This information cost me, so I hope it saves you. The credit card companies can play a game with you, it's called the lets not cash your check so we can charge you late fees and finance fees on your balance. This is a practice that they won't admit to, and most people because most people don't use return receipt mail for their bills (a way to track when the recipient receives your mail) and are not able to prove it, except with their late fee and finance charges. Calling up the credit card and you get the company line;
"You must allow 7-11 days for your check to POST" . They can do this to you at any time. What's worse, is it was done to me, and I complained to a friend and they said, "Is it a Chase Freedom Card, cause it happened to me also." They sent in their payment as always, and were caught. They said it posted a day late.
This is what happened to me: I had a 0% interest card with Chase Freedom card. I sent in a payment, using Citibank ONline Bill pay. Most of the Citibank online bill pay uses electronic wire transfers. But for some reason, my Chase freedom account would not allow that. So I sent in my payment, and they told me it was late. Checking all my bill pay accounts, they all were e-wire, except Chase, which was by check.
SO FIRST THING FIRST check your online billing if you use it.
Make sure they use electronic wire transfer.It's instant, or at least one business day. Also, there is no argument when they receive the money, unlike regular mail which they can claim takes up to 11 days. (From where, Alaska?)
Chase Freedom cardcharged a late fee, and also a finance fee. They claim "we don't go by the postage date". So your intent has nothing to do with when they get the money. Also your past history also has nothing to do with it. I paid on time every time previously.
That's funny, Citibank removes the money from my account the very next day I use the bill pay, so for several days my money is nowhere? Someone is earning interest on it. Probably Citibank, but not me. (so your online bill pay isn't really free is it.)
Chase Freedom card charges me a finance fee. Nothing I can do or say apparently, so I pay of the balance. I paid off what they said I owe. (OR so I think so.) The next month, there is a 49$ finance fee. WTF? I paid it off. Ohhhh, there is another finance fee.
The Residual Finance fee. (pay your bills as soon as you get them, don't use their "pay by this date"; Pay early.)
Turns out they hope you make this mistake. ON my bill there are two dates, My billing cycle for example was July 4th, to August 5th. But they have another date under the billing cycle, the "Pay by this date", in my case the 24th of July. They suggest you pay your bill by whatever date, and the other is the 30 day cycle. The 30 day cycle is very important, If you carry a balance, they call that revolving credit, and it's based on an average of all 30 days. So even if you think you paid it off, you didn’t. If you paid the balance off on the 24th of July, you are "carrying a balance" since July 4th. This means they get to charge you for everyday you didn’t pay. The 5th, up to the 24th. You say wait, I pay off my monthly bill every month, I’ve never been charged this fee. Well, did you carry a balance, yes, then you are in revolving credit mode, yet you don't know it. Your basically paying off another cycle. Revolving credit uses an average of every day in the cycle. Since it's an average, you pay slightly less than your balance, since the last few days of the cycle is 0$ and it's averaged into total cycle average. (for a case like mine where I thought I paid it all off.)
There is nothing on the bill that tells you this. They claimed that since I was paying of a balance transfer it was not regular credit, but Revolving credit. Hmmm, I didn't know that. (Crap I didn't read that fine print) Regular credit, if you pay off your balance for the month, they don't charge you Residual Finance fees.
Since the finance fee is new, it's treated like a purchase. I pay it off by the end of the cycle now and I'm finally done. But I had the money, If I knew I would’ve paid everything off by the end of the last cycle.
So who's mistake is this, in the eye's of the contract it's mine. So learn my friends from my mistake.
If you plan on paying off the balance, don’t use their pay by this date. Pay it off before you even get the bill, pay it off so it posts before the new cycle, or else they get to charge you all those days.
The reason it says pay by this date is because that's what they want you to do, it's to their benefit not yours. Pay off as much as you can before the start of the new cycle.
But this is not the way I want to do business with a credit card company. They should have a pay it all off by this date, section, or something highlighted that there is residual finance fees. The worst way to find out about this is, after the fact. These companies don't work with you. Nothing I could say would help. I tried all the logic. My intentions were to pay everything off, but in the end I didn't want to waste my time understanding all their mumbo jumbo. So I'll pay their fees, and cancel my Chase Freedom card. I won't say don't use them, but I will say I won't. I won't do business with a company who refuses to work with me. I'm your average person. Odds are you are too.
One attendant told me they can take off the late fee once every 6 months. ANother told me afterward, (because I called twice) They could remove the finance fee or late fee, not both. I didn't request the finance fee (which was 90$) I requested the late fee which was 45$. Most people request the late fee, not knowing you can say, "as a curtisy, can you remove the finance fee", (obviously if your finance fee is higher.) So hmmm, it's all a game they play. If you don't know they rip you a new one, and with a smile too.
I always wondered how they can give away free money and things when you open an account.
Antonio