Virgin Money credit card -
terms and conditions

I'm busy applying for a Virgin Money credit card and decided to plough my way through the terms and conditions (here's a copy I downloaded on the 20th April 2008), and contrast them to Kulula credit card's terms and conditions.

	Kulula credit card	Virgin Money credit card
Parties involved	FirstRand Bank Limited Comair Limited, trading as kulula.com	ABSA Bank Limited ABSA Life Limited Virgin Money South Africa
Contact details	Includes contact details of their Global Travel Insurance Desk.	Includes contact details for Virgin Money, National Credit Regulator, National Consumer Tribunal, Ombudsman for Banks and the Trans Union Credit Bureau.
Definitions	at end of document	at start of document (my preference)
Sign card	"sign the back of it in ink"	"sign it with a ballpoint pen"
Interest free (except cash withdrawals and fuel purchases)	"if you pay the .. full outstanding amount ... on or before the due date... no interest will be charged"	"We may decide not to charge interest" if outstanding balances are paid on their due dates. (I wonder why Virgin chose to use the word "may")
Disputes	Within 30 days of statement date you may dispute items in writing.	Must advise in writing.
Liability if card is stolen	Provided you were not negligent in looking after your credit card and reporting it lost/stolen, you are protected against unauthorised use of the credit card (except for PIN transactions).	Liable for use of credit card prior to notification of Virgin Money. You remain liable for transactions using the PIN after notification unless you prove that the PIN was not obtained through your own intent or negligence.
Garage card	No garage card.	You may apply for a "Virgin Money Car Card", and payments using this garage card will be treated as cash transactions.

Virgin Money Credit Card terms and conditions

Clause 3.4 crucially states that in the event of a conflict between the Quotation and the terms and conditions, the provisions of the Quotation shall prevail.

Principal Debt

Every purchase of services or goods and every cash withdrawal forms part of the principal debt.

Financial services

If you use the Virgin Money Credit Card for financial services not related to the credit cacility you will be debited with transaction fees at the standard rate (these transaction fees are added to the principal debt). Examples of financial services transactions are cash deposits and cash withdrawals.

Changes to the agreement

Clause 15.1 and 15.2 seem to contradict each other:

15.1 No addition to, variation, renewal or agreed cancellation of any provision of this agreement shall be binding upon the parties unless reduced to writing and signed (or initialled in the case of modifications on this document) by or on behalf of us by an authorised official and yourself.
15.2 Unless otherwise provided herein or in the Act, we will give you at least five business days’ written notice of a change of this Agreement and will set out particulars of such change in the written notice.

Administration charges on default

If you default on any obligations you are liable for administration charges arising from letters which Virgin Money writes to you in terms of the Act (these charges include not only the expenses of delivering the letter, but also costs equal to the cost of sending a registered letter of demand in an undefended action in terms of the Magistrate's Court Act).

Card Life Plan Insurance policy

The Card Life Plan Insurance (which seems to be optional) policy provides benefits on permanent disability or death; with the benefit under the policy being equal to the outstanding balance on the date of the disability or death event. Card Life Plan Insurance policies are not available to those over 69. They define permanent disability as the permanent loss of both hands, both feet, both eyes; or the loss of your own job and any job in keeping with your education, training, abilities or experience. Absa Life Limited underwrites the policy and Virgin Money is the intermediary (and receives 20% of the gross premium on the Card Life Plan Insurance Policy, as commission).

Latest version of terms and conditions

This document represents my views, which may of course be wrong. To see the official Kulula and Virgin Money credit card terms and conditions, go to their respective websites.