MBNA - Beware!

Freddie

I know MBNA does some great deals (like the Virgin 0% for 9months) BUT BEWARE!!!

I opened an MBNA cc account last year in June for 0% BT use only. I was not able to set up a DD until I'd received my first statement - which they sent to the wrong address :rolleyes: , then tried to make me pay interest as I hadn't made my payment on time :eek: . Numerous phone calls later, they admitted their fault and reinstated the 0%. We then set up a DD - which they 'forgot' to put through to my bank! :rolleyes: Same story, tried to charge me interest, lots of phone calls, eventually paid by switch over the phone, back to square one.

This occured 4 more times! :mad: My DD finally worked on month 6 (Dec 04)! I then called for a settlement figure and paid off the whole account with a BT. I called a week later to cancel the account and was assured it was.

In June 05 I discovered that the ac was still showing as active on my credit report!!! Another phone call and MBNA assured me it was settled and closed.
My credit report dated 30 July shows it is still open (preventing me from getting another CC!!) which means I have now been trying to cancel the account longer than it was active! Apparently they couldn't close it as I had 38 pence credit - Why? Because they gave me the wrong settlement figure, and it's still open because they forgot to tell me about this 38p in December AND June!!! :mad:

However good their deals may be, I will NEVER touch MBNA again! EVER!!!

Anyone else had similar experiences?
F.

ethel_3

I received my July statement last month and was horrified to see I had been debited a late payment fee of £25 added to which interest was charged a month before the 0% interest agreement expired due to their system (paid via internet) not recording the credit transaction correctly. I called them up immediately (this took an eternity) and eventually was told they had made a mistake and would refund the late payment fee and interest. Being a logical person I paid that month the actual due amount discounting the incorrect charging of the late payment fee and interest.

Low and behold I have just received my August statement which shows me having short paid the July minimum payment (which included their mistaken charges) and stating I must pay the incorrect amount shown immediately!

I logically called them up and explained again the position and that by their own admission shown on the August statement refunded the incorrect charges. I tried to explain in the most simplest form to this person without a brain that if I had overcharged someone, say £50 on a bill of £75 which I agreed, I would hardly expect them to pay me £75 in order for me to give them £50 back!. This was obviously too simple for him to handle and continued to demand that I pay MBNA an amount they had incorrectly calculated and agreed was incorrect (it's on the Auguat statement!).

These people need to be brought to book, how can this profile be raised with such companies. It is simply illogical, not sensible and obviously in their favour?

ethel

Stonk

It's a case of "the computer says PAY ...". The computer hasn't been programmed with enough intelligence to be able to deal with the situation. It has calculated your minimum payment, and by God it's gonna stick to it!

I'd like to say it is barely believable for such a huge financial company to have such poor computer systems, but having worked for huge finance companies I know otherwise.

itgirlinuk

A similar thing happened to me ages ago. I wanted to buy an expensive laptop and didnt have enough balance left on the credit card. So I called HSBC (my credit card company) and told them I wanted to clear my balance, so that I can purchase this laptop. They said fine and took the money from me.

Few days later, they debited my current account and took the full payment for my credit card again! I was overdrawn and I was charged for it, as I didnt notice the overdraft for the first few days.

I called HSBC and queried this and they said - Yes, you are in credit. You have paid us twice. I said, I didnt but your system took the money from account, even though I had cleared my balance. It turned out that I didnt say the magic words "can you please cancel my direct debit thats due to go out in few days?" - apparently the system takes the money irrespective of whether the account is in debit or not. The collection system is set up based on the generated statements and its not updated if you have paid up already. After a lot of talking, negotiating and arguing, they decided to pay me for the overdraft on my current account, but never apologised for their mistake. According to them, I am supposed to understand how their collection system is setup and instruct them on their procedures.

Stonk

This one about DDs being taken regardless of any manual payment you make beforehand is a tricky one, and comes up here all the time. All the companies work like this, but I think you're right that it isn't particularly clear in the T&Cs. I'm not sure, but I don't think I've ever read anything about it in the main T&Cs of a card.

