Home › Forums › Open Discussion › RANT- Citicard arbitrary fees!
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May 20, 2009 at 1:33 am #590947
AshleyMemberI have been a Citicard holder for almost 7 years. Today I checked my online balance and saw a finance charge. I have never paid late and always pay over what my statement says.
My last statement said I owed 21.00 and I paid 300.00 the day before it was due to compensate for purchases after the statement was generated. Apparently at the end of the month I had a little balance left over and they assessed me a finance charge. I ONLY OWED 21.00 ON MY STATEMENT. Apparently if you don’t pay in full after your statement is geenrated at the end of the month they will issue a finance charge. I have never seen anything like that in 7 years! I couldn’t believe it. I mean don’t they have to tell people this?? Doesn’t it make your statement obsolete since really what they want you to pay is the total every month?? I hope this makes sense because I am quite pissed off!!! Anyone else having trouble with credit cards??
May 20, 2009 at 1:39 am #667111
AshleyMemberAnd this has never happened before now. I mean what if I make a purchase on the 31st and dont make it home in time to make an on-line payment then I get a finance charge??? Am I being unrealisitic??
May 20, 2009 at 1:50 am #667112
datamuseParticipantBank of America does this, too. It’s ridiculous. Fortunately I don’t use my credit card much.
(I am exploring other options, including credit unions. I don’t do my investing with BoA; all I have with them is a checking account and my cc.)
May 20, 2009 at 2:05 am #667113
Lucile 2MemberDave Ramsey saved my life. I highly recommend!
May 20, 2009 at 4:01 am #667114
HunterGParticipantI feel your pain.
I have been a member for close to six years and have never been late, but my APR was upped because I no longer make purchases on the card.
Needless to say, I “opted out” and if the APR cannot be negotiated, who knows…I have always been a responsible customer, but I don’t respect loan sharks.
May 20, 2009 at 4:33 am #667115
RockinRedMemberI have been having similar problems with Capital One. I always make two payments per month on my card, but last month I chose to only make one payment. I was charged a late fee because I paid before my statement was issued. My next payment was one day after my April due date. Charged $19.00 late fee. When I called the company a very polite outsourced customer service agent informed me in order to avoid late payment fees I must pay after my monthly statement is issued. So basically there is about a 5 day window during the beginning of the month in which my payments apparently make no difference (other than paying down my balance) They did refund my late fee, but I am still pretty annoyed that I have to make payments after my statements are issued, because that is normally about 5 days after pay day and I just dont think about it…..
I really think all these companies are just trying to nickel and dime us to death. Just not fair when you have been a good customer with no late payments or overages.
May 20, 2009 at 4:46 am #667116
AshleyMemberI mainly use my credit cards for points/miles but you’re right this nickel and diming is ridiculous! I am not happy to hear others are having problems but nice to know I am not the only one having problems. Credit card companies must be going crazy since their profit is down.
May 20, 2009 at 4:54 am #667117
JustSarahParticipantMaybe I’m missing something, but it sounds to me like they assessed a finance charge on the remaining balance, which is normal assuming you were beyond the card’s grace period. Most of my cards have 25-30 day grace periods; I make a charge and have that much time to pay before a finance charge is assessed. Is this not what you’re referring to? If so, yes, this is how credit card companies make money. Some have even shrunk the grace periods to as little as 15 days in recent years.
May 20, 2009 at 5:35 am #667118
AshleyMemberMy statement entire balance was 21.00. My minimum payment was 10.00. I paid 300.00 the day before it was due. I did not go beyond the grace period. They assessed me a finance charge because I did not have a zero balance at the end of then month. This is always how I pay my credit cards, I have never ever had a finance charge I always pay over the amount owed. I understand how credit card companies make money.
May 20, 2009 at 5:43 am #667119
AshleyMemberthey told me it doesn’t matter anymore what it says my statement balance is or minimum payment is.
May 20, 2009 at 6:40 am #667120
HunterGParticipantStick it to them then Ashley…
So many people are walking away from their debt, use the fact that you are responsible customer to your advantage. Don’t ever negotiate through the first person you speak to. Ask for a supervisor, and then their supervisor.
May 21, 2009 at 2:44 am #667121
datamuseParticipantThis recent story from the New York Times seems pertinent to this discussion.
Basically, even if you pay off your balance every month, it’s going to be harder than ever to avoid finance charges or fees.
I already use my credit card so little. This isn’t going to encourage me to use it more.
