Balance carried forward

beth0o0

Please help I paid my first ever credit card balance off with Vanquis of £ 147.17 July 9th. then on the 5th Aug I paid in full my balance of £149.94. my credit limit is £150 so these two payments are my first with this company and always paid in full. what does the balance mean and do I still owe them even though I've paid my full balance each month. my first card so very confused. I also noted the £5 minimum payment they have taken on the 8Aug has overdrawn my natwest bank account so no doubt I'm going to be charged by them for an unauthorized payment even though Vanquis were paid 3 days ago in full they still took a minimum payment.

Balance carried forward £0.00
Credits to your account £147.17
Debits to your account £219.85
Statement balance £72.68


What and When to Pay
Minimum payment due £5.00
Payment due date 08 Aug 14
Estimated interest £3.75



.Account Balance

Balance carried forward £72.68
Credits to you account £154.94
Debits to your account £77.26
Current balance £5.00 CR

CREDIT LIMIT
£150.00
Available to spend £142.55


YOUR NEXT STATEMENT
Next statement date 14 Aug 14
Payment due date 08 Aug
Minimum payment £0.00
Last payment date 08 Aug 14
Last payment amount £5.00

Nebulous2

It's a good idea to have a direct debit set up for a minimum payment, in case you forget to make a payment, or it doesn't go through in time.

However different cards deal with minimums differently, so there are two possibilities here.

1. Vanquis do not take a minimum payment if you have made a full payment by other means. If that is the case then the DD payment has to be requested several days before they get it. They will have asked for it before receiving your payment and it would have been too late to stop it. In other words you paid too close to the DD date.

2. If a DD is set-up then Vanquis may always take a minimum payment.

You need to read your terms and conditions to see which applies to you.

On that account balance you are £5 in credit. If you do not spend any more before then and there are no pending transactions, your statement on the 14th wont require a payment.

The amount you need to pay to avoid interest is the balance shown on the statement. So for example on the August statement you needed to pay £72.68 before the 8th of August.

You also have a very small limit so you need to be careful not to go over that in respect of 'current balance.' I assume you can check it online?

beth0o0

Hi, I don't understand about this £72 balance. does this mean I owe that to them even though I pay my full balance off each month?

grumbler

beth0o0 wrote: »

Balance carried forward £0.00
Credits to your account £147.17
Debits to your account £219.85
Statement balance £72.68

What and When to Pay
Minimum payment due £5.00
Payment due date 08 Aug 14
Estimated interest £3.75

.Account Balance

Balance carried forward £72.68
Credits to you account £154.94
Debits to your account £77.26
Current balance £5.00 CR

CREDIT LIMIT
£150.00
Available to spend £142.55

YOUR NEXT STATEMENT
Next statement date 14 Aug 14
Payment due date 08 Aug
Minimum payment £0.00
Last payment date 08 Aug 14
Last payment amount £5.00

Is this a chronological order? What are the statement date and the payments dates?

beth0o0 wrote: »

Hi, I don't understand about this £72 balance. does this mean I owe that to them even though I pay my full balance off each month?

It looks like in the first billing month you spent £219.85 and paid £147.17 (before the statement date - why? And why £147?). The statement balance was £72.68 that carried over to the next billing month.

In the next billing month you spent £77.26 and paid £154.24 (why not £72.68?). You paid far to much and put your account in credit.

When you make payments you have to look at the statement balance (not the current balance), and make sure you make at least the minimum payment between the statement date and the due date, not just make payments at random dates.

SnowTiger

beth0o0 wrote: »

Please help I paid my first ever credit card balance off with Vanquis of £ 147.17 July 9th. then on the 5th Aug I paid in full my balance of £149.94. my credit limit is £150 so these two payments are my first with this company and always paid in full. what does the balance mean and do I still owe them even though I've paid my full balance each month. my first card so very confused. I also noted the £5 minimum payment they have taken on the 8Aug has overdrawn my natwest bank account so no doubt I'm going to be charged by them for an unauthorized payment even though Vanquis were paid 3 days ago in full they still took a minimum payment.

Balance carried forward £0.00
Credits to your account £147.17
Debits to your account £219.85
Statement balance £72.68


What and When to Pay
Minimum payment due £5.00
Payment due date 08 Aug 14
Estimated interest £3.75

I'd guess you're making payments before your statement is produced.

The balance above was zero, but you pay £147.17 towards the account and spent £219.85, leaving £72.68 outstanding.

Use the card and keep the balance below your limit. I'd spend no more than about £120 on it. When you've hit the £120 mark pay for things in another way. Cash or a debit card.

Pay the balance in full before the Payment due date on the statements you receive. As you have a low limit, just after the statement is produced would be best so you can start spending on the card again.

One of the problems with paying early is that your full spending won't be reflected on your credit reports. To others lenders, and perhaps Vanquis, it will appear that you only spent £72.68.

As for the DD. Vanquis would have notified you of that payment in advance. I'd guess that on 8th August (well, three days before when the DD process is started) you had a balance of £5 or more outstanding on the account.

I think the problem is that you're getting in to a bit of a muddle because you're not waiting for a statement before making a payment.

beth0o0

This is my first credit card. I'm not very good at understanding. when I got my first credit limit in July of £150 they gave me a £100 advance on the 17th June. I then paid on the 9th July £147.17 as that was what I used on card so paid in full. my next payment I used £149.94 so I paid that in full through on phone to them on the 5th Aug.


What I'm trying to explain is I thought if I say spent £140 each month of the £150 credit limit and then paid in full that £140 I used on phone to them I would be clear of owing them anything. so even though I clear what I use each month I still owe them money which means I'll also have interest to pay?

grumbler

beth0o0 wrote: »

This is my first credit card. I'm not very good at understanding. when I got my first credit limit in July of £150 they gave me a £100 advance on the 17th June.

What 'advance'?

I then paid on the 9th July £147.17 as that was what I used on card so paid in full. my next payment I used £149.94 so I paid that in full through on phone to them on the 5th Aug.

I see. You make extra payments when you get close to your credit limit. That's fine, but don't forget that if the statement balance is debit, you must make at least the minimum payment before the due date, not wait until you get close to your credit limit agan.

What I'm trying to explain is I thought if I say spent £140 each month of the £150 credit limit and then paid in full that £140 I used on phone to them I would be clear of owing them anything.

You seem to confuse the calendar month and the billing month. In the first billing month you spent £219.85, but paid £147.17.

so even though I clear what I use each month I still owe them money which means I'll also have interest to pay?

After the statement is produced you have about 20-25 days to pay the statement balance in full before the due date to avoid paying any interest on purchases. You can't avoid interest on cash advances if you withdraw cash.

beth0o0

So I'm in debt of £72 with them?

Nebulous2

No you're not in debt with them at all. Not if you haven't spent spent anything since that balance you gave.

beth0o0

I have spent again yesterday about £120. I then normally pay this in full in 2 weeks time. so will this mean I'll owe again £72 to them in debt even when I pay full in two weeks.

grumbler

beth0o0 wrote: »

So I'm in debt of £72 with them?

.Account Balance

Balance carried forward £72.68
Credits to you account £154.94
Debits to your account £77.26
Current balance £5.00 CR

CREDIT LIMIT
£150.00
Available to spend £142.55

"Current balance £5.00 CR" means that they owe you £5.
However, there seem to be some unstatemented transactions as the 'available to spend' amount is smaller than the credit limit.