I hate MINT credit cards!
Posted by: Marketing Guy Date posted: July 18th, 2008 Published in: Rants n DramaQuick rant about how crap MINT have been with me this year.
I stopped using my MINT card a while back and cancelled the card. Or so I thought. Apparently me cancelling the card but not telling them specifically to cancel the card protection plan means that the annual payment comes off. OK so that’s my fault for not outlining that I would no longer need the card protection plan for the card that I was cancelling….
So that charge goes on the MINT card and a few months pass without me paying it (one of the reasons I cancelled the card is that they tend to go a few months without sending a bill out then send one with loads of charges on it) - the card I haven’t been using for 4 months and thought I cancelled now has a balance of £60 on it. Not that I’m particularlly bothered about £60 here or there, but I do object to paying out money that I shouldn’t be paying out.
So I call up MINT and complain - they take the charges off and cancel the card protection. Fine.
Next month I get a bill for the proection plan again and another late payment charge. I’m getting annoyed now so I call up and rant at the first person I can eventually get through to - the nippy bitch decided to have a go back so we had a nice 20 minute debate over the phone which resulted in me telling them where to go and that I wasn’t paying the charge. 
I think her attitude and raised voice must have made its way back to her supervisor (who she wouldn’t let me speak to at the time) because a few days later I get a call from her department to sort the situation out. You know the type of call centre staff - cute sounding girl in her twenties that kinda comes across that if you do as she says she might put out…well she got the payment from me (minus the charges - which the other less personable member of staff had been adamant they couldn’t remove). OK I’m a sucker but it was taking up too much of my time and frankly for £30 it’s not worth it.
So I made a point of clearing up everything - there would definitely be no more charges on the card - the card was definitely cancelled and they definitely would send me out a letter saying this.
This morning I got another bill through from MINT. Only £1.21 - interest and payment protecton that went on the card a few days after I had cleared the entire balance. I call up, determined not to be quite as beligerant as I was the last time (in fairness the last time I called the overdue payment people - this time was standard customer services) and tried to clear it up. Apparently the nice girl who took my money from me and assured me that was the end of it, failed to mention that the interest and payment protection would be calculated a few days later…
I paid it - £1.21 certainly isn’t worth wasting time over. Let’s see what else I get from them - I’m assured (again) that the card is definitely cancelled, no more payments will be taken on it and I can finally leave MINT forever!
This is an open letter to MINT. Please, please, please let me stop using your service. I want to leave! I’ve been trying to leave for over 6 months now and you just won’t let me. You tell me I can go then when I think I’m safe you come back into my life and take my money. You’re like a horrid ex-girlfriend that just can’t get over my departure! I know, I know - you want me back! But it’s over - just deal with it and move on. You were just far too expensive; too moody; too unpredictable - I need my space. Please, MINT, leave me in peace!
MG
Comments
I understand your frustration, after years of always paying well over my minimum amount, Mint in their wisdom have reduced my credit limit, OK in itself but the revised limit did not allow for the current months interest so if I hadn’t been on the ball I would have gone over, extremely annoying and although probably not illegal certainly unethical.
I get the impression that some kind of lottery takes place when you call them up and you are randomly routed to a department with any contact with the other departments. It seemed that every time I called MINT, they had no records or notes of the previous discussion (which created most of the problems).
IIRC there are fairly tough guidelines in place for financial institutions but to be perfectly honest it’s such a complicated industry you’d probably go mad try to work out what is legal and what isn’t!
I have a Mint Credit Card which has remained dormant for some time. Recently they sent me a promotional offer of 0% on balance transfers and credit card cheques, included were credit card cheques to use in conjunction with the offer. I used a cheque to buy a car for just under £3K resulting in the standard fee (which I accept) and interest of £0.59 (which I do not accept). The forecasted interest for next month (based on a minimum required payment made on the due date, is £1.08.) Double the interest for this month. On speaking with Mint I have discovered that they are charging interest against the fee itself! I cannot believe the cheek of this. On challenging firstly the customer service advisor and then the manager I got nowhere and was told that it was in the terms and conditions - which were sent originally some years ago - and since then I have received their wonderful offer of 0%. Tomorrow I will be contacting the Financial Services Authority who ensure that Credit Card Companies operate fairly and legally. Action can also be taken through The Financial Services Ombudsman (for your information). Avoid this company at all costs unless you like giving away you money to unworthy causes.By the way, I work as a Credit Analyst in the same industry and am fully aware of the structure of fees and charges. This one is new to me!!! You have been warned.
Mint are doing the exact same thing to me right now, i payed it off in full and closed the account (so i thought) in october last year, 6 weeks later they hit me with a bill + carges for the interest they forgot to add on when i closed the account, i was disgruntled but i payed that one. then in july this year they hit me with a bill for card protection just like you. I have asked them to prove that i took the protection out ( im sure i didnt agree to it). Im fighting them, or they will never leave me alone.