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Tesco Clubcard Credit Card
by lyndsey1989
My Mum has had a Tesco credit card for as long as I can remember. When my best friend applied for one and got accepted I thought I would give it a go too. Therefore, I went to the Tesco website and clicked through to the credit card page to have a look at what was on offer.
==What do Tesco offer and how can I ... apply?==
The Tesco Clubcard credit card offers 0% finance for 15 months, it also offers 0% on balance transfers (there is a 2.9% fee). There is no annual fee and you can use it in place of your regular clubcard in Tescos. You will get double the clubcard points when buying Tesco fuel and you will also earn extra clubcard points on purchases made elsewhere (1 point for every £4 spent). After the 0% period the card is 16.9% APR typical.
Applying for the card is really simple, you just fill in a simple form online and there is an instant decision made. Both me and my partner have applied online for these cards and both have been accepted, however we do have different credit limits due to us having different incomes.
==Using the card==
The card arrived very quickly by post and you have a choice of two designs - a blue one or a silver one with strawberries on. The card is a mastercard so therefore is accepted everywhere.
Just like any other credit card you get a pin and then this is what you use to purchase items with the card when shopping in store. When shopping online you are asked to set up a password like you are with many debit cards so this is added security.
The card is simple to use and I have never had any problems with it.
==Online banking==
I have used the online facilities for this card since day one and find it a brilliant way of keeping track of my finances. On the website you can check your balance, look at what has been spent, make payments, change personal details, request balance transfers and also request a change in credit limit.
==Paying the bill==
Each month, Tesco send a detailed card statement via post. I like this facility as it allows me to check through what has been spent on my card and also reminds me to pay the bill! However, if you would rather not have paper bills you can choose not to have them.
There are many different ways you can pay the bill such as by post with a cheque or postal order, on the phone or online. I always pay mine online as I find this easiest. Paying online takes about 4 working days to clear the payment.
==Minimum Payments==
I find minimum payments reasonable. I almost always pay my bill off in full at the end of each month as I dont want to end up in a lot of debt that I cannot pay back. For a bill of around £200 the minimum payment is £10 each month.
==Customer Services==
I haven't had a great deal to do with customer services as I have never had any problems with my card. However, I found the staff polite and helpful when I called to activate my card.
My parents on the other hand have had to deal with customer services. When they went on holiday a few years ago, Tesco noticed a number of odd payments on their account and tried ringing them to discuss it. However, as my parents were away they did not receive the phone calls! Despite this, there was a letter as soon as they got home advising them to ring Tesco. It turned out my parents had been the victim of credit card fraud and Tesco were brilliant at spotting this immediately. They refunded all the money that had been spent and dealt with the problem quickly and with ease.
==Would I recommend the card?==
As you can probably tell from my review I think Tesco credit cards are worth looking in to. They are quick and easy to apply for, easy to use and customer services are brilliant. The online facilities are great and I imagine I will be keeping my card for some time to come.
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Barclaycard
by Mr. Davis
BarclayCard are OK. They have their moments like everyone else I suppose but they seem far more stable than other credit card companies I've used who are CONSTANTLY changing terms and conditions so you haven't a clue how to administer your account. I'm convinced some companies do this hoping you will pay late, not notice some important ... small print (my eyes are fine but one credit card company sends documents with fonts and print that is unreadable to my eyes .... maybe I need glasses)
I am writing this review now since my BarclayCard internet access has become pretty much unusable for the last 4 days or so (June 5th to 9th 2011). I put a value on my time and if I have to use a lot of time administering small payments, the card starts to look very expensive for me to run. I haven't had more than about £550 owing on the card for years but, since I work mostly abroad, I am stuck with administering my BarclayCard account online and, to cut a long story short, my BarclayCard will be dormant until the web access improves or until I actually get around to finding another card.
BarclayCard recently re-designed their web site. I had a look at my pages and saw no bills due and logged off. Next time I spoke to my great but elderly Mum in the UK she was worried. BarclayCard had been on the phone and were supposedly chasing me for a tiny amount of money.
I am now convinced the web site has been re-designed to make it more difficult for you to see what actions you need to take so BarclayCard can add late payment fees when they don't get their money and having the web site down at critical periods, or not behaving also means more late payments. Even if you get your late payment refunded after complaining the web site didn't work, it still took YOUR expensive time to fix the problem.
I have received no reply to my complaints to BarclayCard unless they reply to complaints emailed from abroad by sending letters to your home address.
While I'm at dooyoo I should see who DOES provide good credit card services. Co-op?
As one of the best known brands, are BarclayCard holders more susceptible to phishing scams"
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Tesco Clubcard Credit Card
by GPuddleduck
I no longer have this credit card but I have no problems to report during the time that I did have it.
I took out this credit card in February 2010 basically because I was getting married and needed a little extra boost of finance. Tesco Clubcard Credit Card was offering 0% interest for 15 months, which was perfect for what ... we needed. By having the 15 months free of interest it allowed us a little extra money and plenty of time to pay it back in. I honestly can't remember the percentage of interest we would have had to pay after the 15 months had expired but I believe it was about 16% or 17%.
I don't remember this card being difficult to obtain and I was given a £2300 credit limit. This was all done online and approved really quickly. Payments were simple - everything could be done online, so it was nice and convenient. The website was easy to navigate, easy to use and it was also a speedy website to use. I didn't spend very much time waiting for pages to load.
Another added bonus to getting this card was the clubcard points that you get when you spend with it. You get 1 point for every £4 you spend anywhere, not just at Tesco! This was a real added bonus because we mainly used the credit card to pay for wedding related products - flowers, outfits etc...
I did not have any problems with this card and I would seriously consider getting another one in the future. I only contacted Customer Services once to tell them of my change of name. They requested an approved copy of my marriage certificate, which I sent, but nothing changed. I expected a new card to be sent with my new name - but it didn't. Having said this I had no problems making payments and using the card. I just cancelled the card at the end of the 0% interest period.
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