Sainsburys credit card bill arrived late.

vet8

My credit card bill from Sainsbury's Bank arrived on Friday the 8th of February and the payment was due on Monday the 11th!!

I 'phoned them at once to complain about this, but was told that if it was held up in the post it was not their fault etc. etc. I paid at once over the 'phone, but the payment, for some inexplicable reason takes 4 days to wind through the system and I will probably get a late payment fee.

Now I know everyone will say that I should set up a DD to pay this, BUT I avoid DDs if I can because I am not paid a regular salary in my bank at a certain time of the month. I receive payments at odd times and for different amounts and can never guarantee that I have enough in my account to meet a DD and if I do not my lovely bank charge me £37.50 for the privilege of bouncing it, the b******s. :mad: Those who advocate DDs do not realise that they are pretty useless for self employed people who do not receive a regular guaranteed wage.

The lady on the 'phone said I should realise my bill had not arrived and pay it anyway, which is true, but my life is so busy and hectic I just had not realised. I shall make a diary note in future. It is annoying as I always sit down in the first week of the month and pay my bills over the internet and just did not notice I did not have this one.

I must say that the lady on the 'phone was very pleasant and helpful, unlike the very rude, aggressive and nasty man I spoke to at MBNA several years ago when I had to phone up about something.

Anyway, the point of this post is I wanted to ask did anyone else's Sainsburys bill arrive late this month or was I just unlucky?

daveboy

Having had a Sainsbury's card in the past, I regularly logged in to check the account and made every payment using the internet.

It is surprising the number of people who can take the time to register on MSE but then don't do the same for their credit cards. Or don't appear to at least.

YorkshireBoy

vet8 wrote: »

Those who advocate DDs do not realise that they are pretty useless for self employed people who do not receive a regular guaranteed wage.

Why not set one up for the minimum payment of 2.25% and/or request an overdraft facility with your bank?

That way, and if you budget for this amount as you go through the month (ie earmark £2.25 for every £100 you spend), you'll at least avoid £12 late payment fees, unpaid DD fees with your bank, and all the associated black marks on your credit file.

Then, just pay any extra when you're 'flush'.

vet8

I realise that it appears easy to pay things by DD, but the way our finances work it is not that simple. When I sit down to pay the bills I sometimes have to pay them from my account or my husband's account if he is flush or even from our company account as it takes the bank a week to transfer money between accounts via the internet.

I have an overdraft and still cannot afford to pay the minimum amount by DD in case I have not been paid yet.

Life is not always as easy as people think.

HeadInSand_2

How about a Standing Order? You can easily synch these with your salary/wage - if you get paid weekly you could pay 4 small payments each month (ensuring the total amount is greater than the min payment), you have total control of these and can easily postpone/change/cancel them if you need to, I have an SO for my CCs that comes out shortly after my salary hits my account each month, I can then choose which to overpay knowing the min (plus a few quid) has been settled for each card.