Changes for Santander customers:
123 Current Account, monthly fee goes to £5 from £2
123 Credit Card annual fee rises to £36 from £24
123 Credit Card cashback reduced...
e.g. 1% on supermarket spend and 2% on department stores limited to £3 a month each
Affects 3.6 million current account customers, and 1.8 million with credit cards
Blow for credit card customers softened by temporary holiday from 2.95% foreign transaction charge
Showing posts with label credit card. Show all posts
Showing posts with label credit card. Show all posts
Monday, 14 September 2015
Friday, 2 September 2011
Shoppers avoid plastic splurge
CREDIT CARD DEBT LOWEST FOR 7 YEARS AS SHOPPERS AVOID SPLURGING ON PLASTIC
Debt racked up on credit cards fell to its lowest since 2004 in July, though the total figure still stands at an eye-watering £59.8bn or £960 for every man, woman and child in the UK.
Bankers say that shoppers are using their cards more than before to take advantage of perks on offer, but they are trying to avoid adding to their debts.
The perks include up to 56 days of interest free credit, insurance benefits and the possibility of earning cash back on purchases.
Household budgets have been drained by the jump in gas and electricity prices and families are fearful of the outlook for jobs and the economy.
In that climate, cards are being used mainly as a means of payment rather than as a borrowing option.
The British Bankers Association said the number of purchases was up 4% in July to 170m, at an average value of £65 a time.
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Save us from rip-off card charges and internet nasties
Protection is on the way against credit card rip-off charges and nasty surprises over your internet purchases.
New European Union consumer law will restrict the surcharges, slapped on by traders if you dare to use a card, to the cost of processing the payment.
Goods bought over the internet will be returnable within 14 calendar days, up from 7 working days.
And surprise additional payments when you come to pay for something over the net, those expensive pre-ticked boxes which you never saw - you'll be entitled to a refund if you are stung.
The new protections are on the way, but they are still far off.
Euro MPs have just voted them in. But the Council of Ministers has to approve and implementation at the national level could take two years.
And will the measures be watered down over that period? Not clear yet.
New European Union consumer law will restrict the surcharges, slapped on by traders if you dare to use a card, to the cost of processing the payment.
Goods bought over the internet will be returnable within 14 calendar days, up from 7 working days.
And surprise additional payments when you come to pay for something over the net, those expensive pre-ticked boxes which you never saw - you'll be entitled to a refund if you are stung.
The new protections are on the way, but they are still far off.
Euro MPs have just voted them in. But the Council of Ministers has to approve and implementation at the national level could take two years.
And will the measures be watered down over that period? Not clear yet.
Friday, 10 June 2011
Whopping cost of cards
Credit card interest rates continue to ride at their highest level for nine years.
Latest figures from the Bank of England show that the average rate we paid on credit card borrowings was 16.72% over April and May, the steepest since February 2002.
Looking further back, the previous peak was 23% in 1995.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ledger, savers continue to suffer.
Banks are paying an average interest rate on Cash ISAs of 0.55%.
Latest figures from the Bank of England show that the average rate we paid on credit card borrowings was 16.72% over April and May, the steepest since February 2002.
Looking further back, the previous peak was 23% in 1995.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ledger, savers continue to suffer.
Banks are paying an average interest rate on Cash ISAs of 0.55%.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Credit card refund for laptop
From Financial Ombudsman Service last week...
Complaint about faulty laptop bought with credit card.
Miss T’s new laptop developed a serious fault just six weeks after she had bought it, so she took it back to the supplier and asked for a refund or replacement.
The supplier told her it was unable to help. It suggested that she should get in touch with the manufacturer, who would arrange to inspect the laptop and then decide whether to repair or replace it.
Miss T explained that she was busy revising for her college exams and could not afford to lose study time while the laptop was out of action. However, the supplier was adamant that her only course of action was to contact the manufacturer.
Concerned about the amount of time this might take, Miss T then visited a different supplier, where she used her credit card to buy another laptop.
She had used her credit card to buy the original laptop and a few weeks later, once her exams were out of the way, she contacted her credit card provider.
She explained the problem she had experienced with the original laptop and said she wanted to claim a refund.
However, the card provider told her it could not help because it was ‘not responsible for the quality of goods bought with a credit card’.
Miss T arranged to have her laptop inspected at a local computer centre and was told that there was a problem with the motherboard.
She subsequently obtained another report on the laptop from an independent computer specialist. This confirmed that the motherboard was faulty – and said that replacing it would cost more than the value of the laptop.
Miss T then referred her complaint to us.
Complaint upheld
On the basis of the evidence supplied by Miss T, we said that the laptop was not fit for purpose, as it should not have developed a fault of this nature so soon after Miss T had bought it.
We noted that Miss T had attempted to reject the laptop as soon as the fault became evident. She had only bought a replacement because it was essential for her studies and because the retailer had failed to deal correctly with her complaint.
We pointed out to the card provider that it was jointly liable with the supplier for any breach of contract.
Complaint about faulty laptop bought with credit card.
Miss T’s new laptop developed a serious fault just six weeks after she had bought it, so she took it back to the supplier and asked for a refund or replacement.
The supplier told her it was unable to help. It suggested that she should get in touch with the manufacturer, who would arrange to inspect the laptop and then decide whether to repair or replace it.
Miss T explained that she was busy revising for her college exams and could not afford to lose study time while the laptop was out of action. However, the supplier was adamant that her only course of action was to contact the manufacturer.
Concerned about the amount of time this might take, Miss T then visited a different supplier, where she used her credit card to buy another laptop.
She had used her credit card to buy the original laptop and a few weeks later, once her exams were out of the way, she contacted her credit card provider.
She explained the problem she had experienced with the original laptop and said she wanted to claim a refund.
However, the card provider told her it could not help because it was ‘not responsible for the quality of goods bought with a credit card’.
Miss T arranged to have her laptop inspected at a local computer centre and was told that there was a problem with the motherboard.
She subsequently obtained another report on the laptop from an independent computer specialist. This confirmed that the motherboard was faulty – and said that replacing it would cost more than the value of the laptop.
Miss T then referred her complaint to us.
Complaint upheld
On the basis of the evidence supplied by Miss T, we said that the laptop was not fit for purpose, as it should not have developed a fault of this nature so soon after Miss T had bought it.
We noted that Miss T had attempted to reject the laptop as soon as the fault became evident. She had only bought a replacement because it was essential for her studies and because the retailer had failed to deal correctly with her complaint.
We pointed out to the card provider that it was jointly liable with the supplier for any breach of contract.
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