close out credit card by £13 refund due

seatbeltnoob · 4 March 2018 at 3:42PM

I have a tesco credit card with a -£13 balance. I am owed a refund by a retailer which is taking their sweet !!! time to process it, the refund is exactly £13. A statement is generated 9th of the month. It looks like it wont be paid before the statement is produced.

I want to close this account down, I would need to have a £0 balance on this by 9th. Then the final interest will be charged and then I pay off the interest and can close the account.

I'm not sure what steps to take in order to end up with the account closed the quickest. Should I pay the £13 and bring the balance up to £0, or leave it on -£13.

I am worried that if I pay in the £13 then I will be left with a credit balance which then I will need to spend accurately to bring it back down to £0. Which will elongate the process.

What are the best steps?

interest is definitely due on this as I have had balances crossing over statement dates

Is it possible to close the credit card account when it is in credit and have them send a bank transfer or cheque to my address?

chattychappy · 4 March 2018 at 3:49PM

I would pay the £13 now. Is there any reason why you want to close this account so quickly?

Anyway, once the refund has gone through, then just spend on it. Say you spend £18, then simply pay the balance of £5 on the next statement and that will be it. There may be some trailing interest in there to add to the balance.

OR, as you say, you can get them to send a cheque. But that all seems like more hassle to me.

chattychappy · 4 March 2018 at 3:50PM

Oh and don't forget any subscriptions, regular payments etc. You should contact the merchants with alternative payment details. You can also cancel via Tesco.

nic_c · 4 March 2018 at 3:52PM

I am confused, you say you are owed a refund as if its a positive overpayment, or if this a refund on something that you have bought and returned? Since you say should you pay it, then I'm assuming the latter. Do you have a DD set up.

If you are due a refund that will clear the balance then it depends on when this gets refunded and when your payment deadline is. If worried, pay the £13 and when you close it they will refund any overpayment. Is there a reason why the a/c has to be closed by a certain date?

seatbeltnoob · 4 March 2018 at 3:56PM

there's no real rush to get the account closed. Just my personal preference really.

seatbeltnoob · 4 March 2018 at 3:59PM

nic_c wrote: »

I am confused, you say you are owed a refund as if its a positive overpayment, or if this a refund on something that you have bought and returned? Since you say should you pay it, then I'm assuming the latter. Do you have a DD set up.

If you are due a refund that will clear the balance then it depends on when this gets refunded and when your payment deadline is. If worried, pay the £13 and when you close it they will refund any overpayment. Is there a reason why the a/c has to be closed by a certain date?

i owe the credit card £13. and a retailer owes me £13 [onto the credit card account] for a returned/cancelled order.

It currently stands -£13. The statement date is 9th March, retailer probably wont refund me by then.

Emily_Joy · 4 March 2018 at 4:07PM

It's better not to do anything right now. Wait for the statement. The day after the retailer process the refund and your card shows 0£ balance call the number on the back of the card and state that you would like to close the account. Don't forget to ask for a written confirmation that the CC account is closed.

bengal-stripe · 4 March 2018 at 5:10PM

Emily_Joy wrote: »

It's better not to do anything right now. Wait for the statement.

Not a very clever idea.

You will be charged £12 for being over the limit in the next statement. You might be able to persuade the card to cancel the charge. If you're still over the limit in the next billing period (starting 10/03), you'll be charged another 12 quid. Whether you can get the card to drop two charges is rather doubtful.

seatbeltnoob · 4 March 2018 at 5:16PM

bengal-stripe wrote: »

Not a very clever idea.

You will be charged £12 for being over the limit in the next statement. You might be able to persuade the card to cancel the charge. If you're still over the limit in the next billing period (starting 10/03), you'll be charged another 12 quid. Whether you can get the card to drop two charges is rather doubtful.

over the limit? i think you misread everything

chattychappy · 4 March 2018 at 6:29PM

Emily_Joy wrote: »

It's better not to do anything right now. Wait for the statement. The day after the retailer process the refund and your card shows 0£ balance call the number on the back of the card and state that you would like to close the account. Don't forget to ask for a written confirmation that the CC account is closed.

The problem with that is that if the refund doesn't come through in time, the OP could get a late payment fee plus a negative report to the CRA(s).

seatbeltnoob · 4 March 2018 at 6:52PM

there's been about £800 paid already this month. Stopped short of the £13 as I am expecting a refund. Should not get any late fees or penalties.

I do want to mitigate the interest though

close out credit card by £13 refund due

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free