MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

[Redletter]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

Thanks Amethyst much appreciated I will adapt it as you advise I dont wanna be sued!:tinysmile_hmm_t2:

[scotsgirl]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

Hi Redletter

Your letter sounds great, keep us in the loop will you on how you get on.

I have been very very thorough in trying to build a great credit rating, I was terrified of causing any bumps in the road and that is how i have ended up being stressed completely out of my head with the way I have been treated, and the debts not being cleared.

But i'll say something on the subject of keeping your file good. If your file, like mine, was as good as we thought we had made it, then other credit card companies and loan companies would be falling over themselves to take our debts over. So even though we think that we have a great credit rating and have stressed ourselves out trying to maintain it. Something somewhere is holding us back and for the life of me I dont know what that is.

You can have a look at my thread in consumer credit act and see what I am doing and how I am getting on with all of mine.

For example today I received phone calls from EGG. this has been happening for days now because I CCA'd them and I stopped the direct debits. They were calling me to find out if I had a financial situation apparently, even though ---- and get this one, their payment is not even due until tomorrow. yet they were hassling me before I even was late with a payment. MBNA have got some rogues from RMA a debt hassling service pestering me with phone calls and Im not even 6 days late with their payment.

Good credit rating?! counts for zilch with this lot. They are not at all interested.

I am like you, I want to pay my debts, at a reasonable rate of interest, keep my head above the water and enjoy the use of a credit facility for things like flights, ordering internet items etc. But as soon as these CC companies start hiking up their rates, they also start shutting you down, and it ended up with me having about 15000 available credit that I couldnt use, because they decided to suspend my cards! I hadnt even missed a payment. I wrote to them because I had had an accident at work and was going on half pay and I offered full and final settlements to make sure at least some of the debt was sorted. Of course as soon as I tried to sort it out, they shut me down.

Thats why I have become disillusioned with trying to be fair with them redletter, I realise that I might damage my credit rating, but you know what, I took out a pre-paid credit card with a company and i use that for my internet purchases etc or paypal. and actually its better in the long run because I know that Im paying for things as I go along now.

Anyway enough of me ranting lol. just keep going, and be prepared for a battle with them. You can build your credit rating back up with a pre-paid card, some of them will help you to build a credit rating up by using their monthly fee as debt and paying it back in monthly payments to boost your credit rating. might be better than MBNA rottweilers chasing you.

Good luck and PM me if you need someone to rant to :-)

Scotsgirl

[Redletter]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

Cool I'd lose some !!!'s and the bit about loan sharks...lol -

Hi Amethyst,

Hope you are well and ready for the weekend!

With regard to the loan shark comment - what are your reasons for advising me to remove this please. Would it not be good to give them a bit of abuse?

Regards,
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PS Can you help me find instructions on how to upload a decent sized image of a loan agreement?

Thanks again,

[Curlyben]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

RL, can you save as PDF and attach it via the Paper clip on the Advanced Options..

[Paule]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

Yorkshire Bank stuff moved to new thread

Redletter v Yorkshire Bank - Legal Beagles

PKea

[Redletter]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

Just found this on Virgin (MBNA) website.
Principles on risked based re-pricing & helping customers in financial difficulty (effective 1 January 2009)

Over the past couple of weeks, our credit card partner MBNA, has been working with the Government and our industry groups on two initiatives:

1. To provide further help for customers who are in financial difficulty, and;
2. To put in place some principles - that all credit card companies agree to - about how we make changes to the standard interest rates on customers' accounts, known as “risk-based re-pricing”

The Government and the credit card industry have jointly announced the outcome of our discussions. Virgin Money and MBNA fully support this outcome which we believe benefits our customers and our industry.
Further help for customers in financial difficulty
Where a “not-for-profit” debt advice agency, e.g. Citizen's Advice Bureau, The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), has formally notified us that a customer is in serious discussion with that agency on a draft debt repayment plan, we will suspend collections activity whilst these discussions continue, as long as they are concluded within 30 days. Also, if progress has been made, we can extend this for a further 30 days.
Above all, we’d always say that if you are experiencing difficulties then the best thing to do is to talk to us because, if you don’t, then we can’t help.
Principles on risk-based re-pricing
The industry has developed these principles to cover the circumstances, alternative options, frequency and transparency of an interest rate increase. MBNA will apply them from 1 January 2009.

