Credit card rip off!!!

bettyanne6

Hi all-I have a number af credit cards which I've not used for at least 3 years as I'm trying to pay them all off-I've always paid my Halifax card on time and by at least the minimum payment so was dismayed to get a £12 over limit fee on today's statement!!!! I've had a number of letters from different card companies reducing my limits-not a problem as I'm reducing the debt anyway!!!! How can a company reduce the limit to less than the outstanding balance and then charge me !!!! I rang the Halifax immediatley -I was £6 over the new limit-and the guy said the £12 would be refunded on the next statement-what a rip off though!!!! How many other people has this happened to and they might not have noticed!!!!!

td_007

bettyanne6 wrote: »

I rang the Halifax immediatley -I was £6 over the new limit-and the guy said the £12 would be refunded on the next statement-what a rip off though!!!! How many other people has this happened to and they might not have noticed!!!!!

If people do not notice what is on their statement then it is THEIR fault. In this case I think it simply was some sort of error rather than a deliberate attempt to get £12 off you.

The reason I say this is because we have had cases where the credit limit has been reduced to the outstanding balance if a large payment was made or the the limit lowered if the card was not used. What you mention is definitely illegal and no card company can defend it.

YorkshireBoy

td_007 wrote: »

What you mention is definitely illegal and no card company can defend it.

I don't know about illegal; it just looks like sloppy system programming to me.

They should allow some headroom, ie the new limit should be at least 3-5% above the current balance when that balance is interest bearing at (up to) 2.5% per month.

If it isn't, it's obvious to anyone that as soon as the next statement is produced there will be problems.

I'd be making a formal complaint, and hoping it wasn't resolved to I could take it to the FOS. Chances are though that Halifax will want to pay some goodwill so it doesn't get that far...especially since they'll also be hit with a £500 case fee if the FOS take it on.

OP, you might want to check your credit reports to see if anything negative has been added. If it has, then ask Halifax to remove it and reimburse you the cost of the reports.

jonesMUFCforever

How can a card issuer agreeing to repay the erroneous charge in any way be a rip off?

ILW

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

How can a card issuer agreeing to repay the erroneous charge in any way be a rip off?

Apparantly everything is a rip off.

lisyloo

How can a card issuer agreeing to repay the erroneous charge in any way be a rip off?

Becuase not everyone is able and articulate enough to be able to manage the errors byt a professional organisation.
It's good that they refunded it.

But I do have to wonder how much of it is cynical.
I know my 81 year old MIL who is hard of hearing and doesn't see well, would probably pay the charge.
It shouldn't be down to the individuals to spot and pick up the mistakes of professional organisations.
But I have to say I'm somewhat cynical. Not necessarily in this particular instance but in general I think some of it is done cynically because not everyone is capable of reclaiming it.

~Brock~

ILW wrote: »

Apparantly everything is a rip off.

You know there are still some lenders out there who seem to think that what they lend should be paid back......with......wait for it......interest!! Can you believe it? What a rip off!! That is soooooo last century.

(not a dig at the OP btw)

Sponge

Reducing your limit to below your balance, computer mistake or not, then charging a penalty is out of line and I'd take them to the cleaners. :money:
The scarey thought is how often this happens without people noticing. There will be many on this forum that think that's fine and such victims are fair game, but it doesn't detract from the fact the financial institution should know/do better, they're the professionals afterall. But then again, as some here would have you believe, it's ok for them to make mistakes, but not the consumer. :rolleyes:

td_007

Sponge wrote: »

Reducing your limit to below your balance, computer mistake or not, then charging a penalty is out of line and I'd take them to the cleaners.

In this wired era, the computer kicks in with penalty fees etc based on how it is programmed - you do not have humans sitting there going through each item line by line and making decisions. In this particular instance this is most likely the case and the card company have agreed to pay back. Ofcourse, you can push them to see if they will compensate you for the additional stress, time etc. I would fully support that.

Sponge wrote: »

The scarey thought is how often this happens without people noticing. There will be many on this forum that think that's fine and such victims are fair game, but it doesn't detract from the fact the financial institution should know/do better, they're the professionals afterall. But then again, as some here would have you believe, it's ok for them to make mistakes, but not the consumer. :rolleyes:

People have to take responsibility and be on top of their game and keep a close eye on what appears on their statements. There is no excuse for companies to provide complicated calculations and statements (as in case of utility bills or trailing interests etc.), but then if the customer does understand it what stops them for asking?

msmorrisonspeaks

Pay off your credit card debt. It's usually the debt with the most interest. So pay it off first. Better yet, don't accumulate it in the first place.
Also, pay all credit card balances in full each month. Leaving a balance on a credit card account will leave you susceptible to a very high APR. You may as well be throwing cash into the fireplace.
~Deb

ILW

lisyloo wrote: »

Becuase not everyone is able and articulate enough to be able to manage the errors byt a professional organisation.
It's good that they refunded it.

But I do have to wonder how much of it is cynical.
I know my 81 year old MIL who is hard of hearing and doesn't see well, would probably pay the charge.
It shouldn't be down to the individuals to spot and pick up the mistakes of professional organisations.
But I have to say I'm somewhat cynical. Not necessarily in this particular instance but in general I think some of it is done cynically because not everyone is capable of reclaiming it.

Should a person who is unable to understand a statement be using a credit card?