the date your payment clears on to your account.

An alternative to the 'two statement' route would be to overpay slightly to create a small positive balance which will stop the interest.

It's explained, albeit not very clearly, in your T&C's...

2d ...<snip>...We will not charge interest on the card purchases shown on your statement if you pay off the whole balance shown on that statement, and on the statement before, by the date the payment is due. Otherwise, we will charge interest on all transactions, handling fees, service charges, default charges and interest starting on the transaction date and ending on the date you pay the bill in full. We work out interest each day, so the earlier you make a payment, the less interest you will have to pay.

https://wwwa.applyonlinenow.com/UKCCapp/Ctl/validate?eid=B88349BF

EDIT: Pipped at the post by Nigel!

jonesMUFCforever

Or some of your online purchases count as a cash advance such as credits to online bookies, bingo etc.

sert

ejones999 wrote: »

Or some of your online purchases count as a cash advance such as credits to online bookies, bingo etc.

No, I only use it to pay via PayPal, mostly for eBay purchases.

Thank you Al Mac, Nigel and Yorkshire Boy, you're very clever. You have saved me a phone call, albeit a free one.

This year I have a calender by the PC where I make my payments. I marked the days I need to send payment in time, so holidays and weekends won't delay my payments. Thus, no more interest charges. Although, if something unforeseen does arise, paying a little extra to avoid interest is a brilliant idea.

Thanks again. The wealth of knowledge on this site is frightening.:T

King_Weasel

sert, do you bank on-line? First Direct give me the choice of specifying when I want a payment to leave or when I want it to arrive. So I don't need a calendar by my PC. I normally "book" payments out as soon the bill arrives, in case I forget, leaving the bank to remember when to make the payment. I can't imagine First Direct are unique with this facility.

(Let's hope this doesn't start a banking thread in the wrong place)

sert

King_Weasel wrote: »

sert, do you bank on-line? First Direct give me the choice of specifying when I want a payment to leave or when I want it to arrive. So I don't need a calendar by my PC. I normally "book" payments out as soon the bill arrives, in case I forget, leaving the bank to remember when to make the payment. I can't imagine First Direct are unique with this facility.

(Let's hope this doesn't start a banking thread in the wrong place)

That's basically what I do now. If I know there's going to be enough funds to cover whatever payment, I can set a future date for the payment to be sent.

The reason I usually get a late payment fee is because I haven't taken weekends or holidays into account. That will all end with having the calender warning me way in advance.

In fairness, it's a very nice calender that I got for free, so I may as well use it.

littlejimmy

Hiya Sert, I was wondering if there was any reason you didn't want to setup a Direct Debit to clear your balance in full every month?