RBS Late charges - change of policy

sdmitch

I'm one of those frugal people who always pays off my credit card bill in full on the statement due date. I always pay by Switch.

I've just received my statement from RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) and although I paid in full last month on the due date, they charged me a £20 late payment fee.

I queried this charge with customer services who said they are now enforcing the policy that payment must reach the account on the due - payment by Switch or Delta on the due date can take an extra 1-2 days to reach the account - thereffore classified as late.

I complained and they've removed the charge as a guesture of goodwill, but just this time.

For those of you who pay on the due date, you now need to change the date when you pay or you'll get hit with late charges.

This coming from a bank that made £8 Billion+ last year - as if that wasn't enough!

jonesMUFCforever

What does it say on the back of your statement about payments?

sdmitch

"We reserve the right to charge you a handling fee of £20 for late payments or for exceeding you credit limit"

In the past they have treated a Switch payment as being received on the date the payment is initiated, now they only acknowledge it on the date it is received - usually a couple of days later - even though the payment is verified at the time of initiation, and the funds are instantly frozen from my bank account.

None of the wording on the statement has changed, they just started using their "right" to charge a late fee.

jonesMUFCforever

You have three choices - Accept what they say is true (and they have refunded the fee) and make provision to pay earlier from your next statement - or - pay the bill in full by direct debit from your bank account - or - tear the card up and transfer the balance to a new card provider.