will this stop me getting credit?

Hax

Flyboy152 wrote: »

If it was a zero per cent tarrif, it most certainly would be better for them.

The poster I quoted was implying that their misunderstanding and early payment of the monthly statement was beneficial for the bank.

It only becomes beneficial to the bank if they rescind APR offers and/or add charges. For the bank to simply accept the monthly payment early without penalty is not beneficial - they want their customers to be in debt for as long as possible so that they can profit from them as much as possible.

Flyboy152

Hax wrote: »

The poster I quoted was implying that their misunderstanding and early payment of the monthly statement was beneficial for the bank.

It only becomes beneficial to the bank if they rescind APR offers and/or add charges. For the bank to simply accept the monthly payment early without penalty is not beneficial - they want their customers to be in debt for as long as possible so that they can profit from them as much as possible.

The point I was making was, if the bank are not charging any interest, the sooner they get their money back, the better it is for them. Your assertion was that the longer the customer had the money, the more they might pay in intertest, thereby benefiting the bank. I was merely pointing out that that would not always be the case.

Hax

Flyboy152 wrote: »

The point I was making was, if the bank are not charging any interest, the sooner they get their money back, the better it is for them. Your assertion was that the longer the customer had the money, the more they might pay in intertest, thereby benefiting the bank. I was merely pointing out that that would not always be the case.

This is still only beneficial to the bank if the customer is going to repay the debt in full by the end of the 0% period.

Otherwise, it's more beneficial to them for the customer to carry a larger balance after the 0% period has finished.

topcat9

I guess I'm wondering why, if Egg are only interested in getting as much interest and as many late charges as they can out of me, and if my argument was so ineffective and inaccurate, I managed to get a late charge refund, a cleaned-up credit record (surely far better than having to add a note of correction) and a lovely phone-call from Egg to explain what they had done and check I was happy with it?

You are absolutely right though, Hax, if someone didn't appreciate that I was suggesting a gentle, good-humoured letter, acknowledging to Egg that it was a little bit cheeky to ask but asking anyway; if they instead wrote a heavy-handed diatribe demanding that Egg be grateful for an early payment, then I guess they would go wrong. Hopefully no-one would.

Hax

topcat9 wrote: »

I guess I'm wondering why, if Egg are only interested in getting as much interest and as many late charges as they can out of me, and if my argument was so ineffective and inaccurate, I managed to get a late charge refund, a cleaned-up credit record (surely far better than having to add a note of correction) and a lovely phone-call from Egg to explain what they had done and check I was happy with it?

I'm not disputing that your approach is effective. You had the correction made and the refund made out of "goodwill" (as companies seem to call it these days - regardless of where the "fault" lies!).

If Egg had refused your request, then there would have been a high chance of you leaving them. Then, they would have lost any chance of making more money out of you. Keeping you happy increases the chances of you remaining with them and the chance for them to make (more) money out of you.

It is always better to eat a slice of humble pie and acknowledge the mistake - a much more effective approach than a full-on rant whilst trying to shift the "blame" elsewhere.

zaffi

cheers for the replies guys, I'm feeling a bit better about my chances now.

new question, the balance on the card is now zero. it was ~£1500 when i paid early. should i close the account or leave it open? or will it make no difference?

Flyboy152

It's always handy having access to credit in an emergency.

nomoneytoday

A single late payment, on its own, should have a minimal impact.
Within a few months it will read 0000010000 anyway

zaffi

should i hold off applying for anything for a bit then? was looking to move my current account to first direct for the £100 switching bonus.

Flyboy152

There is no harm in trying, it is unlikely to have much of an affect on applying for a bank account. If you can demonstrate that your current is usually in good order, it probably won't matter.