Paying Balance in Full

Milarky

A couple of observations:

IF you receive refunds/credits etc before any statement is raised this establishes a lower - or nil - or postive - statement balance and so have to be taken into account by Cap One et al

NOT all credit cards work the same of course. I had a 'Peoples Bank' [No, nothing to do with Michael Howard!] card - since taken over by Citibank. I bought an item from Argos - then got the statement - then got a refund from Argos and bought something different on the credit card. However, the direct debit [for the full statement balance] took a reduced amount [the minimum payment as it happens] even though I now had goods to the same value for an extra month 'interest free'. This was becuase they regarded the refund as a 'payment'. It was all down to how they treated the transaction which, in this case, was a refund of purchase - but a purchase already debited to the account when the statement had been produced.

Charges are different again. One way to think about them is if they are refunded then you are still expected to pay the orignal statement balance to avoid interest. If a 'cashback' is awarded after a statement has been produced, for instance, you still have to pay the full balance [including the value of the cashback] in the case of at least one card I use - Smile - to gain the interest-free purchases.

serpico

You have to watch them, they are up to every little dodge.

I have an MBNA card with an £18K limit which has built up from an initial £2k 11 years ago.

I religiously pay it off every month and always have done. I always send off a cheque first class 10 days in advance, some months ago I genuinely overlooked signing the cheque.

I received the cheque back with a letter dated two days after final payment was due and postmarked the day before, knowing that there would be a £25 none payment penalty and interest slapped on I got straight on the phone to them.

I did not grovel or plead, I just went straight into the attack asking why would they would hold an unsigned cheque for eleven days before returning it and was it there official policy to wait until the due date of payment was past before returning it to deliberately incur charges.

I explained there was adequate time for them to return the cheque and for me to sign it and get it back before the deadline and even it was a bit tight when I had received it back I could have phoned and made payment by debit card.

When they got the message that if there was going to be any late payment and interest charge they immediately agreed that there had never been a late payment in the eleven years I had held the card and to accept immediate payment for the balance due by Debit card and to wave all charges.

These people do not want to lose your business, they are spending millions to get new business, if they are up to no good kick and scream until you get any wrongs put right.

johnllew

I religiously pay it off every month and always have done. I always send off a cheque first class 10 days in advance.

If that's the case, then why not pay it by direct debit? It won't bounce for the lack of a signature, you'll never forget to pay, you'll save yourself postage and you'll keep the money in your account earning interest until the last day.