MBNA Credit Card

[Red79]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone could maybe offer me some advice about my credit card.

I am Irish and have a credit card account with MBNA. I am currently in South Africa. My credit card is currently gone over the limit and I am struggling to make payments to it. I have not tried to use my card since probably around August of last year as I knew it was nearing the limit but due to a debit, which I was under the impression had been cancelled, I have gone over my limit. I was told in January that the account was suspended yet these debits have come off twice since then. I am paying payment protection, overdue fees and late fees. I am very stressed about this and really would like some advice on what my approach to the company should be. I want to ring them and see what my options are but if I seem like I don't know what I'm talking about they may just bully me into believing the worst.

Please help:confused:

[Red79]

Sorry if I have posted this in the wrong place.

Just really need some advice and am new to the forums

[Red79]

Hi again all

 

I really want to try and maybe contact MBNA today so just thought I would bump this to get advice:)

[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome to CAG, Red79.

 

Don't worry, you will get all the advice you need to deal with MBNA on this site.

 

I will ask for your thread to be moved to the MBNA Forum.

 

 

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[Fred Bassett]

Red,

 

Whatever else you do, DON'T RING THEM. They will lie, bully, threaten, hassle and do their best to make you feel small and panic you into agreeing something that you will later regret.

 

If I were you, I would send them the CCA request. This is the document that asks them for a copy of the original agreement - essentially it will tell you if the debt you have with them is legally enforceable. You will be able to find a template letter in the library. You would be best advised to send this by recorded delivery, but how you do this from South Africa I wouldn't know - presumably there is a similar system in SA.

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[maroondevo52]

Hi, Red.

 

You should claim back any charges on this Account.

This will put the Account into Dispute.

The Bank must refrain from any further action until the dispute is fully resolved.

 

Send MBNA a SAR

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/516-1-data-protection-act.html

 

This will give you a chance to calculate how much the Bank has charged you over the last six years.(Unless you already have your statements for the last six years)

 

Here's a list of what you can claim back.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/15518-charges-description-statements-please.html

 

You must send a £10 payment with this request, preferably a postal order.

Send it recorded so you have proof the Bank have received it.

 

The Bank then has 40 days to comply with your request.

 

Have a look at the step-by-step instructions.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/31460-example-step-step-instructions.html

 

 

When it comes to sending them your Letter Before Action.

Credit card claims differ from Bank Charges claims, and if you post on this thread, we will give you a LBA to send.

 

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[Red79]

Hi guys

 

Thanks so much for the advice so far. The thing is they know I am not in Ireland but when I spoke to my dad the other day he said there were a lot of letters arriving for me marked urgent and confidential.

Without going into too much detail my mother is unwell at the moment and I don't want her worrying about the situation I have gotten myself into so I don't want her to open the letters obviously.

Without ringing them I have no way of finding out just how far things have gone. I want to let them know to send future correspondance to my brothers address. Should I just contact them by email?

Maroondevo when you say I can claim back charges, do you mean overlimit fees and late fees?

Also am I within my rights to ask them to freeze the payment protection on the account as it is of no benefit to me as I am not ill and I wasn't made unemployed?

Feel a bit better already.....thanks:)

[Red79]

Also......is it possible for me to appoint a family member in Ireland to deal with correspondence on my behalf?

Would be a bit easier than sending letters from here.

[Red79]

Have just sent an email telling them I wish to have further correspondence sent to my brothers address.

Also told them that despite the fact the last time I spoke to them I gave them a number to contact me directly here in SA I have never heard anything further from them and am completely in the dark as to where I stand. I don't even know if they have maybe sold my debt:confused:

[Red79]

Right so I am talking to myself now:D

Can anyone tell me what the cost would be in euro when sending this SAR letter?

It's difficult being abroad. I got myself into the mess but feel hard done by as I haven't used my card for a long time and a lot of the money that brought it up over the limit is fees and payment protection which is not even of any advantage to me

[Red79]

Most probably won't have online access until tomorrow.

So is it unanimous that I should not ring them?

I just really need to know where I stand with the account........

[Red79]

Well, have decided I must ring them at least one time to see how things stand with the account.

With each day that passes I am getting more and more worried because I don't actually know what is happening.

If they have sold the debt to someone else then I need to know who to contact. I have sent emails to the one contact address I have at MBNA but have not received any replies and I can't go on feeling sick and worried and stressed like I am at the moment.

The card is currently 523.66 over the limit and a payment which I do not have is due on the 20th of this month.

