MBNA (AA) credit card sleight of hand

prowla

So when is the close date for the statement?

I didn't propose the system that you are saying there - all I said was that I expected when I made an early payment it should be included in the upcoming month's statement.

If I want to give them my money before they've asked for it, then they should be happy that they have it to play with.

prowla

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Is this what you're looking for?...

Yes - so one month there is a "the date by which you must make the payment", and likewise the next month has its "the date by which you must make the payment".

But what it should say is that "We will show the amount you have to pay, and the dates between which you must make the payment".

The "from" date is the day after the date the statement was issued, and the "by" date is the one before the due date.

As an example, I had a statement dated the 8th and I made a payment on the 8th, but it was not recognized as being that month's.

(BTW, I'm getting a "Service Temporarily Unavailable" error from "Apache Server at youraccount.mbna.co.uk Port 80" when I try and login.)

thegoodman

prowla wrote: »

So when is the close date for the statement?

I didn't propose the system that you are saying there - all I said was that I expected when I made an early payment it should be included in the upcoming month's statement.

The close statement date is every 30 days then you have 15-20 days to make the payment without charges eg statement dated 1st of May, you need to make the payment by 18th of May without charges, the next statement will be 1st of June etc.
With your system the statement need to be made every 15 days and then 15 days to make the payment.
The extra payment is included in the upcoming statement as long as the current statement is fully paid.

YorkshireBoy

prowla wrote: »

But what it should say is that "We will show the amount you have to pay, the dates from and by which you must make the payment".

That would unnecessarily overcomplicate things.

In a nutshell:

You get a statement
It tells you when you must make a payment by

Rinse and repeat for the next month

It's really easy...isn't it? You seem to be the only one on this thread who doesn't think so. That should tell you something.

(BTW, I'm getting a "Service Temporarily Unavailable" error from "Apache Server at youraccount.mbna.co.uk Port 80" when I try and login.)

Go to the MBNA site.
Click an apply link for any of their cards.
Then, on the first application page, click "terms and conditions" at the top right of the screen.

prowla

thegoodman wrote: »

The close statement date is every 30 days then you have 15-20 days to make the payment without charges eg statement dated 1st of May, you need to make the payment by 18th of May without charges, the next statement will be 1st of June etc.
With your system the statement need to be made every 15 days and then 15 days to make the payment.
The extra payment is included in the upcoming statement as long as the current statement is fully paid.

I didn't say that at all.

What I said was that if the due date is the 28th of each month then payments after that date (excluding arrears) should be put towards the next month's.

The "smart" people would pay as late as possible so that they have the money in their account rather than the CC company's, but if they want to hand it over sooner then the CC company should just say thanks very much for not taking full advantage of the time you could have waited before paying.

What actually happens is that payments between one month's due date and the next month's statement date are treated independently of both, and and not deemed to meet the criteria for payment against a statement.

thegoodman

prowla wrote: »

I didn't say that at all.

What I said was that if the due date is the 28th of each month then payments after that date (excluding arrears) should be put towards the next month's.

The "smart" people would pay as late as possible so that they have the money in their account rather than the CC company's, but if they want to hand it over sooner then the CC company should just say thanks very much for not taking full advantage of the time you could have waited before paying.

What actually happens is that payments between one month's due date and the next month's statement date are treated independently of both, and and not deemed to meet the criteria for payment against a statement.

Wrong again. The payment made after the due date are still allocated to the current statement. However you would have paid the charges since you have passed the due date.
You are also wrong about smart people would pay as late as possible see eg below
Your statement date 1st of May, due by date 20th. You made the payment on 2nd of May, a day after the statement. 1day credit
After the 1st first month the number of days you get the free credit stay the same.
Next month statement date 1st of June, you made the payment on 2. This give you 30 day credit. If you have been making the payments on 20th still you will get 30 days.

The smart people make payments early to avoid charges not late.

