After 42 days and 6 attempts/requests/staff intervention for a replacement card.
Adequate compensation given and points added for “lost” shopping.
Still be wary though of 0% offers, read the t and c’s carefully and avoid a secondary issue I encountered.
If you have to similar interests rates runnng on the card JL deduct your payments from the oldest first.
Eg, I took out an introductory 0% 18 month balance transfer and then made purchases using the 9 month 0% deal for new customers. It was only when I started making payments to them that I noticed only the longer 18 month deal balance was falling. On reading the conditions, I soon found out why.
LESSON: do not take out a balance transfer as a new customer and then shop with the card, also on the same interest rate. My 18 month deal, has effectively become on 9 months now, if I wish to avoid charges, lucky I didn’t take out anything near the maximum balance transfer my credit limit would allow.
John Lewis have been very underhand in my opinion even offering this combined deal, without any warning of the consequences of using the card, firstly to transfer a balance and then shop with the card.
If I had say, transferred £5000, on the 18 month deal, then shopped another £4000, on the 9 month deal, I would be expecting, as I made payments into the account, for the shopping spend to fall first as it was on a lesser “time” deal. Instead, to avoid any charges, I would have needed to repay the full £9000 in 9 months!!! as the balance transfer is the “older” and therefore takes your payments first.
What a con, regardless in the t and c’s!!!!!!!!!!!
Reviewed on: 26th February 2018
What a shambles of a company!
Do not apply for this card if (a) you might loose your card, (b) have an apostrophe in your name, and (c) want to take advantage of the 0% balance transfer deal and use the card for purchases using an introductory 0% deal.
I lost my card, it is now 6 weeks later and still no replacement. Their system has been unable to work out how to send out a replacement because it does not recognise “apostrophes”. Many, many calls and promises that the fault has now been understood and overcome, but still no card. How I got the original card I do not know.
I took advantage of a 0% 18 month balance transfer deal and then made purchases using the introductory 0% 9 month on purchases deal. I had not understood how the deals sat with each other until I discovered that if you have similar interest rates, then the older one gets paid off first. So as I made monthly payments, only the older balance transfer total was being reduced.
John Lewis have been deducting credits from the 18 month deal first, as I took this out first. Therefore in practice, as soon as I made a purchase my 18 month deal fell to 9 months. My fault for not reading the t and c’s fully, but who does. They should make this situation much clearer.
I took a £1000 balance transfer and then spent £1500 on the card, meaning now I have to pay off the full amount in 9 months, if I wish to avoid any charges. What a total con! Lucky I didn’t take a larger balance transfer.
PS : It is now 40 days, and still no new card, no one in this company seems to know what they are doing.
Reviewed on: 19th February 2018
