Exceeded credit card limit -help!

JimminyC

Hi,

I had £20 left on my credit card. I knew my bank statement for this was due, but thought I was fine as I was £20 within the limit. Naively, didn’t even think about the interest fees being added to my balance, so my statement has been published yesterday and took me £17 over the limit - after interest and £12 for exceeding limit has been taken. I noticed this afternoon and paid money immediately to get me back within the limit.

I called Barclays as I am now panicking about my credit rating, which was the only reason I got the card in the first place, to help build my score! (Please note I was only close to the limit due to some recent difficult times, and have never been before). I always make payments on time. So I called Barclays, the man I spoke to said they do not report exceeded limits to credit agencies, only missed/late payments and they report balance due.

My question is, will the report of my balance due mean that credit reference agencies will see I exceeded my limit anyway? Can someone explain what balance due means? Or does it mean that should Barclays inform CRAs say tomorrow or my balance due, I am now back within the limit and should be okay?

Please help, I really don’t want the black mark against me as I am wanting a mortgage next year

[Deleted User]

Don’t get a credit card or any finance product to increase your “score”.

It’s not a real number and no one sees or cares about it.

If they say they don’t report it then you have nothing to worry about.

JimminyC

Thanks for the reply, I did this as i didn’t really have a history and credit agencies on my report recommended I did this.

I understand they won’t report it, I am just confused about the balance due and what that will mean?

[Deleted User]

It depends at what stage they report the balance. Not all companies report the balance amount when they send data to the CRA’s

Willing2Learn

If they say the 'balance due' will be reported. Your credit limit is reported. Therefore a prospective lender will know that you were over the limit. I don't believe this will be a major negative influence in your credit history. It is relatively minor.

JimminyC

Thanks both. I think I saw on Barclays website that they usually update credit agencies around the 15th of each month, if this is true, then I should be okay?

I was only over my limit for a few hours, definitely less than 24...

Willing2Learn do you know what impact it will have on my report? Can it scupper me getting a mortgage?? My other half has an excellent rating and we would be getting a mortgage together if that’s any help to me?

[Deleted User]

They probably won’t divulge when then report.

Ignore any scores or ratings as they’re not real

chattychappy

The only way to be certain is to obtain a copy of your report. CCs typically report the status once a month, but there are flags such as whether you've taken a cash withdrawal or you only paid the minimum.

BUT, don't panic. Even if you did get reported for overlimit (or it can be deduced from the reported data), after 3 or 4 months it won't make any difference. Normal people do make mistakes from time-to-time, they do forget to make a payment or go over limit. They are a perfectly good risk.

CRAs will provide (or sell to you!) a "score" based on the history they hold. But lenders create their own scores based on CRA data plus other stuff - eg what you write on the application form - income, housing situation etc.

On Experian's own score, I'm usually 999. I had a missed payment logged. It dropped to 870 or something (can't remember) but was back to 999 within 6 months.

What does look bad is if you miss multiple payments, are only paying minimums, or (perhaps) have very high utilisation - which seems to be the case in your case.

Ask Barclaycard nicely and they'll probably refund the £12 for a first "offence". Your infraction hasn't really cost them anything.

I would be more concerned about the business of paying interest on a credit card where I'm up to my limit. If it's a not a one-off, consider applying for a balance transfer card/interest free on spending card but make sure you keep on top of things.

JimminyC

Thanks so much for your detailed reply. I do not usually utilise anywhere near my limit, and usually pay the whole balance off before the next month, however due to difficult recent times I have relied on it far more than I’d have liked to. However I should be able to get it back down to zero soon :j

Hopefully it won’t show but if it does I feel a lot better about it and won’t worry as much.

elsien

JimminyC wrote: »

Thanks both. I think I saw on Barclays website that they usually update credit agencies around the 15th of each month, if this is true, then I should be okay?

I was only over my limit for a few hours, definitely less than 24...

Willing2Learn do you know what impact it will have on my report? Can it scupper me getting a mortgage?? My other half has an excellent rating and we would be getting a mortgage together if that’s any help to me?

If it's a one off, have you asked if they will waive the fee? It's always worth a try if you explain the confusion and paid it back straight away. I've had a fee refunded as a "first offence."

JimminyC

Hi, I could try I suppose but as it was my own fault for not realising I didn’t even think to ask! The man I spoke to today just sounded like someone from their call centres abroad so I’m not sure he could have helped anyway, but I will ask on Monday, thank you ��