Virgin credit card problems

I've been having some problems with my Virgin credit card recently and not sure where I stand.  The obvious thing to do would be to ring them but Ive just spent 45 minutes on hold to a national rate line before hanging up so thought I'd post my annoyance here!

It all started about 2 months when I lost my Virgin credit card.  I rang them to report the card lost and they said that they would cancel it for me.  Anyway, three weeks later I still had no replacement card so I rang them and discovered that the original card was still active!  The only saving grace was that it hadn't been used.

I ordered a new credit card and it arrived very quickly in the post.  I never even opened the letter as I knew what it was and dont generally take the card out unless I need it.  So around my normal credit card payment time I logged into my account like I always do and noticed that the balance was at zero and there was nothing to pay.  I assumed that the reason for this was that they had transferred the balance to the new card which would be on my account shortly.  It said on screen that that no payments were due so I thought nothing more of it.  A week later the same again, another week and another week.  As nice as it was not having to pay, I thought I best call them up to find out what was going on.  I type in my card number only to find that I have been hit with about £150 of late payment charges!  To make matters worse I couldn't get through to anyone to query these charges.  Stuck on hold, don't you just love it?

I wasn't aware that not only do I get issued a new credit card number, but I also have to set up a new account for the new card in order to view financial details!  Is it that unrealistic of me to assume that the old card details would get discarded and the new ones added to my existing online account?  I wouldn't have thought so.  So I thought I would try and set up the new card, typed in all the details and low and behold I received the dreaded message: 'Our servers are currently unavailable'.

I'm not quite sure what to do now.  I quite happily paid off my arrears for the month which I thought I was getting free but I am not happy about having to pay these charges!  Should I just accept the shafting as I knew that I should have made a payment a few weeks ago?  I am not aware of any letters being sent to the family home where the card is registered.

I have since found a free phone number which is a small consolation but I have better things to do than spending half an hour holding a telephone.  My credit card is now over its limit so I am concerned that I am going to keep getting hit my more charges until I conjure up almost £200!

I don't know how Richard Branson sleeps at night.  Probably quite well on his pillow stuffed with my £20 notes!

By: Steve L

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Virgin is the only credit card I have had problems with. I closed my account with them but unfortunately they still let direct debits come out which I find ridiculous if the account is closed it should be closed as far as I'm concerned. A direct debit came out nevertheless!! I paid the whole amount off, the payment came out of my bank account on the day it was due and now I find they have charged me a late fee!! Wonderful!! I will never deal with virgin again as long as I live!!

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Mrs.sickofcreditcards!! - 6-Jun-11 21:06 

I got tempted back to Virgin Credit Card but I'm so sick of their system being so slow and I have had the same problems with the late charges and payments taking forever. Barclaycard has been fine for me and Halifax too. I did moan at Virgin but its too little to late, i'm not impressed and going elsewhere.

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Nic - 5-Mar-11 17:04 

My husband has had problems with Virgin. If you think you have a justifiable complaint do contact the Financial Ombudsman. Not enough folk air their complaints these days and that is why companies with unfair practices get away with so much to their detriment whilst companies like Virgin just continue to hike up their interest.

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Grumpy Old Woman - 2-Mar-11 08:36 

all these storys sound just like I am reading my own dealings with this card I had a £14,000 limit on my card with no missed payments I allways paid well over the required payment I have a very high credit rating they just cancelled my card with no warning they said they were being a responsable lender what would of happened if I had been abroad I could of been stranded this company should be closed down they have not even got a proper bank so you can pay in directly avoid

-5

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david - 24-Feb-11 23:10 

I have same kind of problem, Once you got your virgin credit card and don't know how to set your online account, you will be pinched.. by their charge. Virgin will not send any card statement or they will not warn you about your due date.. The end result is you loos all your promotional offers.. What a shame on Virgin Money Customer Care..

