The Saga

Coming soon to a multiplex near you...

I don't think I've mentioned this on here before, but I've been having a hell of a time with my new Egg Credit Card. Basically, they've been making a total hash of setting up the standing order that takes money out of my account.

Egg is one of those entirely online outfits - apart from the card and the t's and c's that came with it they've never sent me anything via post. Now if you have a credit card you'll know that they generally operate by sending you a statement in the post which has all your transactions and stuff and tells you what the minimum payment is, etc, etc.

Now egg does do statements, but you access them online and that's it. But what they also do is set up a direct debit with your bank account and then they'll take out either the minimum or a fixed amount, or whatever.

The reason I got the card, by the way, was because of my financial difficulties a while back - I transferred a balance to them in order to take advantage of an interest free period.

However, when I first set up the account there seems to have been some problem with my account numbers - I happened to phone them about something else and the numbers they mentioned were totally different to what they should have been. Now, I'm perfectly willing to hold my hand up and say that might have been my fault. I don't really see how, as the numbers were totally random, but okay, maybe it was me.

So, we re-did the details and they had another go.

Then the saga really started - when the next month came round I got this nasty e-mail from them saying the direct debit had failed. I went and checked various things and, while the money hadn't come out, according to the listings they had set up the DD. It's just somehow they'd failed to do it properly, I guess.

So I phoned them up again and we went through it all again, giving them exactly the same info. Then I did a manual cash transfer again to cover the late payment.

And guess what?

Same thing next month.

Nasty e-mail. I phone them up yet again. Go through all the exact same details yet again. I manually transfer money yet again.

Finally, it looks like (*fingers crossed*) it's worked.

This catalogue of balls up is hardly a glowing reference and as soon as the interest free period is over I'm seriously considering transferring the balance out.