I am at my wits end and don't see any other choice other than to ring them and find out what's going on.

[Red79]

Have just had a reply from the customer advocate office, wanting some more details and are going to then get back to me apparently.

[Red79]

I've tried searching for a similar website in Ireland but can't seem to find one. Does the help on here apply only to England?

I don't seem to be getting anywhere

[Red79]

Have finally gotten through to them on the phone and they were actually quite helpfully. I was pleasantly surprised considering all the horror stories I have been reading about them.

Told them I can't afford to pay what is owed at the moment and don't know when that will change. They are going to look at freezing the charges and have cancelled the payment protection cover as it was of no use to me and won't be anyway if I decide to stay in South Africa as it is only valid in Ireland.

They said if I could make any token payments at all it would look better than not paying at all.

They are going to send me some forms here in South Africa and cease calling the number of my parents house and only deal with me directly here in future.

[Fred Bassett]

Red,

 

Sorry you haven't had a response to your many posts.

 

At least you've taken the stress away for the time being.

 

Be careful of what you sign for MBNA. They may be trying to get you to sell your life away on the pretext that they are being helpful. My advice is post a copy up here before you do anything.

 

It's only just occurred to me that some of the advice on here might not be applicable to you. Was the credit card taken out in Ireland or in the UK?

 

Fred

[maroondevo52]

Hi, Red.

 

Glad you managed to sort something out, like you say it's very difficult to help you when your in South Africa.

 

I was going to suggest you let a family member sort this out for you in the UK.

 

Looks like you will be able to handle it yourself now.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[maroondevo52]

Red,

 

Sorry you haven't had a response to your many posts.

 

 

Hi, Fred.

 

The OP has nine posts since yesterday, Site-Helpers and Mods find it very difficult to be on-line 24/7. I myself get on as much as I can, I should have replied last night but got distracted

 

Thanks for helping the OP out

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[banker_rhymes_with]

Hello Red79!

 

Have finally gotten through to them on the phone and they were actually quite helpfully. I was pleasantly surprised considering all the horror stories I have been reading about them.

Told them I can't afford to pay what is owed at the moment and don't know when that will change. They are going to look at freezing the charges and have cancelled the payment protection cover as it was of no use to me and won't be anyway if I decide to stay in South Africa as it is only valid in Ireland.

They said if I could make any token payments at all it would look better than not paying at all.

They are going to send me some forms here in South Africa and cease calling the number of my parents house and only deal with me directly here in future.

 

It's most out of Character for these people to be helpful. I suspect it is because you are thousands of Miles away, and they can do squat about you, for now.

 

So, all they really want to do is keep tabs on you and that alleged Debt, until they can get you closer to home and within striking distance of their Threats-R-Us system.

 

Sending bulk Threats to South Africa and multiple Long Distance Harassment Calls to South Africa is beyond their budget.

 

Take care, as this could just be a little ruse to keep you on the end of their long line all the way to South Africa.

 

If I were you, I'd go ahead with the Agreement Request and £1 Fee, and the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) Request and £10 Fee. Perhaps get them to send them to a Solicitor over here, than to your Parents Address.

 

Or any Address that avoids Family and Friends getting caught in any Cross-Fire.

 

By all means Pay what ever small amount they have agreed to, but while doing that, investigate the alleged Debt, and have a very good look at the Payment Protection Insurance. Was that mis-sold, are there any Penalty Charges. It could be that a large chunk of the alleged Debt may be something you can claim back.

 

By all means roll with them for now, but be warned that they may not be so polite when you get back within range!

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers,

BRW

[Fred Bassett]

Hi, Fred.

 

The OP has nine posts since yesterday, Site-Helpers and Mods find it very difficult to be on-line 24/7. I myself get on as much as I can, I should have replied last night but got distracted

 

Thanks for helping the OP out

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

 

Scott,

 

That was in no way a criticism of anyone or indeed everyone, it's just that there seemed to be a bit of desperation creeping in. Personally, I don't know enough to advise correctly.

 

The other thing is, would all this advise apply if the card was taken out somewhere other than the UK?

 

Regards

 

Fred

[the main man]

From what I can see Ireland is governed by the Consumer Credit Act 1995 and you can request a copy of your agreement similar to the UK Act so it might be wise to have a good read through.

 

hope this helps

 

Irish Statute Book, Acts of the Oireachtas, Consumer Credit Act, 1995, Section 43

[Red79]

From what I can see Ireland is governed by the Consumer Credit Act 1995 and you can request a copy of your agreement similar to the UK Act so it might be wise to have a good read through.

