£12 fee for £1.49 late payment

fairleee

Hi all,

I was hoping for a little advice - I received a letter a couple of days ago from my credit card provider (Natwest, with whom I also bank) stating that a £12 charge had been applied for an overdue payment. I checked, and the overdue payment was £1.49, due on the 3rd of January, for my statement between 9th November and 7th December. In that statement period, I did make a payment towards the end of the month that cleared the full balance on the card (around £150 or so), including that left over from the previous month's statement. I then made a small purchase on iTunes for £1.49 right at the end of the statement period which I promptly forgot to pay off due to the holiday period. The £1.49, including some extra purchases made over the Christmas week and the late payment fee, which at the time I didn't notice, was paid off in full on the 7th January.

My real beef here is that it is a charge of £12 for a late payment of £1.49, but I'm in a quandary about whether to try and claim the £12 back. I do feel that the charge is unfair - the payment due was only £1.49, and the balance was paid off a couple of days later than it should have been. However, it also seems that the £12 sum is somewhat trivial, and I don't really think I'll have a leg to stand on with Natwest - I did technically break the terms and conditions, and can hardly make a claim of hardship! I was wondering if there are any similar examples where charges for minimal late payments have been successfully recovered, or would I just be wasting my time?

Own_My_Own

fairleee wrote: »

Hi all,

I was hoping for a little advice - I received a letter a couple of days ago from my credit card provider (Natwest, with whom I also bank) stating that a £12 charge had been applied for an overdue payment. I checked, and the overdue payment was £1.49, due on the 3rd of January, for my statement between 9th November and 7th December. In that statement period, I did make a payment towards the end of the month that cleared the full balance on the card (around £150 or so), including that left over from the previous month's statement. I then made a small purchase on iTunes for £1.49 right at the end of the statement period which I promptly forgot to pay off due to the holiday period. The £1.49, including some extra purchases made over the Christmas week and the late payment fee, which at the time I didn't notice, was paid off in full on the 7th January.

My real beef here is that it is a charge of £12 for a late payment of £1.49, but I'm in a quandary about whether to try and claim the £12 back. I do feel that the charge is unfair - the payment due was only £1.49, and the balance was paid off a couple of days later than it should have been. However, it also seems that the £12 sum is somewhat trivial, and I don't really think I'll have a leg to stand on with Natwest - I did technically break the terms and conditions, and can hardly make a claim of hardship! I was wondering if there are any similar examples where charges for minimal late payments have been successfully recovered, or would I just be wasting my time?

If it's the first time it has happened , I would suggest phoning them and asking nicely if they could waiver the charge.

Wywth

With any credit card, you must make at least the minimum payment every month ... and of course on time.

As Own My Own suggests, if this is the first time you have made this mistake, all you can do is ask the card provider nicely if they would consider waiving the charge on this occasion as a gesture of goodwill.

Meadows

fairleee wrote: »

My real beef here is that it is a charge of £12 for a late payment of £1.49

That may be the case but I bet the charges are laid it plainly on your account!

If this is a first time, ask nicely and they may waver them.

safestored4

The charge will have been levied automatically by the bank's computer system and would have been the same whether the late payment was £1.49 or £149. To date there will have no human involvement in the process. As others have said ring them up apologetically and you will almost certainly get them reversed.

YorkshireBoy

With the possibility of a late payment marker on your credit file, £12 should be the least of your worries.

But, yes, if it's your first misdemeanor you'll probably get it back if you approach them apologetically.

Going forward, maybe you should consider paying (at least the minimum) by direct debit? Think of it as insurance! Then again, if you forget when you've made a purchase, and forget to check your statements, you'll probably forget to have the funds ready in your current account to meet the DD...so even that might not work?

dzug1

fairleee wrote: »

My real beef here is that it is a charge of £12 for a late payment of £1.49, ?

The charge is the same whatever the amount