# Tesco Visa rant



## microsquid (26 Jul 2006)

I moved to Tesco Visa in a general anti-AIB mood last year. I always clear the balance at the end of the month, usually ringing the line to make sure I clear the current balance as opposed to what it says on the bill.
As a result of having the ol' AIB card for years I had a nice hefty limit that they'd up every 6 months or so without checking. Lovely in some ways, scary in others.
Tesco won't do that. 
So, on to the rant. TWICE in the last month I have had problems with the tidal volume on the card ie I have sent the payment to Tesco and they have not yet credited it to me and I cannot use the card to pay for my hotel etc.
I travel on business infrequently (four times in the last month) and although I've been clearing the balance every two weeks instead of monthly they're still not crediting the payments in time.
What makes it more galling still is that they are counting purchases-made-not-yet-cleared against my limit, but not payments-made-not-yet-cleared. 
The first instance I had paid on the 30Jun and they did not credit my account until the 12Jul. But at least that one showed on their radar.
I paid last Thurs 20Jul and am still not cleared, but this one they say they can't even see, and I'm in the States on business and wondering if people take Laser. 
Is this all perfectly normal and should I go off and soak my head or am I being taken for a ride?


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## bond-007 (26 Jul 2006)

They should increase your limit if you are such a good customer. How did you pay them on the 20th? If it was a cheque they would be right not to clear it for a week.


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## RainyDay (26 Jul 2006)

microsquid said:
			
		

> usually ringing the line to make sure I clear the current balance as opposed to what it says on the bill.


By doing this, you are completely missing out on the cash-flow benefit of using the credit card. If you can manage your finances, pay the full amount of the last bill on the latest possible day for maximum cash flow differences. Just call them to push up the credit limit.


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## microsquid (26 Jul 2006)

Bond-007 I asked them to bump my limit and they did... by €70. Wow!

Rainyday: The whole idea of the CC was to enjoy the spend/pay gap but it's just not working out that way as when I travel I run smack into the limit and hotels start getting snippy with me.

All transfers are electronic. I've hounded TSB on it too and everything's fine on their end (they can see all transfers happening in approx 3 working days).  It seems to be Tesco Visa and their bank doing the fudging. Which works fine for them. Gngngngngngn


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## Glazer FC (26 Jul 2006)

Hi Microsquid,

I'm with Tesco Visa too. I put everything I can on it, for the free period as well as the clubcard vouchers. They can increase the credit limit every two months, so ring them at that interval, and it should edge up (mine is nearly back to the same limit as I had on my Bank of Ireland Visa.

I transfer the payment online about 3 days before the balance due date, and it always clears on time. It is possible that they have mucked up your account on their system, so call them and have a chat. Initially, they didn't credit me with clubcard points for using the Visa in non-Tesco outlets, but they fixed it with one phone call.

Remember that using your cc in non-Euro locations incurs a fee (1.75% of the transaction amount if I recall, and the exchange rate can be poor sometimes).

Enjoy the travels!


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## slave1 (28 Jul 2006)

> All transfers are electronic


 
I use billpay and the dates of my transfer and receipt on my Cr Card statement are the same day


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## runner (28 Jul 2006)

It seems its just another bank thing for holding on to your money -AFTER it is taken from your account. In my case I pay the TSB visa from a TSB current account. The money is taken from the current account immediately (cleared on the spot) but their OWN visa account does not credit it for 4 or 5 days!
Crazy!


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## Crunchie (28 Jul 2006)

slave1 said:
			
		

> I use billpay and the dates of my transfer and receipt on my Cr Card statement are the same day



It's same if you pay over the counter in a post office - even if you pay by cheque. You make the cheque payable to An Post and it often takes them a week or more to cash it.


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## AndyHobbs (11 Aug 2006)

Gggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......
I have just run into the same problem with Tesco CC. The funds disappear from my account online balance anyway on that day, but Tesco are saying that because it is an overseas bank it takes 10 working days to clear (I cant understand why they are allowed by the Irish regulator to offer prodicts in Ireland if they are administered from the UK).

They say that if you give them the a/c no and sort code of the originating bank they can check it and remove the flags from the a/c but Im still waiting for them to get back to me.

