Making sure I don't pay any interest to Capital one; advice please!

Hairymonster

Hi,

I am a discharged BR and a lot of previous stuff has recently fallen off my credit file due to passing the 6 year mark.

With this I have been lucky enough to open up a full Barclays current account and as I am wanting to rebuild my credit file I have just been accepted for a capital one credit card(with 34.9% APR)

As I am looking to rebuild my credit file I am only going to be buying petrol and food on this each month and pay off straight away as soon as I get paid.

I am worried about interest being applied to my account and want to know the best way of going about avoiding interest? Am I best just setting up a direct debit for the full amount to come out of my account each month? Can you set a payment date for this with Capital one?

If I pay by debit card does it matter how long after the statement date that I pay? Like say my statement comes in on 2nd of July but I don't pay the full amount until the 28th of July when my wage comes in- does that matter or does it need to be as soon as I receive?

What if one month I have money problems so can only pay half the balance, but then all other months I pay in full; would that mean I am always going to be paying interest because one month I didn't pay in full?

sorry I know it's a lot but I am trying to be better with money nowadays and don't want to leave anything I don't understand.

bigadaj

Set up a direct debit either for minimum or full repayment. You Just give them a call they post out the form and you complete. some people don't like this because they argue it is automatic and you aren't in control but if you check your statements and raise queries for any unknown transaction there shouldn't be a problem.

The statement will detail the date for payment,this is the last date though so it's a good idea to pay a couple of days before, if direct debit for full amount is specified they take this automatically.

If you don't pay the full balance then you pay interest on the full amount, if you pay the full balance on the following month then you pay some trail interest, full balance for the month after that and interest stops again.

chanz4

Capital one give long periods of time to pay, don't set a dd up, but as soon as your paid pay in full online.

Hairymonster

chanz4 wrote: »

Capital one give long periods of time to pay, don't set a dd up, but as soon as your paid pay in full online.

It does say 56 days so I was thinking that if I just pay every time I have been paid then it will be fine but didn't want to make some mistake- that's probably the easiest way- Thanks

Voyager2002

chanz4 wrote: »

Capital one give long periods of time to pay, don't set a dd up, but as soon as your paid pay in full online.

Dangerous advice.

The statement gives the date by which your payment must reach them (and remember that it takes a few days to get there: if you make payment just the day before the due date you are already in trouble). It is not exactly 56 days but varies for a range of complicated reasons.

The direct debit is the best route, because so long as there is enough money in your bank account to pay it then if anything goes wrong it is their fault and so you don't face any charges. Do remember that it takes more than a month to set one up, so you will have to make the first one or two payments manually.

Hairymonster

I think I am going to go down the manual route with debit card when I get paid; If i get paid on the 28th each month I would want maybe 14 days to pay it after this; so plenty of time for any hiccups can be overcome. When should I have my statement date?

izools

As advised above this is not a good idea.

Your billing cycle might be such that this doesn't fall within the statement period. Also the due date is subject to change by a few days either way so one month you're paying the bill on time, the next month you're late.

The only way to be absolutely sure that your bill is paid in full and on time every time is to set up a direct debit for the full payment each month and leave enough of a float in your bank account to cover what you're spending on your credit card at all times.

Otherwise you'll end up getting charged one day. Just have a look at the thread on this forum titled "Charged for paying too early" to see the folly of paying on payday

papalimabravo

Hairymonster wrote: »

I think I am going to go down the manual route with debit card when I get paid; If i get paid on the 28th each month I would want maybe 14 days to pay it after this; so plenty of time for any hiccups can be overcome. When should I have my statement date?

Give Customer Services as call. They should be able to help you choose a statement date the results in a suitable payment date for you.

Hairymonster

Ok thanks for all replies; I will change my mind to full amount direct debit and set it up for 1st or 2nd of the month so not long after payday. Glad I started this thread

simax

I have several cards and just pay them straight away when the statement arrives. Don't see what the fuss is with setting up a dd? It's not needed. Just pay when the bill arrives.

Simples.

Looksguywalker

simax wrote: »

I have several cards and just pay them straight away when the statement arrives. Don't see what the fuss is with setting up a dd? It's not needed. Just pay when the bill arrives.

Simples.

If a statement doesn't arrive for whatever reason or you are on holiday having a Direct Debit set up saves you any grief.

Simpler.