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Siju - 6-Jan-11 16:51 

I have the same problem as your last writer - paid on tiime - came out of my bank account before my due date but was hit with a late payment and they cancelled my IFC facility. Have moved my balance to a more reputable provider and will do my upmost to make sure no one else is RIPPED OFF. Is this false advertising - 16month 0% balance transfer? I could go to the ombudsman but best to vote with feet (or money) and bad publicity!!!

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Shelly Welly - 22-Dec-10 23:06 

My 0% with Virgin Credit Card is due to end on 24th Jan 2011. I tried to pay my outstanding balance from my current account this month (Nov 2010) on the phone, but I was told that if I pay before the end of 0% (24/01/2011) duration I will be charged. So, does this mean that I will have to wait until Jan 24th 2011? Surely I should be able to pay the full amount as I have the money to pay now. I don't understand their T&C too complicated for my normal brain!!
Could you please share your experience?

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Jen - 14-Nov-10 11:56 

My 0% with Virgin Credit Card is due to end on 24th Jan 2011. I tried to pay my outstanding balance from my current account this month (Nov 2010) on the phone, but I was told that if I pay before the end of 0% (24/01/2011) duration I will be charged. So, does this mean that I will have to wait until Jan 24th 2011? Surely I should be able to pay the full amount as I have the money to pay now. I don't understand their T&C too complicated for my normal brain!!
Could you please share your experience?

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Jen - 14-Nov-10 11:26 

yes I have had problems with my virgin credit card as well so your not alone,I have a MBNA as well which I found out is of the same as virgin,so when I made the two payments at my bank,the payments went to one account and virgin charged me 30.00 latepayment fee and my next payment shot up and I was charged more interest.I called them and they agreed and refunded my money but then they added interest on top again the next month and refused to take it off.
To be honest there a nightmare and I wish I never had to have the damn card and I am finding it hard to pay it off.I cannot wait to see the day branson empire collapes right on top of his fat head.

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rambo - 10-Nov-10 16:28 

Same happened to me - paid £150 odd for balance transfer and then set up standing order except I paid three days too early and they classed it as a late payment ...result two months later £50+ charges (inc interest) and THEY WILL NOT PUT BE BACK ON 0%. They do not want to know. I will never use virgin again.

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Mike - 24-Sep-10 14:54 

Would you please, please, please have a clear entry that says account payment direct. I spend at least half a hour each month trying to pay off my account and cannot get into it.

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CHAS - 1-Jun-10 08:31 

My advice to anyone thinking of using Virgin Credit is beware, read the fine print or better still and look for a more honest provider. I made an early payment, which Virgin classed as late and then applied full interest on an account that was set up with 0% interest for 10 months. Virgins last date of payment is the 28th of the month, I had paid a March payment on time and then made my next payment on the 3rd April (due to holiday) to cover the following month. Virgin classed this as a late payment and applied full interest on a 0% interest account. There are many other means of catching an unsuspecting punter within their Term & Conditions and it is clear that the offer of 0% interest is simply the bait on the end of a very nasty hook. I shall pay up my account and never use any Virgin products in future. I would like to know just how many other punters Virgin have stitched up.

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Art - 26-May-10 08:46 

I was lured to a Virgin card by their 0% promotion so got a card and transferred a couple of balances in October 09. Unfortunately I thought I had filled in a direct debit form- innocent mistake- and missed 1st payment but phoned and paid by debit card a week late. Set up direct debit for next payment- end of story? NO! Next statement I'm punished with £12 late payment charge - my fault- I can live with it I thought! Sat back expecting no hassle or charges for 12 months - too complacent - dead right! I paid more than a cursory glance at my Feb statement and realised £150 of interest had been charged since taking out the card ( on 0% interst you'll remember). Staight on the phone to Virgin, turns out I had should have read the very small print pointing out I would lose the promotion rate and be charged the full rate on the balances I had originally transferred. Did I get any money refunded - Don't be silly. I hope you sleep well at night Richard - I'm a pensioner and can't afford to lose £162 to you!!

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Ed - 1-Mar-10 19:08 

I am amazed virgin credit cards still exists if ever it did.we hav tried to gat our cards activatedfor three weeks never got one reply.cancelled ,the we got a series of calls saying our new black cards were on their way pin to follow.no sign of either in four weeks.no email addressess get a response,tel no,s same.truely unbeleivable .however did this man become a billionaire?

