Refunds don’t count towards payments

grumpy_codger

That's why I said 'some'.  And why not? If they allowed you to increase your debt by £150 and than it drops by £150, this is no different from making a minimum payment.

ATM there are just to ways of banks doing this. Obviously, the system can be more flexible, especially if the balance is paid in full.

thebandit64

Thanks for all the interesting and varying comments! For info, the refund was from a transaction from 10 months ago. I’ve not long switched banks and there was an issue with some of the dd switches so I left them and just made payments each month, never missed one in 10 years - it’s clearly not my week!! Oh well, I live and learn!

saajan_12

Would most people expect that refunds would count as a payment? A refund is just undoing a spend, but even if that spend hadn't been made, you'd still have to make some payment (unless the balance is now £0). This is an inherent disparity whenever min payments are less than the full balance. 

DullGreyGuy

grumpy_codger said:

That's why I said 'some'.  And why not? If they allowed you to increase your debt by £150 and than it drops by £150, this is no different from making a minimum payment.

ATM there are just to ways of banks doing this. Obviously, the system can be more flexible, especially if the balance is paid in full.

It already states if the full balance is paid that no minimum payment is required

The problem with "some" is that you then get into the arguments that the rules are too complex for someone to understand. Add to that that many refunds are not processed correctly so the bank cannot tie it back to the original payment. Sure if its a store you've only used once then its obvious but if its your local cornershop you use daily they'll have no idea which of the 100 transactions in the last 12 months the £1.50 refund relates to... is it a full refund or partial? Is it a payment this period or a previous?

There are benefits to simplified rules

thebandit64

saajan_12 said:

Would most people expect that refunds would count as a payment? A refund is just undoing a spend, but even if that spend hadn't been made, you'd still have to make some payment (unless the balance is now £0). This is an inherent disparity whenever min payments are less than the full balance. 

A lot of people would when it clearly shows on the account as ‘payment received’ and has reduced the amount owed. And when some cards allow as a payment and some don’t, its not easy to spot unless you scour the small print - which most read when they get the card and then never look at again!

purpleparrotuk

I’m just tagging on to this post if that’s ok. I’m with Barclaycard. The only money on the card is £250. The statement was produced a few days ago. The £250 is going to be refunded in the next few days. Am I correct that I won’t have to make a minimum payment since when the refund has been made the account will be at 0? Obviously if it was delayed and didn’t get refunded before the payment due date then I would pay it. 

Bossyboots

etienneg said:

With credit cards you should always have a direct debit set up to pay at least the minimum balance. That way you never fall foul of failing to pay the minimum balance, whatever the CC company says this is.

I had a large refund to my Tesco credit card which was not applied against my outstanding balance, I had anticipated that after posts on this site. However what I did not anticipate was that the refund - which didn't clear the full balance - would result in the direct debit not being taken that month. Fortunately I spotted the issue and made a manual payment (which then triggered a fraud check by Santander but hey ho). No idea to this day why the full direct debit wasn't taken that month.

SiliconChip

purpleparrotuk said:

I’m just tagging on to this post if that’s ok. I’m with Barclaycard. The only money on the card is £250. The statement was produced a few days ago. The £250 is going to be refunded in the next few days. Am I correct that I won’t have to make a minimum payment since when the refund has been made the account will be at 0? Obviously if it was delayed and didn’t get refunded before the payment due date then I would pay it. 

Because there are lots of different Barclaycards the answer is to check the T&Cs that apply to the card that you have. However, my own experience with them is that a refund that came in after the statement was produced and about 10 days before the due date was subtracted from the full balance payment that was due to be taken by direct debit. 

prowla

Did the refund occur before the statement date?

If so, that would count as a balance reduction, not a pament.
TBH, I think that a refund might typically be taken as putting you back where you were, as opposed to meeting a payment requirement.

One trick to ensure not being caught out is to set up a DD for them to take the minimum payment each month.

grumpy_codger

prowla said:

...

One trick to ensure not being caught out is to set up a DD for them to take the minimum payment each month.

Absolutely!

Every month they send me a e-mail like this (received on the 7th):

 Here’s the latest on this month’s Direct Debit:

• we’ll take £**.** automatically on 10 October 2025. You’ll see this is lower than the amount on this month’s statement, as you’ve made an extra payment or had a credit this month
Please check you can cover your Direct Debit

It’s worth checking your account to make sure you’ve got enough funds for this payment. Otherwise your Direct Debit might not go through or it could take you over your limit. If either of these happen, you could be charged fees and extra interest.
Thinking about paying extra or changing your Direct Debit?

There are a couple of things you should know before you go ahead:

1) Any payments you make between now and your payment due date won’t affect your Direct Debit payment amount (as shown above).

2) Any changes you make to your Direct Debit before your payment date won’t be done in time for us to update your next Direct Debit payment. To update your payment for next month, please log into Barclaycard online servicing or call us on 0800 151 0900.

This DD is set for payment in full, but I receive a similar email for another Barclaycard with minimum payment DD.