Hidden first bill

Panda_Chen

Hi

I read a thing yesterday, which may be mainly a US con, about interest free credit card accounts not being sent their first bill, so that the customer didn't know that they'd missed a payment, and then being told at the end that they'd missed a payment and so had to pay massive interest on the whole bill at the end. And apparently it's legal because the onus is on the customer to 'know when their bill (which they never receive and only just signed up for) is due' Does anyone know if this is a thing here, or only for certain companies? Cos it seems pretty damn sneaky and underhand to me, even if it's legal, and it must catch out hundreds of people who really don't need that much extra debt.

Enterprise_1701C

Never heard of that here, best thing to do would be to sign up online and check there, that way you should get an email too, my CC is entirely online these days and never miss a payment because I get the email and then have a reminder set up to double check.

The Us consumer law is totally different, I think in the UK if a company started doing that people would exchange notes and it would rapidly become known.

lildoonbuggy

Your cards terms and conditions will tell you that, but if you miss a payment you are most likely to be charged a missed payment fee and could have your 0% offer withdrawn. The missed payment fee has to be commensurate to the loss incurred by the provider, so that will more likely low I. E. £10 to £25. It is applied immediately and not to the end of your agreement. The withdrawal of the 0% rate would see the account move to the APR rate that is set to follow the promotional 0% period, or a higher rate if they have concerns over your ability to pay. The one thing that must be said is yes, it is your responsibility to pay on time and if you are in doubt, contact your provider or refer to your paper work.

chattychappy

Congratulations to the OP - 7 years a member, and finally a post!

cjmillsnun

This is why you should set up a DD to pay at least the minimum payment when you apply for the CC.

PeacefulWaters

cjmillsnun wrote: »

This is why you should set up a DD to pay at least the minimum payment when you apply for the CC.

Many credit cards in the UK won't collect a first statement payment by direct debit.

jonesMUFCforever

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Many credit cards in the UK won't collect a first statement payment by direct debit.

Most will if you do it at the application stage rather than at activation or manually afterwards.

Panda_Chen

I do have it set up for DD, although I can't remember if I did it at the very start, which is why I was concerned. Now I have it set up for a set amount, more than the minimum, plus I usually add some extra during the month just to be sure. But it was this first payment thing I was worried about. And yeah, 7 years, been getting the newsletters all that time, but I hadn't even realised it was my first post!