Last day to buy Hilton Honors points with a bonus

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• Ralph says:

  8 Jun8 June 10:56

  I just contacted Tesco re Curve problem. They are clearly getting a lot of calls as they have a pre-prepared response, saying that they sent a Notice of Variation and that Curve is a ‘virtual card’ so attracts the cash advance fee and interest from the transaction date. I have raised a complaint on the basis that Curve does not fall in to any of the categories in their variation and is certainly not what is usually defined as a virtual card. It is clear however, even if they are wrong now and have to redraft their terms, that they will effectively stop Curve being recharged to TB cards by applying a punitive fee. They seem incredibly adamant about this. As I’m only complaining about 83p I think they would have refunded me to make it go away, but I am much more concerned about future transactions. I managed to pay £17k to HMRC in May before reaching Curve monthly limit, but have more to do…

  It all seems fairly terminal for Curve as other cards will follow if they haven’t already. A very sad day!

  • Len says:

    8 Jun8 June 11:28

    Curve is now moving me to their debit card from their pre-paid card, which should not incur cash advance fees. However they do say that Tesco Bank has told some of their customers the debit card version will still be subject to fees and that Curve is in discussion with Tesco Bank about this. Meanwhile I have used Curve’s Go Back in History feature to move all my transactions from June 1 onwards to another card. Curve said it would be down to Tesco Bank whether or not they refunded the fees they have charged.

    • Ralph says:

      8 Jun8 June 12:44

      I have the new Curve debit card and it did attract the fee on a small transaction I did this week. They insist that Curve is a ‘virtual’ card which is one thing it isn’t. I have written to CEO of Tesco Bank. I doubt it will do anything; at best they will reword their terms which may give a few months while they notify people. Very disappointing; I have found the Curve card really useful even post Amex debacle.

    • Geoff says:

      8 Jun8 June 13:07

      The Curve debit card is certainly subject to the new ‘cash transaction’ charges from Tesco on all transactions, not just cash..

• imbruce says:

  8 Jun8 June 12:16

  I used the curve card in Gothenburg last month and it was good for all transactions,
  as soon as the transaction posted it gave the sterling conversion amount which is very handy as Gothenburg is very expensive.
  If you plan to travel there be aware that they have virtually gone cashless, cards is the only way to pay for your transactions expect for a small ice cream stand in the park that only excepts cash.
  Cabs have an IZetlle machine too.

  • Genghis says:

    8 Jun8 June 12:38

    I find having an instant £££ amount is useful when I need to do my work expenses quickly the following day.

• Peter Wilson says:

  8 Jun8 June 13:25

  I have today found a £30 cash advance fee added to my Tesco account for 3 transactions added yesterday. Tesco are adamant that it is a cash advance and that they will not reimburse me. I have e mailed Curve but still awaiting a response. Really disappointed re this, I will complain to Tesco if this doesn’t get sorted but I fear it will fall on deaf ears as today’s conversation with them did.

• David says:

  8 Jun8 June 18:22

  Another irritated soon-to-be ex-Tesco cardholder… Made payments resulting in almost £200 of “cash advance” charges using my Curve Debit card. Tesco insist it is a prepaid card or a virtual card – clearly it is neither. I have made my formal complaint to them and will follow it through. Also upset to find that my Plan B – the time-travel option with Curve – is only for amounts under £1000. I hope everyone follows the Curve advice and logs their complaints with Tesco. Good job there are plenty of card companies to choose from!

• the real harry1 says:

  8 Jun8 June 19:42

  So how do you answer this point that Tesco makes:

  ‘PayPal is an online payment service provider, acting as a payment intermediary for direct purchases for goods or services. This is why no fees will be applied when using PayPal unless the merchant processing the payment makes us aware that the funds are being used as cash transaction, such as a wire transfer or investment transaction.
  Curve, as a payment service, operates in the same way as a prepaid card, requesting funds to be pulled into their account before being transferred to the merchant or withdrawn via ATM. As this money can then be used in any way, such as making a cash withdrawal or gambling, we have made the decision to treat this type of transaction as a cash transaction.’

  It’s true, as far as I can see. You can use Curve to get cash on Tesco card out of ATMs & earn the Tesco clubcard points —> cash advance, no goods have been bought. You can pay HMRC on your Tesco credit card – that’s also a cash advance scenario.

  • the real harry1 says:

    8 Jun8 June 20:00

    Obvs there are many scenarios where using Curve —> Tesco wouldn’t be a cash advance, ie you are using the facility for real purchases of goods or services. But why, in that case, wouldn’t you just use the Tesco card itself with no need for Curve as intermediary?

    I have a fair bit of sympathy for Tesco card services here, they are just protecting Tesco’s interests.

    • Will Squires says:

      9 Jun9 June 11:34

      In that case, just decline Curve transactions – don’t impose fees with zero notice, which you then refuse to remove even if the “cash transaction” is refunded (which isn’t normally something you can do with a cash transaction, I might add…).

  • David says:

    10 Jun10 June 10:29

    And identify the cards they are targeting beforehand with reasons and examples, so that we all work with transparency and can make an informed choice. If MasterCard define this as a debit card, and I have a physical card in my possession, why would I read Tesco’s statement re applying cash advance rates to prepaid and virtual cards as applying to my very real MasterCard debit card?

    The issue is that Tesco has applied a new, arbitrary definition and is now scrambling to justify it after the event.

    I am confident that MasterCard and the regulator will eventually push Tesco into another reversal. And that is the conversation I will be having with them tomorrow.

• Chris says:

  11 Jun11 June 11:23

  I think this issue is impacting debit cards also. Obviously to a lesser extent but I’m no longer getting Clubcard points on Curve transactions… i guess this is because they’re now “cash”.

• Jeff says:

  13 Jun13 June 17:40

  Tesco has posted re Curve on its ‘Your Community’ site and is now “pausing” the cash advance fees being charged for using Curve while they review the matter. They are refunding the fees charged to date. They have probably been quite surprised by the volume of complaints. Unfortunately, now the issue has been highlighted, I imagine they will find suitable wording in their T&Cs to stop transactions before too long.

  • the real harry1 says:

    13 Jun13 June 18:10

    Looks like the complaints campaign worked, though – some people here will get quite a few quid refunded

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