Hi All
Due to not being able to log into online account on the payment due date, payment couldn't be made until the next day resulting in late fee/interest. I should've have left it to the last minute I know.
Now after speaking to the CC provider, they say that there needs to be 2 full billing cycles before the CC is eligible for an interest free period again regardless of whether full balance payments are made or not.
Has anyone heard of this before? Appreciate any replies.
Thanks for the reply Raymond
This is a 28 Degrees card & the website error was when I was trying to log into the 28 Degrees online service centre.
I understand that in my next bill, I will incur interest for the closing balance of the statement I missed but that shouldn't affect any purchases in the current period as long as a I pay everything (outstanding balance + new balance) by the due date, right?
I was told that any purchases within the next 2 months will attract interest from the date of purchase.
That's pretty harsh. You think there would be some leeway. I was 1 day late on an ANZ CC recently and they didn't charge me any fee.
Its two cycles as you can never be sure what the balance is with the interest.
The way around this is to pay off more than what is needed
eg
You know the balance is $100, then pay $150 this will cover the balance and any interest and leave you with acredit balance after the interest charges, now you dont have to wait 2 cycles to clear the account.
Sucks but it's the best way. Also dont charge anything more after you pay it off (with the extra).
If that makes sense.
ANZ used to do the same. The thing is after I missed it once once I never did it again.
Oh and if it was only a day late you might ask for some leeway from 28 degrees, it may work they may waive the charges, if you havent already tried.
So based on that:
If 1 September to 30 September purchases (October statement) are now overdue.
In the November statement, I will have to pay interest on the October closing balance PLUS interest on all purchases made from 1 October to 30 October.
Assume the due date for that is the 15th of November. If I pay off the balance and a bit more today, how does that affect the purchases to be made in from 1 November to 30 November?
Does this mean that if I ensure that all statements outstanding to 15 November are paid then all purchases in December will be fine?
Hi Brain,
In response to your previous reply as well.
I have had experience lately dealing with GE Money, but I have a Coles MC. My issue was slightly different, I was trying to claim Account Cover Plus insurance. My experience was that the terms and conditions were a bit unclear and I managed to plead my case with a successful result. Most of the CSRs were very polite and helpful albeit some lacked knowledge and sent me in the wrong direction but there's always hard work when there's free money involved (though now quite free after two hours on the phone and a letter). I have only been with GE Money since February of this year, and the Coles MC is my secondary card, primary for Price Protection Purchases.
They stated in a letter to me that my claim did not meet the conditions of the policy but would pay me anyway since I was a loyal customer.
I'm not sure what kind of interest fees you're facing but I would highly recommend playing off the fact that THEIR website was down which impeded on your payment abilities. Did you by any chance capture a screenshot? Also remind them that you are a loyal customer of hwo ever long you've been with them and that since you don't get an interest free period you are not likely to use your card at all in that period, limiting their income but explain it as a logical process rather than a process designed to be a threat.
In regard to the interest free period, here is my understanding. It has nothing to do with the payment date at all, so forget that as it will confuse you. It's all based on the closing balance on each statement.
If your statement cycle is with the 1st of each month, I would see it like this.
October 1 -> October 31
Statement Balance $1000
Paid $0
November 1 -> November 30
Statement Balance $1000 + Interest + Late Fee
If during November, you circumvent the final statement balance so that it is $0 or negative then you should be good for December to be an interest free period again. This is because if you made any purchases in November the associated interest charges would be applied to the December statement.
I hope that that's been helpful. I always tend to keep my account in the negative on the statement issue date do that I don't need to pay the premium for the account cover plus so I also avoid issues like this.
Assume the due date for that is the 15th of November. If I pay off the balance and a bit more today, how does that affect the purchases to be made in from 1 November to 30 November?
If you do this then the November statement will be in credit, so they cant charge you any more interest from when it's paid off. If you dont then you will have a negative balance at the end of Nov which will attract interest as you have no interest free days.
I know its hard to get your head around and I still have "issues" doing the same as it's a long time ago when I found this out, but it worked for me in the past.
The aim is that by the next statement you have a positive balance. The issue you have is that you dont really know what the interest is until it added at the end of the billing cycle, which then is too late for you to pay off. So your account now generates more interest to be paid,
Even if you pay it off when you see the statement, it will take a day to do so with the fastest transfers, now more interest to be paid for at least that 1 day, which means you lose your interest free period for the rest of this new month.
Now if you are clever and can do it, if you miss by even 1c, you will be affected and back to original issue.
Given interest you receive on money in the bank is pretty pathetic vs the interest being charged on the card 20%+ over paying will be cheap. Plus the faster you pay it. The less you will pay.
Hope that helps
Thanks guys.
I think I'm getting caught up on the "interest free period"
By this, are we saying purchases I make won't attract interest for up to 55 days or are we saying that the December invoice won't have any interest charges for November on it?
At this stage, I'm not as worried about the interest charges, I'll cop them but it's more so the spending that I'll be doing in December whilst overseas.
As of today, the balance of the cc is in negative (ie. they owe me money) and my billing period ends tomorrow. How would this affect the above?
If this is the first time you've been charged interest I would ask them polity to waive the interest charges as a good will gesture and that you had issues with their website while trying to make a payment.
I remember under paying a closing balance by 5c accidentally - I was then charged over $500 in interest charges for that month. Realising the small mistake I'd made I called and politely asked if they would consider waiving the interest charge, explained I have always paid on time, and in full each month, etcetc - after a few checks they waived the charge and I walked away a happy customer. No harm in trying and asking them. If you don't ask you don't get :)
Were you not able to log on because of website issues or personal error?
If it's the CC providers error for the late payment, then any associated fees or penalties should be waived.
Considering you were going online to make an instant payment, your CC provider sounds like one of the big banks where you can make an instant transfer to the card rather than a BPay or similar. They're big enough and if you speak to the right people they should be able to help you out with something. Generally I pay it a few days early to avoid any issues.
Two full billing cycles sounds possible, regardless if interest is calculated daily or per cycle, it will be tacked onto the end of the statement. So at the end of the first cycle you would get charges and the second cycle to clear it. If you have a positive balance at the end of the first billing cycle then, I don't see why the next month isn't interest free.
Hope that is somewhat helpful!