How do you get your credit card direct debit to work for you (D/D interest criteria)?

Terry_Towelling

soulsaver wrote: »

That would be true if that is the only potential problem.. and only partially resolved by a the establishment of a good statement date: If there's nothing to pay a DD wouldn't be created anyhow.

I read it as they spend on the cc after the cut off date for the current month, so the spend isn't included until the following month's statement and payment due the month after that, so skipping a DD.

Both issues are avoided by the method I use - there's always a balance to pay and the statement date is just a matter of initial timing or moving.

I don't disagree with you that spending after the statement cut off will mean you don't get anything on your bill and the spending appears on a later bill. The thing is, that would be apparent to the OP and they'd know they'd spent too late to hit that statement.

I don't read the OP that way. I read it that they (their relatives) are seeing spending on their credit card statement but the direct debit is not being taken from their current account during that current account statement cycle - meaning they miss out on current account interest.

The issue really does seem to be around the timing of the direct debit and the way it sometimes comes before the current account statement date and sometimes after. That means they may sometimes get no direct debit taken during one cycle and possibly two taken during the next cycle.

Perhaps OP could come back and enlighten us, or at least let us know whether anything said has helped.

soulsaver

Terry_Towelling wrote: »

I don't disagree with you that spending after the statement cut off will mean you don't get anything on your bill and the spending appears on a later bill. The thing is, that would be apparent to the OP and they'd know they'd spent too late to hit that statement.

I don't read the OP that way. I read it that they (their relatives) are seeing spending on their credit card statement but the direct debit is not being taken from their current account during that current account statement cycle - meaning they miss out on current account interest.

The issue really does seem to be around the timing of the direct debit and the way it sometimes comes before the current account statement date and sometimes after. That means they may sometimes get no direct debit taken during one cycle and possibly two taken during the next cycle.

Perhaps OP could come back and enlighten us, or at least let us know whether anything said has helped.

Why would their problem in this instance make any difference to my answer?
OP asked what we do; I told them what I do and their problem doesn't arise.. whichever way it's caused.

Terry_Towelling

soulsaver wrote: »

Why would their problem in this instance make any difference to my answer?
OP asked what we do; I told them what I do and their problem doesn't arise.. whichever way it's caused.

You are perhaps answering a different question to the one OP has asked. Your answer is telling them to avoid interest charges by using a 0% card and to pay by direct debit - which is fine.

OP's problem is that the direct debit doesn't always go out on the same date each month. So, if their current account is one like Tesco (who statement on the 'monthiversary' of account opening) and their current account statement date occurs on, say 27th monthly but their credit card direct debit goes out variously between 25th and 30th each month, there is the potential for the direct debit to be taken within the current account statement cycle (before 27th) or for it to miss (after 27th).

Now you might argue that it doesn't matter because next month they will have a DD showing on their current account, but sometimes the DD date varies such that they get 2 DD payments to their credit card during one current account statement cycle and then none the next cycle. When that happens, they don't qualify for interest on their current account.

If their current account works on a 'per-calendar-month' statement cycle, the problem doesn't occur. I'm not clever enough with words to put it in a more understandable way.

surreysaver

soulsaver wrote: »

Why would their problem in this instance make any difference to my answer?
OP asked what we do; I told them what I do and their problem doesn't arise.. whichever way it's caused.

Your solution isn't a solution. I don't believe you've understood the problem. The solution to the problem is to change the statement date. The statement date probably needs to be around the middle of each month.

surreysaver

Terry_Towelling wrote: »

I'm not clever enough with words to put it in a more understandable way.

Sounds fine to me.

JustAnotherSaver

Whoa. There seems to be some confusion. I'll try and clear it up...


Nobody wants to be opening 0% on purchases cards when they don't have to. I appreciate this is one way around it but it's not really what we're looking to achieve. Thanks for the suggestion all the same.


Equally there are other direct debits in place. Santander e-Saver, some Post Office savers, Birmingham Midshire ..... but more are needed, which is why they turned to credit cards, as in theory it should be simple.


Looking at my sisters Halifax credit card, it appears the direct debit is taken around the 15-16-17 of the month. In April of this year the direct debit was taken on the 15th.
On 23rd April she used it (or in actual fact, I used it and then sent the money to her account that pays it off).
This direct debit wasn't then taken until JUNE. So obviously the account that relies on this direct debit to qualify it for interest never got any interest for May because it was 1 direct debit short.


The question was really how can you ensure that a direct debit is taken each month without skipping any like in the example i just gave.

!!! wrote: »

Use the credit card?????

Chuckle-chuckle
Guffaw
Chortle har-de-har-har


You're good

Fingerbobs

PRAISETHESUN wrote: »

I'd recommend contacting your bank and changing your CC statement date to the start of the month - that way payment will always be taken by DD around the middle of the month, avoiding the issue where a month may be skipped.

Just a word of caution - they won't necessarily set the statement date to the exact date you ask for. I asked Halifax to set my statement date to 1st of the month, and the best they could do was 7th, which makes the due date hover annoyingly around the month end.

Terry_Towelling

Sorry but it is clear as mud now.

Tell us about your sister's March, April, May, June and July credit card statements. What dates were they produced and was there a balance owing on each and every one of them?

Yorkshire_Pud

Credit card payments don't get missed any particular month unless there's nothing to pay or sometimes when you change the account that the DD is taken from and a manual payment may have to be made. Or if the due date is around the month end.

Make a purchase within the statement date period and the due date is about three weeks following. Therefore pays out a direct debit every month.

Terry_Towelling

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

Credit card payments don't get missed any particular month unless there's nothing to pay or sometimes when you change the account that the DD is taken from and a manual payment may have to be made. Or if the due date is around the month end.

Make a purchase within the statement date period and the due date is about three weeks following. Therefore pays out a direct debit every month.

Again, this is true, but the issue is probably linked to the credit card direct debit date moving around the current account statement production date. That said, OP still needs to provide a bit more clarity on balances at billing. It is just possible that the 23rd April purchase did indeed miss the credit card statement date leading to a zero balance at April billing, but that would surely be too obvious a reason for anyone to create a thread about it..