My credit card company messed me around. How much compensation am I entitled to?

Q In December 2002 we moved house and I paid off all of our visa cards. Later that month, I checked my current account balance and noticed there was more money in my account than anticipated. I called Morgan Stanley to check whether it had received the ?3,000 owed, and was assured that it had.

Ten months and 10 statements with a balance of zero later, I had a letter stating there has been a systems error and my money had not been paid. After arguing about the matter, I eventually agreed to repay the balance, minus a 20% reduction, over 12 months, interest-free. I requested a direct debit form, which I completed and returned quickly. It was returned to me with a letter stating I had made a mistake with my account number. I hadn't - someone had input the account details incorrectly. I called Morgan Stanley and was assured the problem would be rectified. But a few days later, I received another letter confirming that I had cancelled my direct debit.

Once again, I called Morgan Stanley. This time I was assured I wouldn't incur a late payment fee. Guess what? Not only did the next statement show a late payment fee, but I had also been charged interest. And despite a refund of both charges (after yet more calls from me), I was still charged interest the following month.

I told Morgan Stanley I wanted compensation for the amount of time and stress involved in clearing up this mess, and it eventually offered ?200. But I think I am entitled to more.

CD

It certainly wasn't your fault that Morgan Stanley's systems failed to collect the money you owed the company, nor can you be held to blame for the account administrator who entered your account details incorrectly, thus leading to a false direct debit cancellation, and subsequent charges. These were all errors on Morgan Stanley's part.

So far, in an effort to redress these wrongs, the company has rescinded the bogus late fees and interest charges, written off 20% of your debt and offered you ?200 in compensation.

What this amounts to is a total compensation package of ?800, or 26% of the original debt. I'm not sure you'll be able to get much more than this in compensation, though you could try pursuing a claim through the financial ombudsman.

I agree that Morgan Stanley has seriously bungled your case, and I would certainly recommend you take your credit card business elsewhere, but I don't think you'll see much more cash from this credit card issuer.