Credit card over limit fee

kimwp

The loss Mickey666 said:

penners324 said:

Every credit card charges a fee for going over the limit. And they always have.
I don't see what you're complaining about.
Jaja have an that you can use to track your spending. Every credit card does now. 
Get the app. 
Some credit cards let you set text or email notifications, usually set in their app, when you get close to the limits.

Really?  In over 30 years of using multiple credit cards I've never been charged for exceeding my credit limit.  On the few occasions when I have exceeded my limit only two things have ever happened - the transaction has been refused or the credit limit has been increased.
I did once have a similar situation with a bank account where a payment pushed me into an unauthorised overdraft, for which I was charged a penalty fee plus interest.  I complained to the bank on the basis that they should not have allowed the payment to go through if there were no funds available and that the resulting overdraft was indeed unauthorised - unauthorised by me, so I didn't see why I should pay their fee.  I also pointed out that I had other accounts with them that more than covered this 'unauthorised overdraft' so I was, in fact, not in any debt to their bank at all.  I had since put the account back in the black and insisted that they refund the penalty plus interest otherwise I would close all my accounts with their bank.
I'm pretty sure that deep in the small print somewhere the bank was exercising its contractual rights and that I didn't have a legal leg to stand on, but they refunded the penalty fee and interest anyway
So, although the OP probably has no 'rights' in this case, my advice would be to complain strenuously, put the blame on the card company for even allowing the card limit to be exceeded and threatening to cancel the card if they do not cancel this charge.  What is there to lose?

The loss could be the ability to use the card past its limit in an emergency situation.

p00hsticks

kimwp said:

The loss Mickey666 said:

penners324 said:

Every credit card charges a fee for going over the limit. And they always have.
I don't see what you're complaining about.
Jaja have an that you can use to track your spending. Every credit card does now. 
Get the app. 
Some credit cards let you set text or email notifications, usually set in their app, when you get close to the limits.

Really?  In over 30 years of using multiple credit cards I've never been charged for exceeding my credit limit.  On the few occasions when I have exceeded my limit only two things have ever happened - the transaction has been refused or the credit limit has been increased.
I did once have a similar situation with a bank account where a payment pushed me into an unauthorised overdraft, for which I was charged a penalty fee plus interest.  I complained to the bank on the basis that they should not have allowed the payment to go through if there were no funds available and that the resulting overdraft was indeed unauthorised - unauthorised by me, so I didn't see why I should pay their fee.  I also pointed out that I had other accounts with them that more than covered this 'unauthorised overdraft' so I was, in fact, not in any debt to their bank at all.  I had since put the account back in the black and insisted that they refund the penalty plus interest otherwise I would close all my accounts with their bank.
I'm pretty sure that deep in the small print somewhere the bank was exercising its contractual rights and that I didn't have a legal leg to stand on, but they refunded the penalty fee and interest anyway
So, although the OP probably has no 'rights' in this case, my advice would be to complain strenuously, put the blame on the card company for even allowing the card limit to be exceeded and threatening to cancel the card if they do not cancel this charge.  What is there to lose?

The loss could be the ability to use the card past its limit in an emergency situation.

and possible get a charge from the card issuer and/or the merchant for the bounced transaction....

Be careful what you wish for....

Mickey666

How can a merchant charge for a bounced transaction?  If the card transaction doesn't go through then there IS no transaction - it's a simple no-sale.

[Deleted User]

Mickey666 said:

penners324 said:

Every credit card charges a fee for going over the limit. And they always have.
I don't see what you're complaining about.
Jaja have an that you can use to track your spending. Every credit card does now. 
Get the app. 
Some credit cards let you set text or email notifications, usually set in their app, when you get close to the limits.

Really?  In over 30 years of using multiple credit cards I've never been charged for exceeding my credit limit.  On the few occasions when I have exceeded my limit only two things have ever happened - the transaction has been refused or the credit limit has been increased.
I did once have a similar situation with a bank account where a payment pushed me into an unauthorised overdraft, for which I was charged a penalty fee plus interest.  I complained to the bank on the basis that they should not have allowed the payment to go through if there were no funds available and that the resulting overdraft was indeed unauthorised - unauthorised by me, so I didn't see why I should pay their fee.  I also pointed out that I had other accounts with them that more than covered this 'unauthorised overdraft' so I was, in fact, not in any debt to their bank at all.  I had since put the account back in the black and insisted that they refund the penalty plus interest otherwise I would close all my accounts with their bank.
I'm pretty sure that deep in the small print somewhere the bank was exercising its contractual rights and that I didn't have a legal leg to stand on, but they refunded the penalty fee and interest anyway
So, although the OP probably has no 'rights' in this case, my advice would be to complain strenuously, put the blame on the card company for even allowing the card limit to be exceeded and threatening to cancel the card if they do not cancel this charge.  What is there to lose?

