interest charges on credit card

asandwhen

I have started to do all my shopping on credit card and paying off in full each month - We put about £600 onto a halifax one card a month and pay it off before the 59 days - I was really annoyed to find a £7.50 interest charge on the card :mad: - I called halifax and they said that because we didnt pay the balance before the statement date (not to be confused with due date) they had put the interest on - The payment was recieved by them 2 day later (and about a week before the due date) - so well within the 59 days - when I questioned this they refunded the charges straight away - is this normal practise or are they trying to pull a fast one?

Clariman

Hi asandwhen

I am not sure what the problem is, but here are some pointers. Firstly, you do not get 59 days to pay off all purchases. The 59 days is a maximum interest free period and is based on you charging something to the card the day after they send the you the statement for one month, in which case it will not appear on a statement until about 30 days laters and then you have to pay it by the due date ..... giving you approx 59 days. If you charge something to the card the day before a statement gets produced then you don't have the 30 + 29 days .... you just have the 29 days.

Also, there are a few cards around that give no interest free days on purchases i.e. they charge you interest from the date of the purchase. I am not aware of a Halifax one like that but check your Ts & Cs. There are quite a few cards who charge interest from the day of a cash withdrawal, but I guess you didn't withdraw cash to pay for your shoppping (?).

Final thought. You should not have to pay any interest if they have the funds in their bank account by the due date. However, don't forget that it may take 4 banking days from receipt of your payment before the funds are cleared in their bank account.

HTH
Clariman

asandwhen

have check t&C's and it is 59 days interest free - The payment was recieved by them according to my next statement 5 days before the due date - any ideas?

Clariman

asandwhen wrote:

have check t&C's and it is 59 days interest free - The payment was recieved by them according to my next statement 5 days before the due date - any ideas?

As I said, 59 days is the maximum days interest free and depends entirely on the date that you make the purchase relative to when the statements are produced. The key question. In the last 2 or 3 months, have you always paid off your credit card in full before the due date and allowing for bank clearing times ? If so, then you should not have been charged interest. However, if the £600 appeared on an earlier statement and you did not pay that off in full by that statement's due date, then you would be charged interest ..... even if it was less than 59 days.

HTH
Clariman