Spent over credit limit.

babyford

Hi everyone.

I have a Halifax credit card with a £2500 limit. I opened the account a year and a half ago and since then, have been making minimum payments only. These payments seemed to have settled at around £30 a month.

In November I spent over the limit by around £20 unknowingly. I was charged a fine and my minimum payment doubled. Having paid off the minimum payment for December and January, I still seem to be over my credit limit and I don't understand why. According to my statement, I am still £-34.70 and must pay a minimum payment of £60 in February.

Is it that the payments I've made, although double the previous amount, still didn't take into account the amount I owe over the limit? How can I resolve this issue? If I pay the mimunum amount for Feb PLUS the amount I am over my balance, will this make things normal again? Will my minimum payments ever go back to £30 or will they be stuck at £60 now?

Any answers or advice would be GREATLY appreciated. This is my first credit card and having never missed a monthly payment or gone over the limit before, I am kicking myself for making such a stupid mistake and am unsure how to resolve it.

Dewi

They may have adjusted your APR due to the over-limit occurrence. Really, it is difficult to tell - you have to call customer services and ask them why.

CLAPTON

Looking at their website it appears that the minimum payment is the interest payable plus fee plus £5 so once you are over the limit this will be too little to get you back below the 2,500 limit.
So yes you need to pay more than the minimum

Without seeing the actual statement or the T&Cs or the APR, fees etc I would suggest you pay at least 120 so you are safely below the limit.

I don't know yourr personal circumstances here but you need to address the reasons you are in this debt.
You need to stop spending on the card at all.
Paying the minimum on a card means it will take you something like 16 years to pay the money off and you will have paid massive amount of interest.

Ritchie74

I'd hazzard a guess that your min payment would be the standard payment rate plus the over limit fee plus the amount over limit. That would only explain the first month with a £60 min payment. Have you continued spending?
Best to check with the bank.

Robert_Sterling

Just pay about £150 and then use your card less to reduce your debt.

southernguy_2

Quote "In November I spent over the limit by around £20 unknowingly".


Why do the credit card companies allow this to happen though

Surely it should be rejected and therefore you would not have gone over the limit

Not having a go at the OP but usually if you try spending more than the limit it rejects the payment

Or is this another way the banks are earning more money
let you go over and then clober you with fees

ElkyElky

southernguy wrote: »

Quote "In November I spent over the limit by around £20 unknowingly".


Why do the credit card companies allow this to happen though

Surely it should be rejected and therefore you would not have gone over the limit

Not having a go at the OP but usually if you try spending more than the limit it rejects the payment

Or is this another way the banks are earning more money
let you go over and then clober you with fees

Credit card companies want us to overspend and exceed our credit limit. They benefit from the charges and have an excuse to raise interest rates.

I'm sure they have the means of declining any transactions that takes a card over its limit but it's a big earner for them.

But when you signed your credit agreement, you signed and agreed to ensuring your balance doesn't exceed the credit limit so ultimately, it's your responsibility.

flyingscotno1

southernguy wrote: »

Quote "In November I spent over the limit by around £20 unknowingly".


Why do the credit card companies allow this to happen though

Surely it should be rejected and therefore you would not have gone over the limit

Could be a floor limit thing, where the money is below the floor limit, or even where the card is used somewhere with no connection (pay at pump/station tickets etc.)

Any

southernguy wrote: »

Quote "In November I spent over the limit by around £20 unknowingly".


Why do the credit card companies allow this to happen though

Surely it should be rejected and therefore you would not have gone over the limit

Let's have a look at it from other perspective

Why do people not know how much did they spend? Why they don't check their balances? They should pick up an item, think of how much they spent already and reject the idea of buying it.

I hate this blame someone else culture. It's you life, your earnings, your spendings, accept the responsibility!!!

Not having a go at the OP, it can happen occasionaly to anyone.

But it's not the bank's fault.

babyford

Thank you all for the replies.

Clapton - I graduate in June and once in full time employment, I will be able to pay off more than the minimum payment each month.

I haven't used the card since November when I spent over the limit and I don't intend to use it in the future.

To others - Although it would be helpful if the bank rejected overlimit payments, I understand their reasons for not doing this and accept full responsibility for not being more up-to-date with my balance. I receive all my statements online and have found on my credit card that it takes a few days for payments to show up. It is just through my own naivety with this being my first credit card that I did not account for this. I won't be making the same mistake again.

I will follow the advice and pay a large amount to cover the min. payment and the amount I have exceeded my limit by.

Thanks.

Robert_Sterling

Any wrote: »

Let's have a look at it from other perspective

Why do people not know how much did they spend? Why they don't check their balances? They should pick up an item, think of how much they spent already and reject the idea of buying it.

I hate this blame someone else culture. It's you life, your earnings, your spendings, accept the responsibility!!!

Not having a go at the OP, it can happen occasionaly to anyone.

But it's not the bank's fault.

Heaven forbid.