Missed single barclaycard payment first time ever and got hectoring letter!

[Deleted User]

littlerock wrote: »

As I incur hardly any of the above fees, I am worth very little to Barclaycard and I thought, naively that they might want me to generate some fees for them.

They make money from you every time you use the card. You may not be as profitable as interest paying, fee paying customers, but neither are you as risky.

Barclaycard operate in the mainstream, so cannot afford to have a customer base which is late paying and defaulting. They need a significant proportion of safe customers. Late fees are great until the point the payments dry up all together.

Cell

littlerock wrote: »

Surprised to hear how little your statement date varied. Mine varies quite a lot and I phoned and asked them and they said it may be sent out anytime between 8th and 18th of the following month, and it is....

We have three Barclaycards in the household and the statement date is calculated the same way.

I couldn't work it out either, as it seemed to vary, but when I asked them it was obvious (if a little bit subtle). Our statements are produced on a certain date of the month (say 01), but if that day happens to be a weekend or bank holiday it will be produced on the next working day.

So the next statement they will be produced on 2nd January as 1st is a holiday. It will be 2nd February and March as well, as the 1st is a Sunday on both occasions.

In theory if your cycle date is 25th then in December you won't actually get your statement until 29th, which is the next working day. So your estimated interest in your November statement will be higher because of the extra four days. It will be less the next month though as less days will be covered.

I have no idea how it could vary by ten days though. Best drop them a secure message, which is what I did.

You can alter the cycle date if you wish.

littlerock

Well I decided to set up a direct debit each month so as not to get caught out again for any reason with late payment and I phoned and asked what was the period each month within the due date for payment might fall. The customer assistant immediately responded (looking at my account) "between 8th and 18th of each month". He said it would be no earlier than the 8th and no later than the 18th. He did not mention any formula of the kind Cell just mentioned.

UsetheFORCE

Barclaycard Statements are issued on a particular working day of the month!

For example, the 15th working day (assume there is no bank holiday that month) can be any day between the 19th and the 21st.

Mine is the 5th, if Monday is the 1st, statement date is the 5th, Tuesday is the 1st, then statement date is the 7th!

MABLE

littlerock wrote: »

Well I decided to set up a direct debit each month so as not to get caught out again for any reason with late payment and I phoned and asked what was the period each month within the due date for payment might fall. The customer assistant immediately responded (looking at my account) "between 8th and 18th of each month". He said it would be no earlier than the 8th and no later than the 18th. He did not mention any formula of the kind Cell just mentioned.

Barclaycard will also send you an email or text message a good week before the DD is due to be taken.

Simon7685

Can I be ignorant and ask what is a hectoring letter? Never heard this term before.
Also OP should set up DD for min payment then this sort of thing doesn't happen. I have DD set up for all my cards, just in case. Seems logical to me

loveandlight

CKhalvashi wrote: »

The most profitable customers are those that sit right on the limit, always make minimum payment, but never default

I agree and those are the same customers the companies treat as if they are the worst customers of all!

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Simon7685 wrote: »

Can I be ignorant and ask what is a hectoring letter? Never heard this term before.

hector

synonyms: bully, intimidate, browbeat, cow, badger, chivvy, harass, torment, plague, coerce, pressurize, strong-arm, threaten, ride roughshod over, use strong-arm tactics on, dragoon, bulldoze, railroad, steamroller

chattychappy

Simon7685 wrote: »

Can I be ignorant and ask what is a hectoring letter? Never heard this term before.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

hector

synonyms: bully, intimidate, browbeat, cow, badger, chivvy, harass, torment, plague, coerce, pressurize, strong-arm, threaten, ride roughshod over, use strong-arm tactics on, dragoon, bulldoze, railroad, steamroller

Nah... it's an EU thing as CCs are regulated. You need to check out the Hectoring Directive. All such letters must comply with the directive else the debt becomes unenforceable. In this event you can also claim compensation for the inconvenience involved.

littlerock

Well just to reiterate, I spoke to Barclays customer service and they said that my statement may arrive anytime between 8th and 18th of each month. The letter I got about late payment said (summarised) we note that you were late in settling your Barclaycard account last month and need to point out that if this happens more than twice, you risk having it cancelled.

Separately I got yet another Fraud check text on my phone this month from Barclaycard, the seventh successive month in a row and they all occur about this time of the month. The only thing I can think is that I pay for quite a lot of stuff on Paypal, linked to my Barclaycard account, and the checks seems to coincide with when I make an overseas payment to Paypal. Strange really as paying via Paypal is actually more secure than paying direct with my Barclaycard. Does not explain why they blocked my cinema tickets though.

I have now set up a direct debit to cover the minimum payment but I don't suppose that will stop the incessant credit checks.