Credit card charges

katalinetball

Hi
New to this so please bear with me!! Can anyone give me some advice on this:

I took out a credit card and did a Balance Transfer from another card. I was buying on this card also and every month paid off my purchases and something towards the Balance Transfer. I discovered that I was being charged interest each month on my purchases even though I paid them off at the end of the month. When I complained 2 different advisers apologised and said they did not understand why I had been charged and refunded the charges. When it happened a third time I asked to speak to a supervisor who told me that I was being charged interest because I was making purchases and although I cleared them I still had a balance on my account due to the Balance Transfer and by law all credit cards had to charge interest.

Since then I have discovered there is a difference on having interest free Balance Transfers and interest free purchases and have accepted I have made a mistake. I thought that since I cleared purchases at the end of the month no interest would be charged, so I decided that I would not make any more purchases on this card, but this month I have been charged interest again even though I have not purchased anything.

Could anyone explain this to me before I go on and make a fool of myself again with the credit card company!!!
Hope this isn't too long winded and somebody can help me.

Thanks

YorkshireBoy

Unless you clear the entire statement balance on the card, and have cleared the previous statement in full, you'll always be charged a small amount of residual interest on your purchases.

It's how all credit cards operate. You were lucky the first twice.

In future, keep your purchases and BTs on separate cards...unless the 0% durations are the same.

If you say which card you have someone will point out the relevant condition in the T&Cs.

CLAPTON

interest is charged on the purchases as you don't pay off the full balance each month

obviously by law all CC companies do not HAVE to charge interest but if it's in their T&Cs then they can do so.

even when you hav paid off the purchases, there will be a small amount of interest the following month, which represents the interest between the previous statement date and the date you actually paid. (this is often referred to as trailing interest.

katalinetball

Yorkshire Boy and Clapton thank you very much for your replies it just goes to show you really should read T&C's. it is great to have this site though to get some good advice. Thanks again

chattychappy

katalinetball wrote: »

you really should read T&C's

Others have fallen into exactly the same trap when mixing purchases + BTs. Easy to get used to the idea that if you pay your purchases in full there is no interest, and then forget the detail of this "concession" when taking out a BT (when you're more focussed on the rules of the BT).