John Lewis CC - reality check please - reduced credit days?

MarzipanCrumble

I am an old customer.  I got a New replacement CC from JL which reduced the number of days you have credit as per normal cc.

Today I received an email which said that if a DD to pay off failed I would 'have an extra 5 days' to sort it out as it would be taken 5 days before my DD due date!

I am not sure if the statement will include transactions up to when they send it - why move the statment date if not?  I wonder if they are doing this with new customers who I believe get the full expected credit time:

From September onwards, we’re moving both your monthly statement date and your payment due date so they’ll fall five days later than they do at the moment. Currently, we collect your Direct Debit on your payment due date. So, as your Direct Debit date isn’t changing, this just means that in future it’ll be collected around five days before your new payment due date. The main advantage is that if your Direct Debit fails, you’ll still have time to pay manually before you’re charged late payment fees. You’ll get an email before each Direct Debit is taken, telling you the amount and the collection date. This is known as your Advanced Notice for your Direct Debit. Say you currently get your statement on the 1st of each month – after this change you’ll receive it on the 6th instead And if your Direct Debit date and payment due date are the 16th of the month, your payment due date will move to the 21st But your Direct Debit will still be collected on or around the 16th, as usual

Nasqueron

The statement includes all transactions up the date it's issued. Then the payment is due at a future date, they don't include transactions after the statement date.

All they are doing is now taking the DD 5 days before the statement due date instead of on the statement due date, nothing else changes about the billing cycle

CliveOfIndia

As above, they're effectively just taking the DD 5 days before the due date, which does give you a chance to sort things out if anything goes wrong (for instance, if you don't have sufficient funds in your account to honour the DD).

MarzipanCrumble said:

I got a New replacement CC from JL which reduced the number of days you have credit as per normal cc.

You're still getting the standard "up to 56 days" of interest free credit, just the same as any other card.  If you really want to split hairs and make full use of the maximum period of interest-free credit, then you could cancel the DD and pay manually every month on the due date.  But for the sake of 5 days, I really can't see that it's worth the hassle, and you'd run the risk of getting late payment penalties and being charged interest if you ever forget.

JL are not unique in taking the DD a few days before the due date.  All cards are different - some take the DD on the due date, some take it a few days before, some take it quite some time before.  It's really no big deal overall.

daveyjp

OP is correct, JL interest free days are lower.

 Typical interest free days is a maximum of 56.  31 plus 21 days to pay, plus potentially 3-4 days for pending payments, weekend direct debit window etc.

IIRC when  Newday took over JL the time between statement and payment day was reduced from 21 to 14 days, so maximum interest free days is about 49.  If dd is taken 5 days before due date this will only be 9 days after statement date.

CliveOfIndia

Does it really make that much of a difference though?  I guess it could if you're stoozing, and have the money sitting earning interest until it's time to pay off the card.  But even then, how much of a difference will a week or two make?  I'm guessing pennies per month at most.

MarzipanCrumble

Thanks - I have put up with JL CC taking advantage of loyalty long enough.  Time I ditched it.  Then when I join as a 'new' customer maybe get full CC credit days.  

The 'time to sort out if DD fails' just does not apply to my situation (and, yes, I am very,very lucky in that it never will).

Phoenix72

MarzipanCrumble said:

Thanks - I have put up with JL CC taking advantage of loyalty long enough.  Time I ditched it.  Then when I join as a 'new' customer maybe get full CC credit days.  

The 'time to sort out if DD fails' just does not apply to my situation (and, yes, I am very,very lucky in that it never will).

It's not JL 'taking advantage', although their name is on the card the Credit is provided by NewDay Ltd.

errolthecat

I have several credit cards - Sainsburys, Virgin, Barclaycard and Virgin Money - all paid off in full by DD each month (so not a 'good' i.e. profit-earning customer for the credit card company). With the new proposal from NewDay I'll get 2 weeks less time for my savings to sit earning interest than for any of the others. The best is First Direct with nearly 4 weeks after the statement date. I was using the JL card for both usual monthly spend and big ticket items, e.g. holidays, due to getting JL reward vouchers (which have also been downgraded in the last six months), but will now move this spend to FD which has a similar credit limit to my JL card. I don't see why I should pay early for having a DD set up which must give NewDay a little more security than waiting to see if I pay up - although they would probably like me to pay less and pay late for more profit!

I also object to having my statement date and payment date moved unilaterally by the credit card company when I set them up in the first place to suit my monthly income pattern.

pochisoldi

errolthecat said:

I have several credit cards - Sainsburys, Virgin, Barclaycard and Virgin Money - all paid off in full by DD each month (so not a 'good' i.e. profit-earning customer for the credit card company). With the new proposal from NewDay I'll get 2 weeks less time for my savings to sit earning interest than for any of the others. The best is First Direct with nearly 4 weeks after the statement date. I was using the JL card for both usual monthly spend and big ticket items, e.g. holidays, due to getting JL reward vouchers (which have also been downgraded in the last six months), but will now move this spend to FD which has a similar credit limit to my JL card. I don't see why I should pay early for having a DD set up which must give NewDay a little more security than waiting to see if I pay up - although they would probably like me to pay less and pay late for more profit!

I also object to having my statement date and payment date moved unilaterally by the credit card company when I set them up in the first place to suit my monthly income pattern.

Ask them to change your billing cycle so that the payment due date is back where it suits you. If they refuse, lodge a complaint. "Gives you five days to fix an issue" is not an acceptable resolution - it's a partial resolution to a problem created by the card issuer - what would happen if you aren't able to sort the issue. You might get a "here's some cash, go away" response to enhance your situation while binning them off.

(It sounds to me like a sub-prime lender applying sub-prime policies to otherwise "normal" customers).

MarzipanCrumble

JL are the 'brand name' for this card.  Whatever NewDay does impacts massively in PR (Public Relation) Terms on JL, not NewDay.

Nasqueron

errolthecat said:

I have several credit cards - Sainsburys, Virgin, Barclaycard and Virgin Money - all paid off in full by DD each month (so not a 'good' i.e. profit-earning customer for the credit card company). With the new proposal from NewDay I'll get 2 weeks less time for my savings to sit earning interest than for any of the others. The best is First Direct with nearly 4 weeks after the statement date. I was using the JL card for both usual monthly spend and big ticket items, e.g. holidays, due to getting JL reward vouchers (which have also been downgraded in the last six months), but will now move this spend to FD which has a similar credit limit to my JL card. I don't see why I should pay early for having a DD set up which must give NewDay a little more security than waiting to see if I pay up - although they would probably like me to pay less and pay late for more profit!

I also object to having my statement date and payment date moved unilaterally by the credit card company when I set them up in the first place to suit my monthly income pattern.

They earn every time you make a purchase, if they don't offer any perks like cashback (Sainsbury's is arguable as it's nectar but of course that makes you go into their stores) then they offer the card because they make money