It seem you don't know how credit product works. If I was you I will spend some time understanding them as the mistake can cost you a lot of £.

chris-j

Oh please give it up.
Your statement is produced each month and gives a date around 15 days later by which time you are expected to make your minimum payment
Anything you choose to pay before or after this date but prior to your next statement being generated will appear on your next statement as payments made since previous statement.
This has worked without problem for years and nearly everybody gets it - you are in a tiny minority here and you will soon be argueing with yourself.

prowla

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Go to the MBNA site.
Click an apply link for any of their cards.
Then, on the first application page, click "terms and conditions" at the top right of the screen.

Thanks.

It says:

• "We will show the amount you have to pay, the date by which you must make the payment and how you can pay, on your statement.",
• "You must pay at least the minimum payment each month and this must reach your account by the payment due date.",
• "We will choose your payment due date and show it on your statement. At any time you can also repay all or part of your outstanding balance."

It distinctly says that you must pay by the due date each month, and so logic would suggest that the definition of "month" means the time from one due date to the next.

I see nothing that covers jumping the gun and paying early in a given "month" - do you? In fact, the T&Cs also state:

• "You have the right to repay the credit early at any time in full or partially.",

But they don't add "but your payments won't count towards your next statement".

thegoodman

prowla wrote: »

Thanks.

It says:

• "We will show the amount you have to pay, the date by which you must make the payment and how you can pay, on your statement.",
• "You must pay at least the minimum payment each month and this must reach your account by the payment due date.",
• "We will choose your payment due date and show it on your statement. At any time you can also repay all or part of your outstanding balance."

It distinctly says that you must pay by the due date each month, and so logic would suggest that the definition of "month" means the time from one due date to the next.

I see nothing that covers jumping the gun and paying early in a given "month" - do you? In fact, the T&Cs also state:

• "You have the right to repay the credit early at any time in full or partially.",

But they don't add "but your payments won't count towards your next statement".

It seem you don't know how credit product works. If I was you I will spend some time understanding them as the mistake can cost you a lot of £.

prowla

thegoodman wrote: »

Wrong again. The payment made after the due date are still allocated to the current statement. However you would have paid the charges since you have passed the due date.
You are also wrong about smart people would pay as late as possible see eg below
Your statement date 1st of May, due by date 20th. You made the payment on 2nd of May, a day after the statement. 1day credit
After th 1st first month the number of days you get the free credit stay the same.
Next month statement date 1st of June, you made the payment on 2. This give you 30 day credit. If you have been making the payments on 20th still you will get 30 days.

The smart people make payments early to avoid charges not late.

It seem you don't know how credit product works. If I was you I will spend some time understanding them as the mistake can cost you a lot of £.

Let's clarify again - I am not talking about making up an overdue payment, but instead about making an additional early payment.

As far as the "late" thing goes, I meant the smart way is to pay as short a time as possible before the due by date; that maximises your interest free period and avoids charges. Actually I do this with my main card(s) and pay the amount in full each month on the due by date, but I simply took my eye of the ball with this one and got caught out and was surprised to see how they allocate the payments.

You are wrong about the interest free period though; in your May/June example:

• Statement date 1st May, due by date 20th. That statement includes purchases up to, eg. April 25th. So if I pay on the 2nd then I have 1 week's credit on those most recent items, whereas if I pay on the 19th I have 3+ week's credit.
• Assuming I go on purchasing items, then the pattern repeats just the same the next month, with the statement including items from April 26th to May 25th, and so paying on the 2nd would again give 1 week's credit for those recent items wheras paying on the 19th would give 3+ weeks credit.

So, paying earlier is simply surrendering some of your interest free entitlement.

thegoodman wrote: »

It seem you don't know how credit product works. If I was you I will spend some time understanding them as the mistake can cost you a lot of £.

It seems to me that the T&Cs are not precise in their wording and don't cover the situation, and so cannot be understood.

They do not say when a "month" closes, and they do not cover making payments within a given month before that month's statement has been issued.

Or can you point me to the exact place where they do cover the circumstance?