 

hope this helps

 

Irish Statute Book, Acts of the Oireachtas, Consumer Credit Act, 1995, Section 43

Hi there Main Man.....thanks for this link, will have a look now at this and see what the story is.

Thanks to the others who have posted.

There may have been nine posts in here yesterday but they were all me getting increasingly worried and desperate:(

 

I did wonder if I could get a family member to act on my behalf receiving correspondence etc.

Does anyone know if I can do this?

It would be helpful as getting post sent here can take quite a while sometimes and vice versa when sending from here to Ireland.

Maybe I was naive in thinking they were being so helpful:confused:

[Red79]

Have just had a look on the Irish Statute Book website. There was an email address for a helpdesk there so have sent off an email enquiring if there is a similar procedure in Ireland as in England and how much it would cost etc.

The forms MNBA said they were going to send to me here are basically like a personal budget plan type thing.

So they can see my incomings (very little) and outgoings and then decide on a reduced payment plan.

Can I just make a suggestion of a token amount each month without filling this in?

Would save time, rather than waiting for it to arrive here and then sending it back.

[the main man]

[quote=Red79;1525352

I did wonder if I could get a family member to act on my behalf receiving correspondence etc.

Does anyone know if I can do this?

It would be helpful as getting post sent here can take quite a while sometimes and vice versa when sending from here to Ireland.

Maybe I was naive in thinking they were being so helpful:confused:

 

Yes, I think you would, but you would have to send a letter of authority allowing them to act on your behalf.

[banker_rhymes_with]

Hello Red79!

 

I did wonder if I could get a family member to act on my behalf receiving correspondence etc.

Does anyone know if I can do this?

 

But keep in mind that if you give them a family member's address and/or Contact details, that is where they will direct their Harassment. Getting them to stop once they start, is pretty hard.

 

That was why I suggested someone like a Solictor or an Address that they would think twice about before firing off their Harassment tactics.

 

If you read the MBNA Threads on CAG, I think you will soon see that almost everyone who has any form of MBNA dispute/alleged Debt is on the receiving end of MBNA Harassment.

 

That was why I was a little suspicious of them being helpful in your case.

 

If you do use a Family Member, never, ever, ever, give the MBNA that Family Member's Telephone Number. The sad thing is, even that precaution may not stop them. Once you give them a Name and Address, they will hunt out any Contact details they can find for that Person at that Address.

 

As far as they are concerned, the Name has been linked by you to your alleged Account, so that person and that address will become Fair Game for Harassment, using any alleged Default by you on that alleged Account as giving them Just Cause to do so.

 

For example, I never gave them my Mobile Number, but they Call it nevertheless. I suspect they acquired that from some shady hunting around my Credit Data at the Credit Reference Agencies, where they gained access to my Mobile Phone Account and in turn Key Records and details.

 

My point here is just keep your wits about you, and be very cautious. You need to take charge of this bunch, and work out a way to receive Correspondence from them without placing any members of your Family into the firing line for a torrent of Harassment Letters and Calls.

 

Basic issues:

 

(1) Set up Mail Contact in a safe way.

 

(2) Agree to whatever minimum Payment they will accept and Pay that.

 

(3) Start researching the alleged Debt, and obtain a Copy of the Original Agreement, plus Statements and/or submit a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) to establish if there are Penalty Charges and Excessive Interest Ramps. Be wary that they may well ramp up your Interest now, anything from 25% to 35%, using the Payment issues as an excuse.

 

Paying them a small amount may put this on hold, but if they ramp up your Rates, you may not realise that the alleged Debt is going to grow and grow.

 

You may come back to a substantially higher alleged Debt than you were expecting. So, do what you can to sort it over the Short Term, establish a way to Communicate with them and receive any Letters, and then do your Homework on the alleged Debt.

 

If you find issues such as mis-sold PPI and Penalty Charges, getting a Dispute in early may be wiser than letting the alleged Debt grow and grow before you have a chance to say:

 

"hold on MBNA, 1/2 of what I owe now is made up of PPI I didn't want or need, and a bunch of Penalty Charges!"

 

Leave it 12-24 Months, or however long you will be away, and you could come back to an alleged Debt where the amounts you can claim back are a much smaller percentage because the alleged Debt has grown (due to 35% being charged on it).

 

I hope this helps.

 

Cheers,

BRW