Barclaycard grumble

engelsepiet

I am reminded monthly by Barclaycard that a payment is due in x days. Apart from the fact that the reminder is sent out around a week in advance, which is a little too early in my view, I am happy to receive this reminder.

However, it also states that if I pay online I must allow three working days for this to appear on my account. Yet when I make an online payment, This is immediately reflected on my bank account, with my available overdraft reduced to reflect this payment even though it has yet to show up in the Paid Out column. So the payment has already been transferred, so why this nonsense of three days?

DrSyn

Then why do you not pay by direct debit? They wil not need to send you a reminder and you both will be happy.

Consumerist

It's probably that BACS payments can still take up to three days to transfer. So this is just a worst-case scenario. It might also take Barclaycard some time to record the transaction (so it appears) on the account even though it has received the funds. The account should still record the transaction as being on the date funds were received.

engelsepiet

DrSyn wrote: »

Then why do you not pay by direct debit? They wil not need to send you a reminder and you both will be happy.

Because I want to maximise the interest-free period I enjoy? (I clear the balance owing on the statement every month.

engelsepiet

Consumerist wrote: »

It's probably that BACS payments can still take up to three days to transfer. So this is just a worst-case scenario. It might also take Barclaycard some time to record the transaction (so it appears) on the account even though it has received the funds. The account should still record the transaction as being on the date funds were received.

Good point. I shall check the date the next payment is registered. As for BACS, if they aren't, they really should be using the Faster Payments option!

sharpy2010

engelsepiet wrote: »

Because I want to maximise the interest-free period I enjoy? (I clear the balance owing on the statement every month.

Think of it like this... When you post a letter, it is instantly gone, out of your possession. But it doesn't arrive for a day or two, during which it is in transit, and which you would deem as perfectly acceptable and normal. There is nothing different in sending a payment.

YorkshireBoy

engelsepiet wrote: »

Because I want to maximise the interest-free period I enjoy? (I clear the balance owing on the statement every month.

Then you need to pay by direct debit because that's the only way to eek out the maximum 56 days or whatever interest free period.

brewerdave

sharpy2010 wrote: »

Think of it like this... When you post a letter, it is instantly gone, out of your possession. But it doesn't arrive for a day or two, during which it is in transit, and which you would deem as perfectly acceptable and normal. There is nothing different in sending a payment.

Sorry - don't agree - the banks are transferring funds electronically/instantly nowadays - the old 3 working days was for paper transactions.Its an anachronism - some banks have actually moved with the times - using faster payments my credit card bill is paid within the same working day that the money vanishes from my current account.:T

ERICS_MUM

Not all banks are using faster payments yet. Obviously both the sending and receiving banks need to be signed up.

I have set up a direct debit for the minimum amount and then make an extra separate on/line payment to pay off all or part of the remaining balance on the due date. (The dd is just "belt and braces" as I'm very particular about minimising interest on my cc).

Also it's possible to set up a faster payment to go out on a future date on my Nat West on-line banking service which is useful. I've noticed that my account is debited immediately and the money appears on my credit card statement the next day but is applied for the day before - i.e. the same day it came out of my bank account. This way I don't lose my money for a day.

This might sound a bit OCD but I really do manage my cc so it works for me without costing me money.

dzug1

brewerdave wrote: »

Sorry - don't agree - the banks are transferring funds electronically/instantly nowadays -

An over generalisation - some still use BACS, particularly for larger payments.

izools

engelsepiet wrote: »

I am reminded monthly by Barclaycard that a payment is due in x days. Apart from the fact that the reminder is sent out around a week in advance, which is a little too early in my view, I am happy to receive this reminder.

However, it also states that if I pay online I must allow three working days for this to appear on my account. Yet when I make an online payment, This is immediately reflected on my bank account, with my available overdraft reduced to reflect this payment even though it has yet to show up in the Paid Out column. So the payment has already been transferred, so why this nonsense of three days?

Your available balance is reduced on your current account when Barclaycard "Seek Authorisation".

They check to see whether you have sufficient funds in your account and then reserve these funds.

Barclaycard don't actually get these funds for 2-3 days, when the transaction actually happens, and you see the entry in your current account statement of transactions online.

You can avoid this by sending a faster payment to Barclaycard. This will credit your Barclaycard account the same day (although you don't see this has happened until the next day when you sign into Barclaycard)