late payment fee

rj_uk

I have just received my statement from Nationwide (Select) and it has a late payment charge for £12.

I was certain I had made a payment as I have a standing order for £25 (the minimum payment) and it was listed on the statement as received. I looked back at my statement last month and as I had gone beyond £2500 the minimum payment went to 1% instead of the lesser £25 it has been past months. Therefore I should have paid the greater value of £27.10.

I have contacted Nationwide via email but wondering if I have a leg to stand on in revoking this. Its in the paper work but charging £12 for a £2.10 missed payment (assuming also marking my credit file) seems a bit extreme.

StuC75

Unfortunately Standing Orders are completely the payers responsibility.. and when it comes to short payment 1p is the same as £100 in there eyes - its all applied by the computer.

really should have setup a direct debit to ensure the minimum is dealt with.. That 'might be' the best angle to go at with the card provider in a very apologetic manner of 'didnt realise' / could they as a good will gesture - if the account has been held a while and havent dont this before and the call handler is sympathetic...

opinions4u

You don't have a leg to stand on.

But a call to apologise for your error and to ask nicely for a refund may save you the £12.

rj_uk

Oh dear... I will try and see how nice they are feeling. Have been with them a while and first time anything like this has happened. Fingers crossed!

really should have setup a direct debit to ensure the minimum is dealt with.

I'm not a fan of direct debits as they seem to differ on what date they leave the account. In years gone by when I was not so diligent with my funds they often bounced incurring charges left, right & centre. Hence I like standing orders for peace of mind. Unfortunately I now realise they are not fool proof.

Just changed the standing order to 1% of the credit limit which is £30 so should always be covered in future.

jonesMUFCforever

rj_uk wrote: »

Oh dear... I will try and see how nice they are feeling. Have been with them a while and first time anything like this has happened. Fingers crossed!



I'm not a fan of direct debits as they seem to differ on what date they leave the account. In years gone by when I was not so diligent with my funds they often bounced incurring charges left, right & centre. Hence I like standing orders for peace of mind. Unfortunately I now realise they are not fool proof.

Just changed the standing order to 1% of the credit limit which is £30 so should always be covered in future.

Can you not afford a little more every month? Minimum payments can take many years to clear - regular overpayments could slash the time it takes to clear.

scottishblondie

rj_uk wrote: »

I'm not a fan of direct debits as they seem to differ on what date they leave the account. In years gone by when I was not so diligent with my funds they often bounced incurring charges left, right & centre. Hence I like standing orders for peace of mind. Unfortunately I now realise they are not fool proof.

Something else to watch out for - the due date can move around over time (which is why the DD date moves), so every month you need to make sure that your SO will fall between the statement date and the due date.

geekonthepc

I've always believed that if you must pay the minimum payment, do it via direct debit to save the hassle of incorrect payment amounts. Otherwise, as already said, try and pay a little more to speed up your repayments.

That aside, if it's a first time mistake, most CC companies will give back the £12 upon request. Call them up, humbly apologise, and ask for a one time exception. Try to avoid it happening again.

YorkshireBoy

I think everyone, but particularly the OP, is missing the root cause here...which is a failure to check the statement?

No system is foolproof, be it SO, DD, or manual transfer by FP, if you don't read what they send you...particularly:

1. How much, and
2. When.

OP, if you have a 0% promotion still on the card (and you must have to be maxed out and only paying the minimum?) I think you'll have lost that too, so you might want to verify with them when you call...rather than wait for the statement, which is how they'll notify you (see what I mean about reading it?).

chattychappy

Don't think DDs help. People get into trouble with those too.

I doubt whether this £12 "penalty" is legally enforceable. Regardless of written T+Cs, penalties must be a fair reflection of the cost incurred as a result of the breach. If Nationwide wish to charge £12 for a £2.10 shortfall, then they must be able to objectively justify this.

Bear in mind that years ago, it was common to charge £20 or £25 as a penalty. They were in the T+Cs and no doubt people here were saying at the time there was nothing you could do about them. Then some bright spark (a law student I believe) spotted that such blanket charges were unenforceable and the OFT took up the case. The said that they would presume that a charge greater than £12 would be unlawful (to the extent they would intervene) but specifically said that no particular amount would automatically be lawful. It would depend on circumstances (and ultimately be up to a court to decide). Despite this, £12 has become a defacto standard.

Nobody is suggesting that the OP should go to court of this one. But I would ask them nicely to refund it suggesting that it is entirely disproportionate in the circumstances. If they refuse (and you can be bothered) I would follow up with a letter challenging them to justify the charge by reference to the costs they have incurred.

Thrugelmir

chattychappy wrote: »

I doubt whether this £12 "penalty" is legally enforceable. Regardless of written T+Cs, penalties must be a fair reflection of the cost incurred as a result of the breach. If Nationwide wish to charge £12 for a £2.10 shortfall, then they must be able to objectively justify this.

Wouldn't be hard for NW to substantiate a £12 charge in terms of the cost of running their operation.

brown1950

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Wouldn't be hard for NW to substantiate a £12 charge in terms of the cost of running their operation.

In practice yes not difficult to substantiate but in reality i have not seen one
credit card company substantiate this fee ! Why ?