May 21, 2009 at 3:52 am #667122
CMPParticipantActually, the NY Times had an even more informative article today (5/20) about recent credit card changes. Banks are basically trying to go after people that pay off their cards in full every month with extra fees, or reducing/eliminating rewards, charging annual fees. They need to make money somehow but I say go after the people that have bad credit and can’t pay promptly. I’ve always been one of those annoying customers that pays in full every month and has never had a finance charge, but you’d better believe I’ll be studying my bill even more closely to see if there’s anything fishy on it.
May 21, 2009 at 4:39 am #667123
datamuseParticipantUh, CMP? That’s the article I posted.
May 21, 2009 at 4:43 am #667124
SueParticipantI love how they (credit cards) refer to those of us who pay off our cards in full as “deadbeats” because we don’t pay interest. I use my cash-back REI Visa for everything on earth and pay it off each month. I am sure that the merchant fees that they earn on those purchases are considerable. If they start nickle-and-diming me and charging fees because I am a “deadbeat,” I will just go back to using my debit card, cash and checks. When they lose their merchant fees from me, they’ll see how much of a deadbeat I wasn’t.
May 21, 2009 at 5:28 am #667125
JanSParticipantand that brings us to this…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090520/bs_nm/us_creditcard_congress_7
May 21, 2009 at 5:57 am #667126
charlabobParticipantPeople who pay off their cards monthly are deadbeats as far as the CC companies are concerned. The merchant fees we pay are nowhere near the amount they get from people who maintain a balance. (Interesting that they’re trying to pit people who pay off every month against people who maintain a balance — a congress critter whose name I forget said today that it’s very easy in this economy to move from paying off every month to having a running balance.)
Think carefully about what the CC companies are saying: “In order to make our usurious profits, we have to rip off someone — if it can’t be the people who maintain balances and even get behind, it will be the people who pay on time.”
Think about what we’re saying as customers: “We only use these cards to get the freebies — you don’t expect us to pay anything extra for the convenience, do you?”
It’s called greed — on all sides — and it’s what got us where we are today.
May 21, 2009 at 1:35 pm #667127
datamuseParticipantI was thinking about this last night, because of course the major loan that I have (my mortgage) accrues interest regardless of when I make my payments. The only way to decrease that interest is to make additional principal payments so that the loan is paid off sooner.
On the other hand, the language and terms of my mortgage are straightforward and comprehensible. While those of my one remaining credit card (I closed the others because I never used them) are Byzantine in their complexity.
I don’t care about freebies or incentives. I’d just like to be able to expect that I’m not going to be penalized for paying my bill on time. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
May 21, 2009 at 2:33 pm #667128
beachdrivegirlParticipantI ran into something similar when I paid off my BoA credit card. And to top it off b/c I get electronic statements, and b/c in my mind I had paid the card off. I got a late fee for the finance charges that they charged after I paid my card off in full before the due date. Oh it peeved me and it is a big reason why BoA not only lost me as a credit card customer but also a banking customer.
May 21, 2009 at 4:02 pm #667129
datamuseParticipantYup, BDG. That’s exactly what’s happened. From my perspective, it’s terribly short-sighted of them. It seems to me that customers who habitually pay off balances are going to be pretty conscientious about fees and the like by nature, because one of the reasons we do it is to avoid accruing fees.
And THAT means we’re gonna go somewhere else if we don’t like how they’re doing things. Bankrate is a good place to comparison shop.
May 21, 2009 at 4:09 pm #667130
AshleyMemberYes I have decided not to use my citicard as much anymore. Only an occasional gas fill up!
May 21, 2009 at 5:57 pm #667131
CMPParticipantdatamuse, it was a new article in the NY Times a day after yours was posted: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/your-money/20money.html?em
I can’t figure out how to hyperlink so I didn’t bother adding it. Anyway, it was interesting and kind of dumbed down some of the major changes that credit card holders should be aware of. Thankfully I’ve never had any kind of debt but I love the possibilty of being penalized for good behavior…sarcasm.
May 21, 2009 at 6:37 pm #667132
datamuseParticipantOh, that’s a good one. I wasn’t aware that credit card companies were setting a TIME OF DAY for a payment by mail to be considered on time. Sheesh! Even the IRS doesn’t do that!
May 23, 2009 at 12:26 am #667133
bazooMemberPredatory bankers! I hate bankers and their mindset.
I left WaMu after they raised my credit card interest rate from 6.5% to 15.5% in January…. and I have a sterling credit rating!
I’ve gone to BECU and love them. No hidden agenda and tricks.
May 23, 2009 at 2:49 pm #667134
Lucile 2MemberI love BECU. And they have credit cards there too, if you are into that. I have been forever pleased with my move, and they can really offer everything that the major banks offer, except poor customer service. I haven’t run into a reason to go back to WAMU or Bank of America.
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