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waggie - 11-Dec-09 23:10 

I too have a gripe against Virgin credit card.
Be very weary any new customers looking to do business with this company !!
After my 1st billing they tried to charge me interest on an a purchase only 20 days old.
I started calling them....which took a total of 100 minutes over 8 days until someone finally picked up. They simply informed me that's exactly the ways things worked at Virgin.

My warning is:
* Staff are arrogant
* Be prepared to wait very very long before you can talk to someone ( this leads me to believe they may be operating out of a garage possibly)
* You may be overcharged on occassion without proper explanation

This company in my view is a great example of the absolute in bad service !!
Be very weary.
Regards

+2

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David V - 28-Oct-09 13:56 

I took out the VC for the 0 % promotion so that I could transfer my other two cards debts to it. Well every thing was ok untill my DD arrived one day before the VC sent out the statement it took two months before a £12 late payment charge and £90 interest hit my account despite Vigin acknowleging that it was a genuine mistake they hit my account again within 3 days with anonther £90 interest charge saying this was because I had paid the agreed ammount - when I pointed out that I had but it was less than 3 days since I spoke to them they basically said so what - so I ended up paying £107 online and another £117 a few days later to bring the account upto date - now the first payment was done using my switch card via virgin's online website but took 5 days to visible show on my account (when I spoke to virgin and said hey I work with banking systems and you have my money but its not on my statement go and check with your IT dept - which they did and yes a rather sheepish hepdesk person said yes the payment had been credited but could not explain why it was not showing on my account) and the other payment was done via my bank a few days later both appeared on my statement at the same time.
I checkd again with vigin and mbna that all was OK to which they said yes it was and then a few days after that converstaion I get to letters one from mbna saying that they had reported me to thr credit referencing agencies as I was in arrears and the other with the same threats from a company called aegis I guess this is the company that supplied the thugs to virgins dirty work - I rang up Virgin and they looked at my statement and said yes you have not paid anything yet - when I said OK my online statement shows I have and now I am making an official complaint the helpdesk pesrson said oh yes I can now see that you have paid.
So I am going to make a complaint and pay all the card off and neveruse any virgin products again ever.

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max headroom - 4-May-09 20:47 

plse send your grievance direct to richard branson by recorded delivery

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lak - 3-May-09 21:50 

Santiago, I see what you are saying; I thought they were doctors too but after reading a book called "Psychiatrists, the men behind Hitler" a psychiatrist ceased to be a doctor for me. It appears they are fakes (like bankers) and cause a lot of damage all around. It is enough to type "psychiatry" in a search engine to see so many people and organisations against psychiatry. They are all you wish they are except doctors.

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SuperBambinoCattivo - 28-Apr-09 19:53 

"A psychiatrist is not a doctor...."
SuperBambinoCattivo

This is incorrect. To become a psychiatrist one first must complete a minimum of seven years medical training to qualify as a medical doctor and then undertake years of further education, training and examinations to specialise.

You are probably confusing psychiatrists with psychologists who usually not have any medical knowledge beyond a superficial understanding. Some psychologists may be entitled to call themselves 'doctor' by virtue of having a PhD but they are most definitely not qualified medical doctors.

A simple analogy would be to regard a psychiatrist as the equivalent of a consulting surgeon whereas a psychologist would be the equivalent of a nurse or speech therapist.

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Santiago - 23-Apr-09 08:51 

"You may say what you like that disqualifies you."
I'm disqualified from discussion because I disagree with you ..... ah ok! That's democracy!

"Lsten to this Italian (that you hate) "
Err, please show me where I've said I hate Italians. I have mentioned some facts about your country's history which you find unacceptable. That is not tantamount to saying I hate Italians and I feel it appropriate to say this in case any other Italians are offended.

You have still not answered my questions, you clearly can't. Catzo di mierda.

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MikeP - 23-Apr-09 02:11