Definition of clear funds

Gibberish94

Hi,

When renting somewhere they often want you to be able to pay the deposit and all other fees with 'clear funds'. So obviously I know this means you can't therefore pay by credit card however can you pay with your current account but the amount will put you into your overdraft? Would that still count as clear funds?

Thanks

karcher

Gibberish94 wrote: »

Hi,

When renting somewhere they often want you to be able to pay the deposit and all other fees with 'clear funds'. So obviously I know this means you can't therefore pay by credit card however can you pay with your current account but the amount will put you into your overdraft? Would that still count as clear funds?

Thanks

Yes.

How could they possibly know you have gone into your overdraft unless you tell them or the payment is rejected?

Gibberish94

Ok thank you, I thought so just wanted to check for peace of mind more than anything!

glasgowdan

Are you sure this means no credit card? Surely it simply means "until we've got the money"

Gibberish94

No it specifically says 'this means no payment by credit card'

theartfullodger

It's "cleared funds". It means the money is in their account , not coming on some slow 3-day bank transfer or in the form of a cheque yet to be paid in by them

agrinnall

theartfullodger wrote: »

It's "cleared funds". It means the money is in their account , not coming on some slow 3-day bank transfer or in the form of a cheque yet to be paid in by them

It would be very slow as 3 day payment for personal account customers ended by 2012!

itchyfeet123

Gibberish94 wrote: »

No it specifically says 'this means no payment by credit card'

They're fudging on the issue. The reason they don't accept credit cards is because they pay fees for credit card payments. As previous posters said, cleared funds is about the money being in their bank account.

eddddy

Gibberish94 wrote: »

When renting somewhere they often want you to be able to pay the deposit and all other fees with 'clear funds'. So obviously I know this means you can't therefore pay by credit card however can you pay with your current account but the amount will put you into your overdraft? Would that still count as clear funds?

"Cleared funds" is nothing to do with credit cards (or overdrafts). It's a reference to payment by cheque.

If you pay by cheque, it could take up to six days for the cheque to clear.

So if you give the letting agent or landlord a cheque on Monday, they would not have cleared funds until a week on Tuesday.

With credit cards and debit cards, payment is immediate - you don't have to wait for them to clear.

With bank transfers, as soon as the money reaches the payee's account, the funds are cleared.

HouseBuyer77

Credit cards can also results in chargebacks. I imagine a letting agent doesn't want a potential tenant to chargeback any fees paid to them.

eddddy

HouseBuyer77 wrote: »

Credit cards can also results in chargebacks. I imagine a letting agent doesn't want a potential tenant to chargeback any fees paid to them.

Not really.

Chargebacks can only be used for breach of contract and fraud - not just because the cardholder asks for one.

If the cardholder alleges a breach of contract, the bank would check with the letting agent, before refunding.

(e.g. You can't pay in the supermarket with a credit card and then just decide you want your money back.)

And if chip and pin is used, a fraud chargeback isn't possible. (Fraud chargebacks are only possible if a PIN was not used - e.g. phone transactions.)


However bank transfers can be reversed if they are fraudulent. So the letting agent is safer accepting a chip and pin credit card payment than a bank transfer.



BUT the reason letting agents don't accept credit cards is the charges.