Tesco CC payment refused.

bluemeadow

My husband has a Tesco clubcard credit card which he uses to pay bills rent shopping etc, then pays it straight off the credit card by transfer from a bank account to maximise clubcard points. He has been doing this for a couple of years with no problem, until yesterday. After trying to transfer money online with no luck he rang Tesco and was told that he couldnt pay the money off because that would put him in credit despite spending £300 on it yesterday. He explained the way he does things and was told that he can only pay when the payment is due. Does anyone know if Tesco have changed their T&Cs or was the woman on the phone wrong? Surely they cant stop you from paying off what you owe? Any help would be much appreciated x

grumbler

bluemeadow wrote: »

My husband has a Tesco clubcard credit card which he uses to pay bills rent shopping etc, then pays it straight off the credit card by transfer from a bank account to maximise clubcard points.

How does paying 'straight off' (as opposed to paying after the statement is produced) help to maximise the points?

After trying to transfer money online with no luck he rang Tesco and was told that he couldnt pay the money off because that would put him in credit despite spending £300 on it yesterday.

Not all 'spending' gets reported to a CC instantly. In fact retailers have up to 6 months to take the money.

He explained the way he does things and was told that he can only pay when the payment is due.

This is incorrect.

Does anyone know if Tesco have changed their T&Cs or was the woman on the phone wrong? Surely they cant stop you from paying off what you owe? Any help would be much appreciated x

Most likely the T&C do say that you can't put the card in credit. You can pay at any time provided that the payment is not bigger than the current CC balance.

MallyGirl

the transaction may just not have hit the account yet - give it a day or 2

planteria

grumbler wrote: »

How does paying 'straight off' (as opposed to paying after the statement is produced) help to maximise the points?

it won't do. but perhaps more than the credit limit is being spent in some/all months, necessitating a payment during the month?

i would be surprised if there is a real problem here. just ensure you have the right details for payments to your card, and make payments from your current account by faster payment.

bluemeadow

How does paying 'straight off' (as opposed to paying after the statement is produced) help to maximise the points?


Spending on the card gives him points. Maybe maximise was the wrong word but he gains points.


Not all 'spending' gets reported to a CC instantly. In fact retailers have up to 6 months to take the money.


The money was showing up as being paid on his online acc, it usually updates as its spent on this card.


As for the other answers thank you.

grumbler

bluemeadow wrote: »

How does paying 'straight off' (as opposed to paying after the statement is produced) help to maximise the points?


Spending on the card gives him points. Maybe maximise was the wrong word but he gains points.

This doesn't answer the question as it was about paying off, not spending.

That said, I've never heard of a FP failing because it would have put a CC in credit. Most likely the problem was on the other side, not at Tesco's.

nic_santorini

I have this with my new halifax affinity card. It is in the terms and conditions and just means you should wait until the credit card bill comes through. I do the same as you with my tesco clubcard and buy EVERYTHING on it and I use electronic accounting to 'transfer' my money from my current account to my tesco 'holding' account. This is just notional but my electronic accounting programme gives an accurate account of what I really have available to spend. When the bill comes in, all the money is still in the current account and has been 'put aside' so to speak. I never pay interest and earn lots of clubcard points. Hope this helps a little.

SnowTiger

As someone else mentioned, the purchase probably hasn't hit your husband's account yet.

I made a purchase at Tesco last Friday using my Santander 123 credit card. The purchase hasn't hit my account, yet, and isn't even showing as pending.

On a side note, paying off the balance on a credit card after every use probably isn't a good idea. It's likely that his credit report will show the card isn't being used at all. I think lenders like to see a bit of activity.

eskbanker

A poster on this thread about a similar issue suggested that this style of frequent repayment rings alarm bells with Tesco once monthly spend goes beyond 110% of the credit limit: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4943499

Cell

SnowTiger wrote: »

As someone else mentioned, the purchase probably hasn't hit your husband's account yet.

I made a purchase at Tesco last Friday using my Santander 123 credit card. The purchase hasn't hit my account, yet, and isn't even showing as pending.

On a side note, paying off the balance on a credit card after every use probably isn't a good idea. It's likely that his credit report will show the card isn't being used at all. I think lenders like to see a bit of activity.

On Equifax and NODDLE I'm pretty sure it records payments made to account as well as statement balance (where that information is provided by the card issuer in the first place - not all do) . So if you have a nil balance but have paid say £500 in then by derivation you've also used the card to the tune of £500.

I'm not sure how sophisticated the systems that interrogate the reference agencies are and as I said that won't be the case if your card provider doesn't report payments made to the account.

bluemeadow

Thankyou all for your helpful replies, he is going to phone them tonight and go through it again and then we will go from there, maybe they have realised how many points we are saving and not paying interest! Thanks again x