On the statement though, it will read "minimum payment £X, to be taken by direct debit on day Z". That's your notification, and that's exactly what is going to happen unless you tell them otherwise.

Also, if you do tell them otherwise, you have to give several days' notice because DDs start processing a while in advance.

The worst thing you can do is cancel a DD mandate that they are about to attempt to use.

H2SO4

Trading Standards or the Financial Ombudsman may also be of use.

H2SO4

A couple of clauses in the CCA1974 look interesting here...

From the Consumer Credit Act 1974:

97 Duty to give information



(1) The creditor under a regulated consumer credit agreement, within the prescribed period after he has received a request in writing to that effect from the debtor, shall give the debtor a statement in the prescribed form indicating, according to the information to which it is practicable for him to refer, the amount of the payment required to discharge the debtor’s indebtedness under the agreement, together with the prescribed particulars showing how the amount is arrived at.



(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a request made less than one month after a previous request under that subsection relating to the same agreement was complied with.



(3) If the creditor fails to comply with subsection (1)—



(a) he is not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement; and



(b) if the default continues for one month he commits an offence.


103 Termination statements



(1) If an individual (the “customer”) serves on any person (the “trader”) a notice—



(a) stating that—





(i) the customer was the debtor or hirer under a regulated agreement described in the notice, and the trader was the creditor or owner under the agreement, and



(ii) the customer has discharged his indebtedness to the trader under the agreement, and



(iii) the agreement has ceased to have any operation; and





(b) requiring the trader to give the customer a notice, signed by or on behalf of the trader, confirming that those statements are correct,





the trader shall, within the prescribed period after receiving the notice, either comply with it or serve on the customer a counter-notice stating that, as the case may be, he disputes the correctness of the notice or asserts that the customer is not indebted to him under the agreement.



(2) Where the trader disputes the correctness of the notice he shall give particulars of the way in which he alleges it to be wrong.



(3) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to any agreement if the trader has previously complied with that subsection on the service of a notice under it with respect to that agreement.



(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to a non-commercial agreement.



(5) If the trader fails to comply with subsection (1), and the default continues for one month, he commits an offence.

Cardinal_Fang

Have just activated a new card with MBNA (Virgin) and also apparently set up the DD. Its a 0% which I intend to use for a BT from my HSBC which is about to end a 0% period

Should I make a small test purchase on the Virgin Card just so that I can (a) pay it by cheque when the bill comes and then (b) see if they take the DD as well. I know that will probably put me in credit for a tenner, but I am concered that I might lose my 0% due to Virgin's inefficiency in putting DDs through.

I was thinking that once I have seen a DD go, I can then do my BT; I am a newbie when it comes to card tarting so would welcome a steer from the experts on here!

Thanks

mountainofdebt

NO NO NO

Don't make that test purchase......the cost will sit on the account attracting interest whilst any payments go towards repaying your 0%.

Unless of course you have a 0% deal on purchases as well !

If you are concerned about the DD not being activated why not set up a standing order if you have internet banking. If the DD works then fine, cancel the standing order but it fails at least then you will keep your 0% deal.

MarkyMarkD

Stonk wrote:

This one about DDs being taken regardless of any manual payment you make beforehand is a tricky one, and comes up here all the time. All the companies work like this, but I think you're right that it isn't particularly clear in the T&Cs. I'm not sure, but I don't think I've ever read anything about it in the main T&Cs of a card.

On the statement though, it will read "minimum payment £X, to be taken by direct debit on day Z". That's your notification, and that's exactly what is going to happen unless you tell them otherwise.

Also, if you do tell them otherwise, you have to give several days' notice because DDs start processing a while in advance.

The worst thing you can do is cancel a DD mandate that they are about to attempt to use.

Not ALL of the card companies work like this, actually - which makes it even harder to be sure how an individual company will behave. With a few, they take account of payments made up to a few days before the due date, and collect the net amount.

Egg notify you of the DD amount, on your statement, and then collect the amount net of any refunds you receive in the following period. This isn't even compliant with the DD regulations, as far as I can tell, but I suppose it makes sense.