Minimum Payments

Locana

Hi...

Ok, so I've just read that you should try and pay above your minimum payment amount so you are not 'marked' as a minimum payer... All my direct debits are set up to take minimum, if I dont have DD's I will forget to pay my bills, and will have late payments on my credit record.. Do they do DD's with another amount, or is it minimum or full payments only? How can I get around this if thats the case?

Pls advise!

L

laney85

Why not just leave your dd as it is to ensure no missed payments and pay with your debit card whatever you feel you have extra to your card/s online ?

Degenerate

laney85 wrote: »

Why not just leave your dd as it is to ensure no missed payments and pay with your debit card whatever you feel you have extra to your card/s online ?

This can work, but you have to be careful to understand your card provider's DD policy:

- Some will take the minimum regardless of any extra payments, so your extra is added on top.

- Some will take the difference between the extra payment and the minimum, so if your extra payment was less than the minimum you end up still paying just the minimum that month.

- Some will cancel that month's debit altogether, so if you made an extra payment that was less than the minimum, you end up in default that month.

You also need to consider timing, as the above effects only happen if you make the payment far enough ahead for their systems to pick it up and adjust.