I agree that the minimal balances they allocate are inadequate. My limit was reduced to 3K. In the last 2 weeks (I was going on holidays) I loaded 4k onto the a/c five days before I left not realising the 10 day requirement. Used the card on hols, taking it near the (now)7K limit. To be fair to them they did allow me to use up to 7K on the basis that the 4K had been notified to them by TSB but not cleared. Not knowing about the 10 day rule. Knowing that I was lear my limit anyway, I did a further 3k topup online, thinking that I'd be able to continue to use the card but then I got a call to say that until the original 4K cleared I wouldn't be able to use the card.

The most galling thing was that when I got home there was a letter from MBNA offering me a 200 euro voucher if I returned to them. The reason I left them in the first place was because they werent offering anything to customers like cashback (like American express) or a rebate of stamp duty (like UlsterBank)... and then they offer it to me to come back?


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## eggerb (11 Aug 2006)

Glazer FC said:


> Remember that using your cc in non-Euro locations incurs a fee (1.75% of the transaction amount if I recall, and the exchange rate can be poor sometimes).


 
Its actually 2.75% with Tesco compared to 1.75% with BoI. I usually find the rate I get with my BoI credit card (with the 1.75% built in) is a fair rate. What's the best place to compare it to? For example, on 21st July I got 1.55 for CHF. That semed ok when I compared it to what the banks were offering over-the-counter.

As for the Tesco/RBoS venture, don't get me started. I took out a credit card with them with a 5.7k credit limit to avail of their interest free period whist I moved house. I signed a direct debit mandate form and very very clearly marked it minimum balance only. Come payday, they deducted over 5k from my account - the full amount. I was furious to say the least. Didn't really seem to bother the 20+ people (inc managers etc) in Tesco/RBoS. They agreed to send it back to my current account. One month later, they still hadn't managed it. The whole Irish bank/euro (or euros as they called it) thing seemed to cause them a HUGE problem. Anyhow, after hours on the phone and sending them a registered letter, my money (on its way back to the Irish account) turned up in one of their suspense accounts. I just told them to credit it back to my credit card a/c and close the account! Personally, I would never deal with them again. Incidentally, I do a good bit of outside euro zone transactions so that extra 1% built into the exchange rate would probably have cost me in the long run. I'll be sticking with my Irish card issuer!


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## eggerb (11 Aug 2006)

Just checked my accounts. I transferred to Tesco using BoIs Banking 365 online and it was credited to the Tesco account within three days. Maybe you should take up these delays with your bank? I seem to transfer to an Irish sort code 900973 and an eight digit account number and quote the last 12 digits of my credit card number as the reference. I think it was BoIs Banking 365 who gave me this info. I definitely didn't have delays of 10 days.


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## miju (11 Aug 2006)

ye should have stayed with AIB


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## GreatDane (11 Aug 2006)

* Do a few searches on this site, there have been many many rants before now on this crowd.

* Simply put, the clubcard points are a bonus, but you need a lot of them to justify the terrible Customer Service etc

* I had problems with them losing my lodgements in times past & eventually sent a letter of complaint to the Ombudsman - who gave me a contact to write to at Tesco, making referance to the office of the Ombudsman - guess what, my dosh was quickly found & compensation offered ! .... stand up for yourself & don't be afraid to complain if they are not threating you right (same goes for every other financial institution btw)

Cheers

G>


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## microsquid (14 Aug 2006)

Paul5, just wondering how you were able to check that transaction from the Tesco side?


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## eggerb (14 Aug 2006)

The money I transferred, I was able to check recent transactions by calling their automated customer services number 1800 555743. There's an option in there somewhere for recent transactions. Getting through to the automated service seems to be hit and miss. Sometimes, it just puts you on hold and you've to wait for an operator. In that case, just hang up and call back. I did this, this morning and got straight through to the automated service. Incidentally, they have refunded me the bank charges and the cost of posting them the registered letter. That was on Friday, so I'm assuming there's a letter of apology in the post. Given the amount of time I've spent on their fiasco, I think even a €10 voucher as a gesture wouldn't go amiss. It'll be interesting to see if there is anything in the letter. I'm not holding my breath!


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## Silver2 (20 Apr 2009)

GLAZER FC- Does Tesco increase the limit on a 2month basis if requested. I always thought it was every 6 months like Ulster Bank.


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## mcmenad (13 Jun 2009)

I don't have any input regarding Tesco cc however I do know that your laser card will work in US at ATM's.


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## homebird (16 Jun 2009)

We also left AIB to go to Tesco Visa. The 2 main disadvantages are the fall in credit limit by €5000... (not missed so much in these belt-tightening times).

Not being able to check our purchases/balance online, however, is a pain - especially if purchasing online.


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