Vanquis Refunded Charges????

[hme.4x4]

I claimed my default charges from my Vanquis Credit Card and have received an offer of £168.

I wanted this refund to be applied to my credit card balance but the letter they have sent says I have 2 Options.

Option 1

We will vary your account to ensure that in future you do not incur the following fees:

Late payment Charge

Over Limit Charge

Return Payment Charge

Returned Credit Card Cheque Charge

Tracing Charge

As part of the variation to your account, your annual cash interest rate will be 59% and your annual purchase interest rate will be 54.9%. Your account will also be subject to a £25 annual fee. Full details will be provided by way of a Notice of Variation that will be issued once our offer has been accepted and the refund processed.

Your account interest rates are currently at 47.89% for purchases and 53.95% for cash transactions.

OR

Option 2

Pay of the balance at your current rate of interest. You will not be able to use your card in future and it will be closed when the balance is repaid in full.

To confirm your acceptance of this refund in full and final settlement of your claim in respect of default charges levied on the above account, please sign the enclosed acceptance form and indicate your choice of the two options.

Is this their normal MO??? and is there anyone else who has had this experience with Vanquis?

[huggys boss]

subbing because Vanquis are hot on our tails!

[alfwithhair]

niether of them options say what they are going to do with the £168

[hme.4x4]

Exactly Alf! I was wondering myself what would happen to that. As I say, I wanted it paid off my balance but the two options really have me baffled. Neither sound like what I want to do.

[alfwithhair]

Playing russian roulette with you

If you want your charges back, you cant have an account

or

if you do want to have your account , you can pay through the nose for it.

I would sign nothing as it maybe just a ploy to get your signiture to chop-a-shop on to a non existant agreement.

 

Ask them to clarify where the £168.00 is being credited.

[MARTIN3030]

This looks like a hostile response to you seeking repayment of charges.

The FSA issued guidance on this some time ago following banks doing the same.

In fact a few were awarded compensation as a result.

I think this needs to be spelled out to them.

[Undercover-Elsa]

Totally agree Martin, either option is clearly a penalty for reclaiming the charges. Where's the option which says we will refund the charges to your account balance, business as usual?

Maybe they don't want to reduce their charges across the board so don't want claimants to be in the position of claiming again in the future, hence the rock and hard place options?

[hme.4x4]

Thank you for the replies.

 

I agree their response is hostile, hiking up interest rates AND introducing an annual £25 fee for just having the account, or requiring payment in full and closing the account and I still don't know what they intend to do with the £168 refund.

Should I write to them (don't want to call) informing them that this is a hostile response to my claim and report them to the FOS??

 

I have received another letter because I claimed PPI which Vanquis call repayment option plan which I cancelled a few months ago.

 

I understand that you are unhappy as you feel the Repayment Option Plan was mis-sold.

For training and security purposes Vanquis record all telephone calls mad to and from all departments. Having reviewed the call made on xxxxxxxx I can confirm that the agent offered to include the plan on the above account. It was on this call that you agreed to have the Repayment Option Plan set up on your account. Therefore the charges which have been applied to monthly statements since the account was opened have been correctly applied.

For your information, the agent fully described the benefits of this plan and how much the plan would cost. You were also informed that further information regarding the Repayment Otpion Plan would be issued to you and therefore after reading this booklet and decided that the plan was not suitable for you, you could cancel the plan at any time. Further to this the agent did advise you during the call that this plan is not an insurance.

Due to the above, I am unable to corroborate your claim that the Repayment Option Plan was mis-sold, therefore I regret that no refund is due.

Brilliant!! I can't remember the call referred to. Also, All the time that I have had this account I have been medically retired on a small pension. I have had a chronic medical condition for many years. So would never be in a position of beig made redundant or losing my job.

I am now retired on State Pension.

Vanquis are really not pleased with me are they?

[huggys boss]

Would you get a transcript of the call if you sent in an SAR?

[hme.4x4]

I don't know, anybody ??

[biggeorge]

Same letter they sent me for the wife over £290 back in charges.

Change account type with no charges and yearly fee or cancel account.

 

They now gone in hiding as no CCA and a crappy DN.

 

I'm now waiting till its sold on then get a reduced offer to settle the account, then hit Vanquis with the charges

back once the account is settled.

 

Worst credit card company there is.

 

George

[sillygirl1]

With a CASH interest rate of 59% that means (off the top of my head...) that if you borrowed £100 from them then you would have to repay £170.... daylight robbery and extortionate charge!

[alfwithhair]

Well lets face it, all Vanquis accounts are a rip off, they are not a Bank, just legalised loan sharks operating under the Provident umbrella

[Undercover-Elsa]

Definitely time for a SAR request specifying it must include a copy of the phone call (as a sound recording NOT a transcript)

 

Elsa x

[hme.4x4]

Martin said that the FSA issued guidance on hostile responses to reclaiming charges, I have trawled through their website and can't find reference to it anywhere.

Can someone point me in the right direction please?

I'm about to write to Vanquis and like to know what I am talking about when quoting things!

[alfwithhair]

Martin said that the FSA issued guidance on hostile responses to reclaiming charges, I have trawled through their website and can't find reference to it anywhere.

Can someone point me in the right direction please?

I'm about to write to Vanquis and like to know what I am talking about when quoting things!

 

I also tried to find it when it was first posted, but had no luck either

[thrubolt]

HME 4x4 I got same letter to a 'T' re ppi - word for word.

[MARTIN3030]

I also tried to find it when it was first posted, but had no luck either

 

 

FSA Accuses Banks of Lying

 

July 27th 2007

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has rebuked current account providers for making “false or misleading statements” to customers. The City watchdog said that some institutions had lied to account holders to deter them from reclaiming unauthorised overdraft charges.

It said that some banks and building societies had closed or threatened to close customers’ accounts to punish them for making a claim.

In a letter to the chief executives of every bank and building society, the FSA said: “Whilst there may be some circumstances that warrant the termination of the commercial relationship, we would expect this to be a relatively rare occurrence . . . and not as part of a standardised (and seemingly punitive) policy towards those who have merely exercised their right to complain.”

Customers who have their bank accounts closed are often forced to miss mortgage payments and other important direct debit deadlines. This can harm their credit rating. The FSA has taken enforcement action against two firms, which could lead to hefty fines.

Deficiencies identified by the FSA from a sample of banks and building societies, and set out in the regulator’s letter, include:

— A failure to respond to complaints fairly and consistently, to address adequately the subject matter of complaints, or to ensure that complaints are resolved at the earliest possible opportunity;

— Unfair closure of accounts, or threats to do so;

— False or misleading statements made to complainants.

The full text of the letter is here