Accepted for a Vanquis credit Card

[obiter dictum]

Had these lovely people send me an application through the post. Never really interested in a credit card but i filled it in anyway. On friday i receeived a text message to phone a number with a reference number. The lady who answered said she was from the applications dept at Vanquish. After confirming a few things she stated the credit card will be with me in 7-10 days.

 

Looking into this now i see that Vanquish (Provident)

are a doorstep loan company with very high APR ETC. What are the positive and negatives on using this card. Will it be better i just cut the card in half when i receive it. To be honest i am more than happy with my own bank debit card

[renegadeimp]

Yea. I would cut it up and cancel it asap. I guess it depends if you really need it and can afford it.

[citizenB]

You just need to look round the forum to see the problems people have with this company.

 

IMHO, they are no different to a PDL albeit a revolving one.

[obiter dictum]

Thanks for the response people, i think i will just cut the card in half when i receive it

[renegadeimp]

Make sure you advise the cc company that you are cancelling the account

[obiter dictum]

Received the card in the post today with a £250 initial credit limit, they do say it will be increased after 4 months if i am a good boy. Well that will never happen.

 

I have put the card through my own personal shredder

 

I might be tempted, but not stupid after some of the Vanquish horror stories on this site

[obiter dictum]

I see what you mean by these sharks. I telephoned them up and said thanks, no thanks and that i had put the card through the shredder. They only tried to get me to sign up to some sort of protection racket. Some sort of credit builder for £1.90 a month. Said i can take a payment holiday, freeze repayments etc Does not sound much but that against 39.9% APR . It smelt of some sort of PPI swindle and as people have stated. It is nothing more than a rolling payday loan con. Stay well clear

[obiter dictum]

Does anyone know this transaction that appears on a Vanquish Statement

 

BILLED DEFERRED FINANCE CHARGES £4.41

 

This seems to be in addition to the normal APR, IS THIS ONE OF THESE HIDDEN CHARGES??

[*RainbowTears*]

Hi Cap,

 

Ive had Credit cards (not Vanquish though) for years & that charge is one I ain't seen before, so no idea what it's meant to mean.

 

So yes it could be a hidden charge, but why have they sent you a statement as you cut the card up.

 

I had a quick peek about & this info I found on an old thread on here. As this OP also had the same issue in 2011.

 

RogerMeard

 

I have worked out what the BILLED DEFERRED charge is, Vanquis have increased my interesticon charge without telling me from 40% which would be around £80 a month on my current balance which is what i expected to 59% and they are charging me interest at 40% then adding the shortfall as billed deferred charge to make it up to 59%.

 

Now i have NOT recieved written notification of an interest rate change on my account so i haven't had a chance to decline it in the 60 day period.

 

 

I hope this helps!

[obiter dictum]

I decided to use it in the end as to my credit rating approval rating needed improving. In the last 6 months i have never spent more than £30 a month and have settled each month in full. My £250 credit limit has been increased to £500

 

I did a social experiment last month and left a balance of £10 to see what interest i would be paying. The APR is nowhere on any of my statements and i never had a clue, so i decided to give them a call. I have had the card six months and the APR is an eye watering

 

59.9 %

 

That is criminal and no better than payday loan sharking

[mikeymack2002]

You were warned to stay away but alas you didn't pay it up get rid of it asap its the best advice you will get

[renegadeimp]

Welcome to vanquis. You can't say we didn't warn you.

[Old Cogger]

warning IGNORED get rid of it pay it off and send back in little pieces straight away, point out no longer required.

[obiter dictum]

Just updating

 

 

I have been using the vanquish card and never spent more than £30.00 a month and always settled each month in full.

 

 

It has now been 12 months and I have just received an email. They have increased my credit limit from £500 to £1250.00

 

 

Trouble is the interest rate is still 59.9%

 

 

I shall continue using it at a rate of £30.00 per month and settle each month due to the positive markers on my credit file, but it is easy to fall into the trap if you have limited self control.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Its no different to any other card if used properly and carefully. You spend, you pay, it increases your credit score.

Cant say I know what the random little charge was for, but if you are confident that you can cope with it, its a good way to start rebuilding your credit score.

They can be devious though, so just be careful with them. I spent about 8000 on a credit in a month for a single saved purchase that I wanted the credit card protection on. Paid it off two days later from cash savings. They rang up with some bull**** story about having to hold funds for 60 days for fraud checks before they could clear the account balance. They tried everything they could to stop me paying the bill in full that month.

A credit card is good if you use it within your means and limits.

[renegadeimp]

Thats a cheek. 60% interest and they upped your limit to spend more? Very irresponsible lending there.

[Old Cogger]

you can send a letter stating that you will not accept rate increase and send the card in pieces back to them, they have to revert to old rate until account is clear, your CRA file if you keep payment correct or clear will not be affected, then go for another more reliable lender, it will/ no doubt backfire on you as millions o others eventually when events overtake a situation, that is Provident for you!

[obiter dictum]

I have also one of those Cashplus prepaid MasterCard. I just top that up when I have a bit of spare cash and use that if I ever need to make a future larger purchase. I am only using money saved that way rather than the Vanquish card

[Old Cogger]

Cash + charge a flat £15.00 per month regardless of balance, they reckon after a few months an increase in limit if no problem with records of repayment, strange no problem all on time = no increase, in fact limit balance already re-paid yet very little off balance in all this time, been trying to find an equivalent APR and unable to find one, so as bad as payday loans almost or the old Provident excess interest rates.

[obiter dictum]

Just a quick update

 

Well i have been using this Vanquish card now since may last year. Credit limit currently stands at £1250.00.

 

I have been paying it off each month as i only use it for the weekly shop so pay no interest. Using this card with the Cash-plus pre-paid MasterCard does give you financial freedom.

 

One Complaint though:

 

I now have a clear credit record, no defaults etc. The current APR with Vanquish stands at 59.9%

 

I phone them up and ask for them to lower the APR as i am now free to apply for main stream credit cards, not sub prime and that i would like to stay with Vanquish. The response was the computer decides that with no manual intervention.

 

Two days later i get an Email saying my credit limit has been increased from £1250.00 to £3500.00

 

Me thinks i will now apply for a Barclaycard and give a 28 day written notification to terminate my vanquish agreement

 

I have no doubt the Vanquish card is ideal for those with less than a perfect credit history as the positive credit markers get you back into main stream credit lending. You have to have great self control though. As soon as you pay less than the outstanding balance each month you are stuck in a never ending cycle due to the high interest rate.

 

My honest advice would be to avoid, it has taken me 6 years to get to this point of financial freedom so why put that at risk?

 

One positive note i have to say with Vanquish. They are provident and offer further financial services. Last year i got into difficulty with Satsuma loans, another Provident/Vanquish company. They allowed me to make weekly payments at a rate i could realistic afford. They stated they would not default me with the credit agencies as long as i kept to the arrangement so they are not all bad.

 

So the moral of the story is if you get into financial difficulty always speak to the lender at the earliest opportunity