Virgin statement & promotional rate

morsborn

Hi

I was really annoyed yesterday when I logged into my virgin account to see I had been charged a load of interest. I wasn't aware my promotional rate was about to expire, there had been no correspondance and there was nothing online to indicate the deal was about to disappear. I called Virgin and they said it was my responsibility to keep track of the dates and know what was going on and that in the last statement it said the expected interest that was due next month was the clue that the rate had expired. I checked the paper statement and it does indeed have a small line inserted amongst the rest that shows the interest however I never normally go over the statements with a fine toothcomb so hadn't noticed it as it was hardly obvious it was there.

Am I totally at fault or is this just a sneaky way to claw back the interest they lose out on during the promotional periods?

cheers

bank_insider

Of course it is your fault!

You would have known at the start how long your promotional period lasts for, if you do not read your statements then that is your problem!

Why is the nasty banks fault!

YorkshireBoy

morsborn wrote: »

...there was nothing online to indicate the deal was about to disappear.

From my Virgin online area...

Transfer balances at the promotional rate of 0.9% until 1 August 2008. To see how much you could save click here.

Did you not have something similar?

morsborn

I think you missed the point, it was that although there was a tiny line on the statement to say interest was due, it was just that - tiny! And it was hardly made to stand out which says a lot about the design of the statement. Also, nowhere is there any mention of the date to which a rate runs so unless you are regimented it is easy to forget. Why don't the banks make it more obvious? Why not just put a box on the statement or a sentence to say "don't forget, your rate expires this month". Or a warning in the online portal or a courtesy email. I suppose the answer to that is simple - they really aren't interested if you forget as that way they make more cash. In fact, they make double the money as even once you are aware the rate has expired it takes two interest payments to sort it out.

morsborn

Yorkshire boy - i think you will find that your retail purchase rate does not run until the same date. I did indeed have the same message, mine said May 2008 which is why I thought the rate ran until May. I didn't realise that the dates on the rates was different. I got this promotional deal when I told virgin I was closing the card and transfered the current balance over. I did use it for some spending but not much but thought the date shown online was the date my rate expired. I will admit some stupidity however it is very easy to interpret it the wrong way. Apparently the two rates are different which I am sure someone will point out was in the fineprint.

PBA

morsborn wrote: »

I think you missed the point, it was that although there was a tiny line on the statement to say interest was due, it was just that - tiny! And it was hardly made to stand out which says a lot about the design of the statement...Why not just put a box on the statement or a sentence to say "don't forget, your rate expires this month".

It was in large print in the summary box they gave you when the account was opened. It's up to you to remember.

Remember that, when stoozing, you're taking advantage of the banks' terms & conditions. While it would be awfully decent of a bank to remind you when it's time to apply for a new 0% card, commercially it would be stupid. If you're going to pay the card off then they're going to lose your custom anyway, may as well get a bit of interest out of you before you go!

YorkshireBoy

morsborn wrote: »

I will admit some stupidity...

I wouldn't go as far as that, although I'd say you were extremely naive if you thought Virgin didn't want (or hope to get) something out of the retention deal they'd given you.

However, the good news is that the operations and methods of the CC companies are well known to many on here (to both those who read the T&C's, and those who don't and have been bitten by them!), so stick around and make sure you don't get caught out again.

NickX

Yes, you have fallen into one of the classic credit card traps.

By offering the promotional rates, the Banks are actually making a loss. If you have a 0% deal, then you could invest the equivalent funds into a high interest account and earn money from the Credit Cards generoisity, otherwise known as Stoozing.

However, the Banks want you to forget when the promotion expires, so that they can earn interest from you and make up for the losses that they incurred by offerring the promotion. It really is not in their interests to tell you when the offer expires, so you know to Balance Transfer away and they end up making a loss.

This is one of their tricks, another is to offer different lengths of promotion on Balance Transfers and Purchases, so that when one expires you end up having to pay interest on the other balance unless you pay the lot off.

They are businesses and they want to make money from you, however you can turn the tables and make money from them but you do need to be very careful with making the correct payments and knowing the precise details of the promotion end dates etc.

benf90

Just going to reiterate what other posters have put down... unfortunately the banks aren't under any obligation to give you warning that the promotional rate is due to end.

Section 10.13 of the banking code states:

"We will warn you when an introductory promotional interest rate on your credit cardis about to come to an end."

But, the key word there is introductory. As you were an existing customer it isn't classed as an introductory offer.