1. Where we increase a customer's interest rate, we will provide him/her with options. These will always include the option to close the account and repay the remaining balance at the existing rate of interest, within a reasonable period, having regard to the existing level of minimum payments and the customer's financial situation. Where we offer alternative lending products, we may also provide the option to transfer the balance to such a product at the existing (or lower) interest rate.
2. We will not increase interest rates in the following circumstances: •Where a customer has failed to make the minimum contractual payment requested on the last two or more consecutive monthly statements; or•Where an agreed repayment plan is in place in respect of the account; or•Where we have been formally notified by a not-for-profit debt advice agency that the customer is in serious discussion with it.
3. Provided a customer manages his/her account in accordance with the product's terms and conditions we will not: •Increase interest rates within the first twelve months of a customer having a credit/store card;•Increase interest rates more often than six monthly beyond this period.
4. We will always give a customer at least 30 days notice of an increase in interest rates, so that the customer can make other arrangements, should they so wish.
5. If the customer asks, we will ensure that our staff are able to provide the customer with an explanation as to why an interest rate may have been increased.

THESE PRINCIPLES WILL COME INTO EFFECT ON 1 JANUARY 2009 AND WILL APPLY TO ANY INTEREST CHANGE NOTIFICATIONS AFTER THIS DATE
A factsheet on risked based pricing is available from APACS (UK Payments Association), our industry trade body, visit www.choosingandusing.com

WHAT A LOAD OF B/S!!!!

[shellywel]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

Try egg for another 15 month SBT card. Tesco are the next on the list who don't credit score harshly then post office.

Tesco are fab its the only card that when I make over payment I have seen a real drop in the balance! 17% at the moment their rate Plus you get double pointd for spending at Tesco!

Shell

[Redletter]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate JOKE

WHAT A JOKE!Received: 10/11/2009
from Customer Service
Thank you for your query. We have endeavoured to keep costs low for as long as possible, however it has been necessary for us to adjust our pricing to enable us to maintain our high standards of service and benefits. In accordance with the Banking Code we always provide advance notice of such necessary changes. Many thanks.

Sent: 08/11/2009
"Principles on interest rate changes"???????????? What are your principles? Do you have any - apart from ripping off your customers with advertised rates of 15.99% APR so that they choose your company, then hiking them up to 34.99% APR to further increase the burden of debt and increase your profits? Whatever happened to looking after the interests of your customer rather than increasing their interest rates unfairly and without justification?

[Redletter]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

I have now transferred the balance of this credit card elsewhere.
I sent them an e-mail telling them I wish to close my account as I believe they have ripped me off for long enough!
Oh what a surprise they NOW want me to negotiate a lower rate of interest.

They will get NO interest from me in any context!

[Tools]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

Well done

[suflay]

Re: MBNA Virgin Credit Card Interest rate

I'm new to this but feel so utterly disgusted by Virgin/mbnas treatment I just had to get it off my chest!!!! Oh boy are they so quick to add on that interest. I was stupid enough to take up their introductory offer of interest free for 15 months and promply cleared my balance. But oh if you dare to be a day late, or pay in a few days before your balance due date (it apparently takes 3 days to process the money over!! Bo**** !! They waste no time to make a late payment penalty and then charge a ridiculous and unfair interest payment. No wonder Branson can have such expensive hobbies and love of the good life. He's just another one of those "fat cat bankers" along with MBNA. I fully intend to e mail Branson and suggest he reads some of the disgusting tactics employed in squeezing every last drop from the poor sods who have been taken in by their hype. Well good luck to them what goes around comes around. These greedy establishments should think more about ethics than lining their very substantial coiffers with more money screwed from their customers. I intend to slag these establishments as much as I can be bothered to.

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Hi do you have e mail address. I too wish to bombard these greedy fat cats having had them "hit me" several times. I've paid the lot off and they can get stuffed if they think they will ever get another penny from me!!