is there a credit card with simple bills

Ben8282

Fingerbobs wrote: »

That's what their terms state, but in practice I have found that manually clearing the full balance in advance of the DD stops the DD being taken that month.

Is that current experience or before they changed their policy a few minths ago.
That's how it used to be agreed, but they chanbged it earlier this year.

surreysaver

eskbanker wrote: »

Not sure it helps to generalise and it's never a good idea to make assumptions when it comes to matters like this! I don't know to what extent you've reviewed Ts & Cs of card DD regimes but I know that Tesco collect a few days ahead of due date and recall anecdotal reference on here to NatWest (I think) doing so about ten days in advance....

Edit: not just anecdotal, NatWest do claim early for full balance DDs, according to https://personal.natwest.com/personal/credit-cards/existing-customers.html:

Santander collect a few days earlier than the due date too. Post Office credit card seems to always be a few days later than the due date - in the past I've been worried the direct debit hasn't been paid!

Fingerbobs

Ben8282 wrote: »

Is that current experience or before they changed their policy a few minths ago.
That's how it used to be agreed, but they chanbged it earlier this year.

Definitely AFTER the changes came in. They wrote to me and included text on the statement explaining the new policy, and they even sent me a text message after I made the manual payment to warn me that the DD wouldn't be reduced, so I was specifically waiting to see if the DD would be taken as per the new policy, and it wasn't.

phillw

surreysaver wrote: »

Santander collect a few days earlier than the due date too. Post Office credit card seems to always be a few days later than the due date - in the past I've been worried the direct debit hasn't been paid!

I have four cards, I asked them all to take on the 1st of the month. Three of them take on the same day, not always the 1st even when it's a weekday, with the payment only showing on the statement the day after it went out.

The fourth has the same due date and immediately says payment received, but the payment doesn't go out of my bank until five days later. They won't accept that it's confusing. Ideally all my DD would go out on the same day and I wouldn't have to worry about payments not going out for the rest of the month.

I have never had a payment taken before the due date. Isn't that a DD guarantee no no?

neilneilorange wrote: »

ok, so if I set up a direct debit then, will that avoid the charges for residual interest?

It will make sure you avoid any late payment charges, if you set the DD to take the full balance then you shouldn't have any interest on purchases.

neilneilorange wrote: »

Another thing was when I misplaced my debit card, and drew out £50 from an atm.Likewise I paid it off straight away.

Paying it off so you don't incur any interest can be tricky, because some won't let you pay it off until it appears on your statement. If you do it too early your payment could be taken off any purchases you aren't due to pay yet, then they'll start charging you interest from the withdrawal date. You are better off having multiple current accounts and debit cards, so if you can't take money out with one then you can login to online banking transfer and take it out with another. Marks and spencers even have a 0% £100 overdraft, which is useful if you can't transfer money across but need to withdraw in an emergency.

neilneilorange wrote: »

Which day/ of the month should i set up the dd for?

I always ask for the DD to go out on the earliest day of the month, even if they say it will be the 1st then it will sometimes be a couple of days earlier. Due to the different lengths of months there are less options at the end of a month and the beginning is just easier. It will change your statement period, if currently your payment is due on the 15th and you ask for it on the 1st then they'll extend the next statement to 6 weeks rather than having a 2 week statement.

Until you get a statement saying they will take a DD you should assume that you still have to pay manually. It's worth calling customer services to check before you make the payment. When making manual payments you have to take into account how long it will take for them to receive the money. Paying by debit card takes a couple of days, worse if there is a bank holiday weekend in the middle. Paying by bank transfer is quicker, it's like a day if you do it before 4pm. I don't like doing bank transfers though, in case it goes to the wrong place.

eskbanker

phillw wrote: »

I have never had a payment taken before the due date. Isn't that a DD guarantee no no?

No, not a no no!

The DD guarantee offers protection if a DD is taken on the wrong date (measured against what they've previously advised) but if a card company tells you they'll take it on a date that doesn't happen to correspond with the statement due date, that doesn't breach any rules or regulations....

phillw

eskbanker wrote: »

No, not a no no!

The DD guarantee offers protection if a DD is taken on the wrong date (measured against what they've previously advised) but if a card company tells you they'll take it on a date that doesn't happen to correspond with the statement due date, that doesn't breach any rules or regulations....

They put two different dates on the statement? I've never seen that. Even the card that takes the payments late says "on or after" and the same statement date. I don't think it's possible for them to take it on that date as that is the date they present the DD to my bank.

eskbanker

phillw wrote: »

They put two different dates on the statement? I've never seen that.

Yes, companies who differentiate between statement due date and DD collection date have to show both on statements....

Wheres_My_Cashback

phillw wrote: »

They put two different dates on the statement? I've never seen that. Even the card that takes the payments late says "on or after" and the same statement date. I don't think it's possible for them to take it on that date as that is the date they present the DD to my bank.

Different remarks on statements for different companies. There isn't a one off industry standard. DDs take up to 5 days to process. some examples...

We'll collect your Direct Debit payment on 01 Oct 19 or immediately after

or

We'll collect your Direct Debit payment within -/+ 3 days of the payment due date

or

Payment due date 06/10/2019. We will collect your direct debit of £xx.xx on 01/10/2019 or soon after.

or

Your bank account will be debited by £xx.xx on or after 01/10/2019

or

Your Direct Debit payment of £xx.xx will be collected from your current account on 01/10/19.

There will be others.

System

I have a credit card with Smile (cash back to account) and a credit card with Asda (cash back for shopping).

The way that the bills are laid out could not be more different. Smile is exceptionally easy to understand, yet I still haven't got the hang of the Asda one.

As a bank, I would recommend Smile wholeheartedly (we have been with them for almost as long as they have been in existence). Online only, but with the ability to pay in cash or cheques at a Post Office.

phillw

Wheres_My_Cashback wrote: »

There isn't a one off industry standard.

I understand that, but in my extensive credit card history I've never once had a DD being taken before the statement date. I guess I've been lucky.