Your anecdote is meaningless, the fact is, all credit card companies will detail charges for things like going over the limit. The fact you got lucky and didn't get a charge and moaned enough about the overdraft that they gave you a one off refund doesn't mean others won't get charged. Due to the modern world of things like offline transactions, you could easily go over your limit without any way for the firm to block your spend.
As for your advice, the blame is on the OP for not being careful with limits and what they can lose is the card being closed - do you think the bank won't call their bluff and agree to cancel the card and demand full payment?

kimwp

Mickey666 said:

How can a merchant charge for a bounced transaction?  If the card transaction doesn't go through then there IS no transaction - it's a simple no-sale.

I don't think it's quite as simple as that. The bank has put effort into that transaction, therefore they have incurred cost.

Fighter1986

kimwp said:

Mickey666 said:

How can a merchant charge for a bounced transaction?  If the card transaction doesn't go through then there IS no transaction - it's a simple no-sale.

I don't think it's quite as simple as that. The bank has put effort into that transaction, therefore they have incurred cost.

Nope, transaction fees are exactly that, fees for executed transacitons. There are no fees for attempted / failed transactions. 

Technically the bank did incur a cost, but you try putting a real-world figure on a few milliseconds of computer time and a few bytes of WAN data. It's beyond infinitessimal. 

Mickey666

Of course the OP is to blame - I didn't suggest otherwise.  In fact, I explicitly stated that they probably have no rights, implying that the card company is within their rights as per the card contract.
I've no idea if the card company will call their bluff and nor do you.  But at least I've offered the OP a suggestion which may work.  If people don't kick back when things like this happen then we can all be sure that the companies concerned will not give any ground voluntarily.  If we do then they might.  It worked for me, even though I was clearly in the wrong, so it might work for the OP.  Or it might not.  But it's up to the OP to decide for themself.

DjangoUnchained

flashg67 said:

DjangoUnchained said:

write to them complaining and tell them you will take it to the financial ombudsman, ittl cost them hundreds, they will probably refund you. If they dont refund, and the ombudsman doesnt favour you at least youm have the satisfaction of costing them hundreds and wasting their time.

And who do think ultimately pays  the 'hundreds of pounds' it costs them every time someone does this. Plus the 'wasted time' is actually costing them an employee's salary - again, who do you think pays that? (if you haven't worked it out, it's us - customers...) Not good advice at all IMO

i disagree. I have no problem costing banks / cards money if they try and charge me what i feel are unfair and unreasonable fees. If they dont like it, they can decide not to do business with me, thats their choice. There are many other suppliers around. All this !!!!!! about everyone else having to pay for it is nonsense, look at the profits they make.
Back to the OP , the card issuers have all the technology to stop the customer going over the limit if they wanted to. if they are going to let him go over the limit they have no moral right to penalize him for doing so. If they want to enforce the penalty, then the customer has the right to appeal it, first with the card, then if they refuse then I hope he takes it to the ombudsman and costs them dearly. If more people did this we would all benefit for a better customer focussed experience.

Grabs39

Mickey666 said:

How can a merchant charge for a bounced transaction?  If the card transaction doesn't go through then there IS no transaction - it's a simple no-sale.

What if the transaction isn't put through in real time?

When I was abroad in 2016 I had my card imprinted when checking into a hotel or opening a restaurant tab.  It's not done in the UK anymore that I know of (I'd never seen it done except on old TV shows/films) but it's still done in some countries.  What if it's an area with no telephone or Internet.

I know car hire firms usually take your card number in advance, but only charge you for damage or fuel after return.  If you use a debit card however, they normally hold an amount equal to the excess just in case.  They can only do this because they know the card issuer will still pay them.

If Visa transactions started bouncing the merchant wouldn't take Visa anymore or would insist on taking payment in advance.

kimwp

@DjangoUnchained
 if they are going to let him go over the limit they have no moral right to penalize him for doing so. If they want to enforce the penalty, then the customer has the right to appeal it, first with the card, then if they refuse then I hope he takes it to the ombudsman and costs them dearly. If more people did this we would all benefit for a better customer focussed experience.

This is nonsense. The fee for going over the limit is a fee for borrowing more money than the bank has agreed it will lend to you. If it put the money in a big pile and said you could take half, but you decided to take more, you think it's at fault for not stopping you?