MBNA credit card changed to AvantCard

Mrs Vimes said:
Knuttell, I think you should call them and look for the rate to be changed back.
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I checked back over old statements and the rate changed in Aug 2012,rang Avant who pretty much told me that MBNA moved all interest rates upwards at that time and I would have gotten a letter.

Asked to speak to the loyalty dept but was told that no rates will be reviewed until at least the end of the year and told me to ring them back then.The attitude was bordering on "yeah whateva...whatcha gonna do about it matey"
 
Just had a look to see if the next bill has been issued, as they definitely seem to be a week earlier than MBNA always were. In addition to the finance charge (18.57), there is also a deferred finance charge (0.13). I assume I won't get through to them on a Sunday so in the meantime, does anyone know what that would be?
 
Right so, in answer to my own question just in case anyone else is wondering. After a twenty-minute phonecall I managed to get an answer (all the while very aware of the fact that I was spending far more on the phone call that the 13 cent interest charge I was querying, don't worry).

First off, the guy tried to tell me that the finance charge was the amount of interest levied on my balance from the date the statement was printed until the date a payment was received and that the deferred finance charge was the amount of interest levied during the period from the payment being received until the next statement is printed. Which made absolutely no sense. After trying to pull up multiple other screens (because their new system is not as efficient as the old MBNA one, apparently) he left me on hold while he went off to query something.

When he came back, he told me that the deferred finance charge was the interest on the 23.99 I had charged during the month of April. As I hadn't cleared the full balance at the end of April, interest is then levied on the new charges from the day they were incurred (that's the deferred finance charge) as well as, obviously, on the outstanding balance (that's the finance charge). I haven't seen this before as I don't use that card anymore and it was an accidental paypal transaction that had gone through (because I hadn't used paypal for a long time and forgot that that card was still linked to there). So that's it. He said that the reason for the finance charges to be split up was greater transparency. Still can't wait for this card to be cleared so I can just close the account entirely. Four months and counting!
 
My Avant Visa credit card was refused twice recently, although I am in good standing - I suspect a fault on the magnetic strip - and I am unable to contact Avant.
I have spent too much time on the phone going around the 'Press 1 for this and 2 for that' but there is no option to get a person to answer or to deal with my problem.
Their website has no contact details other than the phone.
In the end I got out the oul fountain pen and ink and wrote to the address on the card. No reply yet.
Where can I get a non-Avant Visa credit card? Would Tesco be okay?
 
Gaothfar said:
Where can I get a non-Avant Visa credit card? Would Tesco be okay?
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I have a Tesco card. They have no online facility for a customer to view statements, check transactions, but you can do this over the phone with a freephone number. The card is the same as any credit card as far as purchasing anything in a retailer, over the phone, online etc.
 
To be fair, I haven't had any problem getting through to Avant during their opening hours.

I do wish the support was 24/7 as it was under MBNA as I travel quite a bit, but otherwise I haven't encountered any major issues since the transition.

(As a side, the complaints about Avant being terrible and missing MBNA do make me smile, considering in it's day MBNA was pretty much higher up on the heirarchy of evil than Satan himself around these parts :D)
 
Thanks for the replies. No on-line facility from Tesco would be a problem. I'll ring Avant tomorrow and give it one last shot - and report back tomorrow night (don't wait up as I may be late).
 
Hi,
just my tuppence worth,Avant seem to be ok now,any problems i had were sorted out over the phone and online they have quite a good site. one thing though a few days ago i tried to increase my credit limit just to see if i could,(i have a rather large one since the days they used to up it as a matter of form)..i got a letter back basically saying i should see a doctor!!!
Its good to see a bit a reality returning i suppose.


Pat
 
I called Avant again today and spent 15 minutes going around in circles without success. It is not possible to request a replacement card from them without first reporting that your card is stolen or lost (which it isn't).
The most frustrating thing about their phone service is that you must key in your card number, date of birth and mother's name then get put through to another electronic voice that requests the same information. Finally you end up in a dead end without any option to return to the main menu.
I gave up and applied for a Tesco Visa card today.
 
Mbna/Avant; Their service is in a mess.
Do not ring them. Put your query in writing,keep a copy , ask them to acknowledge your letter.

Otherwise you will be phone-head WRECKED.

If you DO phone and get sorted , take a bow !
 
I received a reply from Avant today to my complaint that I can't contact them by phone or email. It is a nice letter, looks personal and includes a copy of their 'Customer Commitment'. It gave me a new phone number that I can call.

I did and was answered in Spanish by a machine. I could press 'uno' for this and 'dos' for the other thing and then my school Spanish ran out.

All I want to do is tell them that there is a glitch on my card - not lost, not stolen - just an eensy weensy flaw in the metalic strip that makes it useless.

I can't wait for my Tesco Visa card so I will be free of these incompetent time-wasters.
 
do you use their on-line banking?

Click on "My Card" and "Card Replacement" and guess what happens 7/10 days later??.... you get a new card....
I did this a few weeks ago and had my new card in a few days.
Probably quicker than you will get a new one from Tesco...
 
Thank you JJ. I have just gone on-line and done that.
Now that you've shown me, I can't imagine how I missed it before.
All that blood, sweat and tears... It looks so obvious now but I just couldn't see that.
I will await the post with interest.
Thanks again.
 
Crap customer service and now another 2% rate hike .... what a joke !

As soon as I get time, I'm moving to another provider, so I can continue to have a back up to my first choice card (Danske Mastercard - Platinum, in conjunction with their Prestige A/c).
 
Letter of Avant today informing me of a further 2% rate rise on the card,somewhere between the jigs an additional 1% was also added,my rate having checked it recently was 14.9% (which was on foot of another sneaky rise)they are now telling me its 15.9% going up to 17.9%.
 
Knuttell said:
Letter of Avant today informing me of a further 2% rate rise on the card,somewhere between the jigs an additional 1% was also added,my rate having checked it recently was 14.9% (which was on foot of another sneaky rise)they are now telling me its 15.9% going up to 17.9%.
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No surpise there. There are very few cards below 17% these days. And Avant are hardly in the market to chase new customers
 
Still no sign of my replacement card from Avant (10 days now) though they did send me that letter telling me that their charges are going up.
 
Today I got a letter from AvantCard in reply to my request for a replacement of September 11th. It says "our investigations are taking longer than anticipated" and they will reply by October 31st. All I wanted was a replacement card on an account that is in good standing.

Also today, my new Tesco Visa card arrived. So problem solved. I will keep you all posted (I know its fascinating) if I ever hear any more from AvantCard. I wonder if they've gone out of business...
 
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