Credit Tips: Credit Card Late Payments and Fees

Posted On: January 1, 2005

Author: ALex
Joined: 14 Aug 2004
Posts: 24
Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 6:34 pm
Post subject: John Kerry’s Plan for CC Companys… What do you think?

news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: cabledude
Joined: 14 Aug 2004
Posts: 36
Location: East
Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 6:38 pm

The link is not working. Are you sure it is right or am I screwed up?

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: Ira
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 756
Location: NJ
Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 10:19 pm

The link is definitely not working.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Ira

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: credithelp
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 44
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 7:01 am

Try this link

sg.us.biz.yahoo.com/ap/040827/credit_kerry_2.html

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: NightStar
Forum Moderator
Joined: 07 Nov 2003
Posts: 2256
Location: Illinois
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 8:31 am

That is interesting, it would be nice to have one level late payments across all of the credit card companies instead of fluctuation that you can have with some of them. Cause that definitely adds up if someone misses a few months and then it makes it impossible to catch up sometimes. I would definitely like to see something done about the credit card companies jumping so fast on increasing interest rates… some of them going up to 28% or maybe more, that is definitely impossible to expect consumers to get control to climb back out of debt. Just one set default rate, and rules on how long they should wait to jump the rate would be nice, like say 30 days grace period before going into affect. I don’t think requiring example published on rates and payment period is asking too much, if anything have a central web site set up to direct consumers online to caclulators so they can figure up exactly what their payment period will be on their own.

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: vvolf119
Joined: 08 Sep 2004
Posts: 1
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 10:10 am

you know I hear a lot complaining about what credit grantors are doing and how much they charge for being late and the interest rates they charge. There is a quick fix to it all, dont be late, and read the application before signing it. Know what your interest rate is. Then you can decide if it is right for you. Dont wait till after you have charged the card to the max then complain that the interest and late charges are piling up. Bad credit is a growing poblem in this country, my company alone services millions of bad debt each month. This is not the fault of the credit card companies but misinformed and uneducated people on credit.

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: NightStar
Forum Moderator
Joined: 07 Nov 2003
Posts: 2256
Location: Illinois
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 12:21 pm

That is all good and fine to have the best intentions to not going into debt or becoming late, but that don’t mean that you are going to stay away from that problem, that something out of your control may happen. That is the same as getting your drivers license, and saying that you are sure you will never get into an accident, you can’t guarentee that.

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: credithelp
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 44
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 1:48 pm

Yeah, some people get sick,have car accidents,lose jobs,etc that make it impossible to avoid paying late. It would be nice if the issuers were not as ruthless sometimes.

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: Board Monitor
BOARD MONITOR-ADMINISTRATOR
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 459
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 7:41 am

Thanks for the link Alex!

Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH 501-301-8474 FX

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 379
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 9:28 am

Part of the problem IS the fault of the credit card companies, though–giving people access to large amounts of credit that their incomes don’t support, promoting to the naive and uninformed (targeting college students, for example), giving special introductory offers with only the fine print talking about what happens when the special rate period ends. Plus the endless marketing to tell people that it’s OK to buy without having any money–you can always buy on credit.

Polonius
“Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend”

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: nativechild48
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 10 Nov 2003
Posts: 323
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 3:37 pm

Yeah Polonius is correct, some not very nice creditors will let a payment sit for sometime before posting and the consumer has to pay a late charge. Now many are doing your check by automation through a check clearing house and destroying the check. Sometimes snail-mail messes up as well.

native

View our latest credit card ratings!

Credit Tips: Credit Card Late Payments and Fees

Posted On:

Author: papoose
Joined: 14 Aug 2004
Posts: 4
Location: oklahoma
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 12:20 pm
Post subject: Credit card due dates

I see a lot of people posting that the bank didn’t get the check in time to avoid late charges. Here is how I handle it. I pay as soon as the statement becomes available. This does two things. One, my mind is at ease for the next 28 days until the next due date. Also, in cases of extreme cash bind, I have fifty eight days until the next REQUIRED payment. But folks, get away from such tight schedules. The best way is to pay last month’s balance in full, then there is no interest charged. This way, you beat them at their own game.

little papoose
View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: Ira
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 759
Location: NJ
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 2:26 pm

That’s a good theory, but it’s not the only theory. If your checking account pays interest, by sending a payment three weeks before it’s due, you lose that much interest. I do it slightly differently. I do all my banking online. Therefore I can schedule payments in advance. As soon as I receive a statement I schedule the payment which will be sent, usually electronically, by the bank. I’ve never been hurt by this method.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Ira

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: meto
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 21 Mar 2004
Posts: 209
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 3:00 pm

1*I pay as soon as the statement becomes available.
2*If your checking account pays interest, by sending a payment three weeks before it’s due, you lose that much interest.

1*I do it a bit different. All my CC pmts’ are due on or after the 25 Th. of the month. I mail my payment on the first day of the month wither or not I’ve received the statement. By not waiting for the statement I gain an extra 7 to 10 day for the payment to arrive on time.
2*This is a matter of personal preference but the way I look at it I would rather loose 5 or 10 cents worth of interest rather than take the chance of paying a $39 late fee on one or more accounts by trying to salvage a few cents worth of interest.A-50-C

me

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: Ira
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 759
Location: NJ
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 10:52 pm

Apparently you didn’t read my entire post. You can have your cake & eat it too by using online banking, ordering the payment as soon as the statement arrives, and specifying a payment date which is several days ahead of the due date. How far ahead depends on whether payment will be made electronically or sent by check, but the bank always tells me the payment method when I set up the payee account. I have NEVER been hurt using this method.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Ira

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 381
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2004 9:25 am

Paying online also gives proof of when the payment was sent. It avoids all arguments about whether or not you sent payment on time. If the other party doesn’t get the payment in the expected time, your bank will trace what happened to the payment. If it’s the fault of YOUR bank, often your bank will pick up any finance charges and late fees–and explain the situation to the other party. If it’s the fault of the other party, such as a late posting or a posting to a wrong account, the other party will cancel the added finance charges and late fees. Online is definitely the way to go–and since most banks now accept/send payments electronically, you don’t have to worry about the vagaries of snail mail. (Even if a check is mailed, it’s usually mailed from a major city right at a main post office, so it gets to the other party faster. I live in a rural town in California where the mail is slow; my checks through Wells Fargo are sent from San Francisco.)

Polonius

“Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend”

View our latest credit card ratings!

Author: Ira
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 759
Location: NJ
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2004 10:56 pm

You can also check to see when the payment cleared. You can find out, almost to the hour, when your payment was received by your creditor. Also, the bank pays any postage which, if you write 20 checks a month, saves you almost $100.00 per year. It is definitely foolproof if used correctly.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Ira

View our latest credit card ratings!