Credit card scam!!!

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Rick in PA

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So my wife goes to pay our Citi Bank card on-line today (Saturday), the day before the bill is due (the bill is due on Sunday). Seems they have a policy, "they can't process bills on non-business days". So, bingo, we get hit with a late fee and a finance charge.

Now, I'm not sure if this is a new policy, or if they are starting to schedule "bills due" on non-buisness days, or if it's just a fluke (is anything really "just a fluke"?). I do know that the banks are hurting because they all got caught-up in the bad-loan fiasco and are probably pulling out the stops to remain profitable.

We'll have to make an effort not to cut the payments so "close to the wire".

Grandfathers saying: "You'll get robbed nine times with a pencil for every once with a gun."

Be wary.
 
Credit Card companies are doing everything they can to make a buck to offset low introductory APR. Read the fine print VERY carefully.
 
It's not a scam, it's the working's of the ACH (automated clearinghouse) system. You generally can't make any ACH transactions on non-business days. You can schedule them, but they won't go through the system until the next business day. If you have a VISA check card, it might work, but at least with my credit card, you can only pay online via accounts with a routing number and not credit cards (check cards like VISA go though the various credit card networks and not the ACH - the inter-bank transaction system).
 
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As soon as you get your bill schedule the payment on their website for the day you want to pay it. Often times it will take a day or two from the time you schedule it so doing it in advance takes that problem away.
 
If the credit card company cannot process payments on non-business days, then they cannot demand payment on non-business days, since those payments cannot be processed on those days. There's probably something in the contract about this, and I bet it says you have to pay the business day before.
 
Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
So my wife goes to pay our Citi Bank card on-line today (Saturday), the day before the bill is due (the bill is due on Sunday). Seems they have a policy, "they can't process bills on non-business days". So, bingo, we get hit with a late fee and a finance charge.

Now, I'm not sure if this is a new policy, or if they are starting to schedule "bills due" on non-buisness days, or if it's just a fluke (is anything really "just a fluke"?). I do know that the banks are hurting because they all got caught-up in the bad-loan fiasco and are probably pulling out the stops to remain profitable.

We'll have to make an effort not to cut the payments so "close to the wire".

Grandfathers saying: "You'll get robbed nine times with a pencil for every once with a gun."

Be wary.




Rick, contact them and they'll reverse the fee.
 
The bigger a bank gets, the less they care about you.
You're just a number to them.
I've often though that the Sat or Sun due date is planned that way. See it all to often.
Call 'customer no service' if you want, maybe you'll get lucky.
And people wonder why I hate banks.
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Another vote for ask for the fee to be reversed and say you know better now. They should do this, if they don't say I am leaving and they will change their tune fast.
 
Exactly - call them. If you say it well, you're in very good standing with them, they'll reverse it. If not, ask for the Supervisor and talk about going somewhere else. Then, they should for sure.

thumbsup2.gif
 
I agree you should call them, especially if its your first time, they will "ussually" work with a good client and waive it one time. Credit card companies are getting really slimy lately. I like to pay off the balance on my cards and lately I noticed, my statements are arriving with a due date the next week, not giving you much time to alot the money in that direction. Dicover is the only one that gives me a bill in like 3 weeks advance. The rest are trying to get you to screw up.
 
Panzerman, not that I've ever had a credit card, but I'm noticing the same on bills.

I can send a Christmas card (peak season) to my parents, and if I post it before 10AM, they can get it the next day. That's through three exchanges. I win something on ebay on Tuesday, and it's here on Thursday.

The utility and rate bills "Printed On ___/___/___" take over two weeks to get here.
 
Originally Posted By: alreadygone
Another solution, manage your finances so that you don't go "down to the wire" on pay date.

Bob


That's what I do, although there are some bills that come very close to due date. I pay them all online now and my bank said to allow 5 business days when paying online. I try to give a little more time just in case.

Frank D
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo
I pay mine online. Too easy, plus you can time it just right. Max use of THEIR money.


+1

some of the rumblings I've heard are that utilities are thinking about having the consumer pay in advance - to reduce the risk of non-paying customers (currently connection is paid in advance).
 
I canceled a Citi card because I got tired of the various little stupid things they'd do.

short story about Citi.
Sending out the bill very close to its due date was just one of their games. The straw that broke the camel's back was when I "converted to paperless" back in the early days of online payments. I had been a customer for a couple of years by then. THEY messed up my email address so they never sent me a bill for a small $20 balance, I didn't have any new charges. after 6 months I receive a collection notice in the mail with 6 months of overdue fees and interest. I called them and my email address had been bouncing back, their stupid system couldn't send me a paper notice because I had "converted to paperless" even though they knew my mailing address well enough to mail a collection notice. the guy on the phone didn't have a reply when I questioned thier system. He did drop the fees and interest and canceled my card at my request.
 
The most frustrating (what I call a scam) situation that I've encountered is the "floating due date w/fixed grace period".

I pay all my bills automatically. It's like clockwork. Now here's the rub ..the CC company will have a 30 day billing cycle, but only process payments on a 15 day cycle. That is, the due date can and will float and they give you a 15 day window for payments. If you fall out of the "window" ..you're late and are charged the late fee. The money you sent/transmitted goes against your balance ..but is not an on time payment for the NEXT month. I had to get to a supervisor before I could get someone to say it in the right manner for me to understand. My reasoning was that I couldn't possibly be late two months in a row. If I missed the due date ..I had to be WAY early for the NEXT month. I can't just pay on the 15th of every month and be secure that it will be on time. I have to adjust my date every so often. The only other way to assure that they can't "get me" with this and allow me a "set it and forget it" attitude (that I've spent much effort into refining) is to send two payments a month that are at least the minimum amount due.

I love boobytraps for better revenue generation.
 
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