Credit Card due date for payment

Squire_Fulwood

I just got my monthly credit card statement. It is my habit to pay the whole thing up every month to avoid charges. However, I got my first ever charge of £12 this month.

Looking at the statement to discover why I am £12 poorer I find that the Due Date has moved forward by more than a week. This means that if I wait until pay day before I pay the bill then I will get another £12 penalty this month also. I shall pay two bills out of this month’s pay packet.

I am not saying that they never told me about this, they may well have done. In fact I am going to go through the laundry basket filing system to see how long ago they told me. It might be quite some time ago since I don’t remember it.

The point about posting this story on here is to remind all of you to check your Due Date in case this has become the new ploy for catching people out and claiming charges. It’s a good one. If I did receive a letter then I was properly notified and I was genuinely late in payment so legally incurred a charge. They have got me.

I have no idea why they should change the Due Date though.

Moggles_2

Thanks, Squire Fulwood, for posting this warning.

Which credit card is involved? I ask because one of MBNA's favourite tricks is to bring the payment due date forward a day or two. Unsurprisingly, notice of this change will be embedded somewhere in the small-print leaflet which accompanies the previous statement.

dizzy_blonde_2

Oooh, I'll keep an eye open for that one, thanks for the warning!

Squire_Fulwood

It was MBNA from Alliance and Leicester.

SarahNeedle1872

Could u set up a DD for the whole balance to be paid each month? I know it won't help now, but would in the future...

Sarah x

Squire_Fulwood

As you say, it won't help now and anyway I am very selective as to who gets a DD. I prefer them when it is a fixed amount every month so that the firm concerned doesn't have to think. If you make them think then they make mistakes.

Having said that. I am against making a DD for a fixed amount when it involves a monthly plan. This is because utility companies like monthly plans and they never think at all.

sicker

Why don't you give them a ring and ask them to consider reversing the £12. If you clear your card in time each month they should be able to see this and refund the charge (if you blame them nicely because of their change of due by date0. It's worth a phone call.
I'm with A&L and my due to be paid by dates have not altered in the last 6 months.

John

Squire_Fulwood

You are correct, it is worth a phone call but I would like to, first, make some effort to see if I have received notification.

The reason for this is that the £12 is not the issue here. The issue is flaky practises and I need to know exactly how flaky this one is before I start phoning. In short, if I find a letter notifying me of this change I will be a lot more greasy on the phone.

MABLE

Squire_Fulwood wrote: »

As you say, it won't help now and anyway I am very selective as to who gets a DD. I prefer them when it is a fixed amount every month so that the firm concerned doesn't have to think. If you make them think then they make mistakes.

Having said that. I am against making a DD for a fixed amount when it involves a monthly plan. This is because utility companies like monthly plans and they never think at all.

I have never heard anything so stupid. "I am very selective as to who gets a DD. I prefer them when it is a fixed" You only have yourself to blame and through your total stupidity you have a late charge.

saxmund

I have noticed this as well: Abbey MBNA did write to me telling me they would be bringing the payment due date and statement date forward. The statement date moved from 12th to the 9th which meant that rather than make a payment around 4th-6th the earlier payment due date means I now have to sometimes make a payment before the end of the previous month - which is a pain. However, last month when the 9th was a Saturday they didn't issue my statement until Tuesday 12th thus including two payments I assumed I would have another month to pay. On the other hand, I today (Sunday) got a Tesco CC statement dated yesterday so they can do it...

My Amex Blue seems to have unannounced started giving me a payment due date a few days early which I nearly didn't notice on a couple of occasions, however they credit your account the same day if paid online which saved me on both occasions.

In general, the gap between payment due dates and statement dates seems to be getting longer. My new Tesco CC has a payment date of the 23rd and a statement date on the 7th - two weeks later.

sicker

Guess what. I have just recieved by post a letter from A&L advising me that-

'From 3 September 2007 your payment date will change. Please check your September statement carefully for details........................

Wonder if they'll put the date futher back in the month.
On a call to them nobody could explain the need for this, or anything about this change.
I seem to remember them doing this to me a few years ago and it involved me having to make 2 payments from one months salary. Furtunately in my case now it will make very little diference but I suspect it may catch a few people out

John