Accidental Missed Payment Halifax Card

Aquamania

sirich99 wrote: »

My main concern is my credit rating and how this may be affected through no fault of my own.

Basically I dont trust Halifax saying that my credit score will not be affected.

:huh:
You already have said

sirich99 wrote: »

...As it stands i was assured my Credit Score will not be affected and they are happy to refund my late payment charge. ...

Perhaps you should have asked them to put that assurance in writing if you were worried.

But if you don't trust the credit card provider, maybe closing your account with them would be the best way to proceed.

Your only independent way to find out if your credit card provider has been honest with you is to keep an eye on your credit files and see if any adverse entry is made as a result.

sirich99

Thanks Aquamania, I don't think I am alone in my mistrust of the current financial services sector and with the current press coverage i also dont think my trust is misplaced.

I posted to MSE for advice and also to share my experience and see if anyone else had gone through anything similar.

Would I be the first case of being told something by my bank and then finding out later that this wasnt the case at all??

Thrugelmir

sirich99 wrote: »

Thanks Aquamania, I don't think I am alone in my mistrust of the current financial services sector and with the current press coverage i also dont think my trust is misplaced.

The manual payments may well have triggered Halifax's internal systems to cancel the monthly direct debit claim. I.E. over 3 months.

People have to accept sometimes that their own actions may also have a contributory impact to situations. The statement clearly made no reference to a direct debit either. The blame culture these days is somewhat OTT.

phona

Cross that bridge when you come to it.

As it stands at the moment, Halifax say they won't put a late payment marker on your credit report and you haven't had to pay any extra charges. For now, assume that's true and it's a good result.

Keep an eye on your credit report and if it turns out you get a late payment marker THEN you should call them up again with details about missed DDs etc.

And have a little perspective: a single missed payment on your record would not be the end of the world. You'd still be able to get credit, especially as the late payment becomes old. We're all human after all.

Aquamania

sirich99 wrote: »

Thanks Aquamania, I don't think I am alone in my mistrust of the current financial services sector and with the current press coverage i also dont think my trust is misplaced.

I posted to MSE for advice and also to share my experience and see if anyone else had gone through anything similar.

Would I be the first case of being told something by my bank and then finding out later that this wasnt the case at all??

I don't think it would be right to tar an entire industry sector simply because of your (perceived) lack of trust with one particular company.

If you do, you will find yourself worrying for England.

However, if its just a particular company you have grown to distrust, it wouldn't be the first time anyone attempted to close all accounts/stop all their business with that particular company.

See the Aqua thead
(it'll also demonstrate asking to close an account may be easier said than done with a particular company)


I have also already given you advice how to verify the conformity of the statement you have been given, but do not trust.

sirich99

Hi Thruglemir

Just a quick response to your post...firstly, your post suggests that I was wrong to make manual payments over the minimum payment dd option. I'm sorry but how should me making the effort to pay back Halifax more than I am required to in any given month have a detrimental affect on my financial profile.

Secondly, If it was the case that Halifax's 'internal systems' have cancelled my DD then it would seem fair to expect them to notify me in writing that this is the case. Would you agree with this?

Thirdly I owe Halifax an apology, I didnt actually check my statement to make sure that the DD was still due to be taken. I would be very impressed if anyone actually checked all statements each month to ensure that the DD is still in place. I think it is fair to assume that a DD remains in place unless you actually instruct for it to be cancelled.

So to conclude I am not willing to accept that making manual repayments on a credit card account should result in me missing a payment. If a DD is to be cancelled as a result of these manual payments firstly I would expect to be notified in the terms & conditions of the credit agreement and secondly I would expect to be notified that my DD has been cancelled in writing.

So where do you think the blame lies??

sirich99

phona wrote: »

Cross that bridge when you come to it.

As it stands at the moment, Halifax say they won't put a late payment marker on your credit report and you haven't had to pay any extra charges. For now, assume that's true and it's a good result.

Keep an eye on your credit report and if it turns out you get a late payment marker THEN you should call them up again with details about missed DDs etc.

And have a little perspective: a single missed payment on your record would not be the end of the world. You'd still be able to get credit, especially as the late payment becomes old. We're all human after all.

Hi Phona

Do you have any idea how long it would take for a late payment marker to be added to my credit report?

I have spoken with them again this afternoon and they have guaranteed me it will not be added to my report but i would still like to check


Thanks

Cell

Thrugelmir wrote: »

The manual payments may well have triggered Halifax's internal systems to cancel the monthly direct debit claim. I.E. over 3 months.

People have to accept sometimes that their own actions may also have a contributory impact to situations. The statement clearly made no reference to a direct debit either. The blame culture these days is somewhat OTT.

The whole point of direct debits is to take away any anxieties about missing a payment. In your example someone who held a zero balance for four months and then spent on the card wouldn't have their payment taken by DD despite having every reason to think it would.

If indeed a DD was cancelled, or the details deleted after a certain period of time then the very least I would expect is a letter explaining that to be the case. DDs are meant to make life easier, not a game of Russian Roulette with different providers randomly cancelling unused DDs after various, unstated, periods.

I pay most of my cards by manual payment but do have a DD in place in the event I'm ill or just forget (which hasn't happened yet, but we're all human). I am assuming that the DDs are still in place (my online banking suggests they are) to cover me. Why would I think otherwise if the card company doesn't contact me to let me know?

Cell

sirich99 wrote: »

Thanks Clapton, I have just checked my online banking again and my statements for June, July, August & September ll have clear instructions that a DD payment will be taken that month. As I also make manual payments I dont think these DD's have been taken as my minimum payment has already been met.

On my October & Nov statements there is no mention of the DD so it appears to have been cancelled for some reason. As I made no manual payment during this period, My payment due on 8th Nov has not been paid until today.

I was told by the Halifax advisor this morning that they had no record of me having a DD so that is a little worrying.

How do you suggest I should proceed? As it stands i was assured my Credit Score will not be affected and they are happy to refund my late payment charge. I dont want to get into a whole series of letters/telephone calls if this scenario is not going to have a negative affect on my financial affairs.

Thanks

To me the highlighted paragraphs are the most concerning. No record of a direct debit ever being in place? They should be able to look at the same statements as you confirming reference to a DD.

NatWest online banking shows all the DDs I have, active or not. Only I can delete them. It might be worth looking at yours to see if the same applies for the bank you're with.

comeandgo

It seems different companies have differing methods. We have a Halifax credit card, a direct debit was set up but we pay the full balance off each month and the direct debit has never been taken. But our MBNA card also has a direct debit amount set up and even though we pay the full balance each month the direct debit is taken.