An increasing number of us are routinely paying for goods with plastic. Using credit and debit cards has undeniable benefits: It allows us to track and manage our spending, it provides automatic proof of purchase, it enables us to collect rewards or points, and perhaps most significantly it gives us some protection against dodgy traders or misuse. However, while we are becoming increasingly aware of consumer rights in relation to credit, many of us forget that card providers still reserve the right to allocate repayments as they like, make changes to your agreement, impose penalties and demand immediate repayment. And this can often come as a big surprise to many people.
Charges
Most people at some point have had to pay a charge for late payment or for exceeding the credit limit. While this used to be as high as £25, the OFT have recently capped it at £12, saying it was unfair and disproportionate. However, this is not to say that £12 is fair either. The OFT have stated that any fee must reflect any costs incurred on the credit provider’s behalf – if you are only slightly late or only slightly over the limit and you feel it is unjust, phone the card provider and politely request the fee be scrapped. In practice however, it is better to avoid these situations by setting up a direct debit. Late payment or exceeding your credit limit more than once can affect your credit rating, and may result in the credit provider increasing your APR with very little notice (read on for more on this).
Reclaiming bank charges – the latest
In February of this year, the banks lost their appeal in the high court, leaving the OFT free to investigate whether their bank charges were unfair. The results of the investigation are expected later in the year. While the reclaiming process is still on hold, a positive ruling by the OFT will clear the backlog and make it quicker and easier to file a claim in the future.
Other fees
In addition to penalties for late payments, unpaid direct debits and exceeding your credit limit, there are also fees levied for cash advances, balance transfers, money transfers, handling cheques, foreign currency fees and duplicate statements. Although these fees are roughly similar between all card providers, it’s always worth having a quick read of the Ts and Cs to find out what they are. Another thing to be aware of is whether there is an annual fee for your card. In practice however, only the more exclusive cards tend to have annual fees.
Interest
By law, any application for credit card must include information in relation to the interest payable. For most cards this is usually a monthly rate of around 1.5% and an annual rate of around 20%, but there will be a lot of variation. In addition, the rate will differ according to whether it is for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. Some cards will offer you an introductory rate of 0% for a fixed amount of time, it may include purchases as well as balance transfers, but it will never include cash advances. In fact, getting cash out on your credit card is probably the worst thing you can do – not only will you have to pay a handling fee, you will also have a higher rate of interest AND (worst of all) you will pay this higher rate from the moment you take the cash out, to the time the entire balance is paid off. Not the amount of cash you took out – the ENTIRE balance. This is due to the way card providers allocate repayments to your card. Read on to find out more.
See also:
- Consumer Credit Act
- Credit Agreements Explained
- Debt Management Companies
- Debt Collection Agencies
- Data Protection Act
- Accessing your Credit File
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Is it possible to get the address of the VISA head office UK so that I can contact them directly??
I hve tried all the various sites that I can think of but I am getting nowhere with my efforts.
Any help/advice will be much appreciated. Thanks.
I purchased A sony 8400m.gt computer in 2008 at Sony centre in Redditch with my RBS Master Card the cost was £1345.49 it has since broken down because the graphics card is defective. Have I any rights under the 1974 consumer act section 75 .
Hi there,
My name is Suzy and I’m writing from Money Matters.
I’m trying to get in touch with the person who runs the website. If you could point me in the right direction, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
Best wishes,
Suzy
I have paid for a mattress online, however the company use an outside company panther logistics to carry out their deliveries. From the start I asked for a 6.00pm or after delivery as I work full time. However the delivery company choose their routes and therefore tried to deliver my mattress which fitted in with their demands instead of listening to what the customer (me) had requested. They tried delivering my mattrss twice whilst I was at work? the first time I did not receive any notification from them, just a card when I arrived home, to inform me they had tried delivering my mattress at 3.27pm.? Not 6.00pm as I had asked for. The 2nd time they advised me it was definately going to be delivered between 6.00pm and 8.00 pm – no one arrived, they then did exactly the same thing as previously and tried to deliver during the daytime, again whilst I was at work. This was becoming very irratating to say the least, as I should have received my mattress now 2 weeks ago. I have paid in full, and have complained that I wish my mattress to be delivered on Monday 26/8, so I contacted the delivery company as they had left me a voicemail. We agreed on the telephone that they would deliver it for definate on Monday. Next thing I knew was the mattress company customer services girl sent me a text to say if I did not pay them 30.00 extra the mattress was going nowwhere?? I telephoned them immediately to say that I had already spoken with Panther logistics and they are delivering my mattress on Monday26/8 She replied in a very angry voice NO NO I HAVE CANCELLED IT< I AM NOT ARGUEING WITH YOU ON THE PHONE SO GOODBYE!! As you can imagine I was now totally confused, and telehoned the company back as this terrible young girl should not be working in the customer service industry, if she is allowed to speak to customers in this way. I managed to speak with her collegue Becky who instantly said "oh Daryl will not change her mind"?? I asked to speak with a manager, apparently she replied "sorry we do not have any managers in today" I asked what his name was and when would he be in? she replied his name is Kevin, but on Monday, oh I mean Tuesday we will be VERY VERY BUSY with customers so dont know what time he will call you? I asked to be put through to the young lady who was obnoxious and rude to say the very least, however her collegue replied she was busy, I then telephoned back a few minutes later and Becky answered again, so I asked to speak with Daryl, she said "oh I have tried her but it is just ringing out" surprise surprise!! She then sent me a message to say "As you will not pay the 30.00 the mattress is going nowhere, I have cancelled it with Panther and have now sent the paperwork to them, and we will deduct 45.00 from your money?? What?? I cannot expain how annoyed and upset to be treated in this manner, they have had my money for 2 weeks, I paid in full on my debit card, now they have treated me like this. What are my rights as a customer ? and a very upset one, as I am currently under a chiropractors and had just come back from my treatment, as I have a very bad back (prolapsed discs) hence why I had purchased my new Sealy Mattress.