OT Visa With a New Twist!!!

[T_Bone]

Hi All,

I just got off the phone with Visa that I have with Bank of America. I had not received my end of the month statement. According to Visa they can vary my month ending date by plus or minus 10days. This month they extended my month ending date by 10days.

So what did that do? Example: Well I pay off my card every month. I was expecting to owe $2100 on the due date. Now that they pushed my ending date back 10days, I will now owe $3600 on the due date as I found some more tools on sale that I wanted for next months budget.

What I've been doing is replacing some tools every month on a maxium budget I set for myself of items that are on sale.

This won't effect me as I already have the extra $1500 covered, but what about the guy that was expecting to pay $2100 at the end of the month and he now has to come up with $3600???

He now owes interest on the $1500 if he can't pay the balance in full this month!!! How many people is this one gonna catch???

It does however, run me over on my personal set monthly budget plan.

And they say the banks are going broke....LOL

Just thought you might want to check your statement ending date if you do online banking.

T_Bone

 

[IaGary]

Here is another little trick they play.

My Mastercard was due the 10th of the month for 5 years.

Then all of a sudden they went to the 5th for a due date.

It caught me off guard and I was late 5 days with my payment and got a interest charge on that bill.

Yes it was legal.

Watch your due date.

Gary

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have VISA and went to online billing so that I would avoid late fees due to staggered billing. I also use online banking so when the bill arrives I pay it immediately online. It has worked very well. Some of our bills were being sent to a similar address on a different road but with the same numerical address so now we don't have to worry about the U.S. Mail service screwups. The U.S. Junkbox just is used to get crappy sale brochures.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Burn your credit card! If you can afford to pay it off every month you can afford to pay up front for what you buy. Don't buy any tools for a month to get on the front side of the curve and either use checks or get a debit card from a credit union if you can. Banks and credit card issuers are crooks.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

I switched cards recently. I always pay off my balance but I wanted a Thrivent card since we have other services through them. The old card had a one month grace period. The new card, unknown to me, had a 21 day grace period. By the time I got the bill, I had to turn around send the check. Dirty pups. They didn't get me but I wonder how many they do get. I canceled the card and told them when I did that I'm sick and tired of their dirty stinking tricks. They responded like it was my fault that they were trying to screw a late fee outta me.

Someone else mentioned burning it and paying only cash. Not an option in today's world. First you'd have hundreds of dollars on you at all times just for gas. Second, no one takes checks anymore. Third, everyone takes visa. It's rotten, but the way of the today's world. As long as you pay off the balance every month, it's free to you.

 

[IaGary]

I would not use a credit card except for discounts. My conoco/mastercard gives me a 2% discount on fuel bought at a Conoco station.

So with gas at 3.00, I get .06 per gallon off.

That is all that card is used for is gas.

We spend about $800 a month on fuel so that is about $16 a month savings with no charges when I pay on time every month.

Our local station is Conoco.

Gary

 

[Scott KY]

I found out the hard way you pay interest on the highest balance for the period unless you pay off the whole amount. In other words if you pay the $2100 and still owe $1500, you pay interest that month on $3600. No wonder people get buried in credit card debt.

 

[Jeff-oh]

PBS's Frontline had a show on the dirty tricks of the Credit card industry last week. Another trick is to make the due date on a Sunday. That way your late if it shows up in Mondays mail.

 

[MSM]

Easiest way to get around this is to use a debit card with the Visa logo on it.Payment is deducted out of you checking/savings account,no bill to pay at the end of the month,and as an added bonus you can't spend what you don't have in the bank to cover the transaction.
Use a credit card for emergencies only.
Another thing to watch, depending on your credit card provider being 5 days late on a payment can and will reset the interest rate higher on all of your installment debt including a varaible rate mortgage.(Universal default clause)

 

[paul]

Debit cards have less consumer protection on them than credit cards. Actually, seems they can drain your account pretty easy, & leave you with nothing.

--->Paul

 

[Anonymous-0]

I pay cash for everything... yeah, it's a bit of a hassle to keep enough cash lying around to keep the vehicles filled up, and keep my missus in groceries, but I still do it! Guess I might be a dinosaur, but in today's world, you're a keystroke away from financial ruin. The rotten sob's may still get to me, but I'll be d*mmed if I'm gonna make it easy for 'em! Sides, it's kinda amusing watching all the young'uns trying to make change...

 

[thurlow]

paul............probably different in different states; in Tennessee, the risk is to the bank; they MUST refund 'lost' money to the consumer. My wife's a 41 year banker and they're very concerned with the potential for fraud........

 

[Anonymous-0]

I like to pay cash but Visa is needed sometimes on road with unattended pumps. Also good for Harbor Freight specials, etc. Direct deposit of paycheck means checks or card used a bit, couple places prefer my checks but they know me, other business want a card that will pay mostly even if it costs them a couple percent. I stop at credit union and pay estimated use and a bit more mid month- usually not much interest and no late fees. Emergency repairs maybe take 2 months to pay off, no big deal, interst on card is less than Case/NH credit.. RN

 

[Dandy Don]

Yeah Jeff I saw that on frontline. I hope that lady was right about sooner or later the credit cards are gonna be in a mess 'cause of the way they're treating the people. I like cash. Hellofalot harder to trace or get records on you.
Don

 

[guido]

Hello T_bone
They did the same thing to me. You have the option to set you own billing date as I have done.
Now I know when the next bill is due every month, no variations or + or - bull!.
Guido.

 

[Brian G. NY]

That was legal???? Even if it was legal, it was immoral!!!!!!

 

[Brian G. NY]

That was legal???? Even if it was legal, it was immoral!!!!!!

 

[led]

My wife is the bill payer & Visa changed due date, got us for some interest. BTW people who pay balance every month are called "Free loaders" by the credit card industry.

Bank of America is greedy! They don't require Soc.# so they can send money out of this country.
Other thread about Kruse Auction, guys are complaining charging buyer fees & I agree. So what % does Visa charge your local hdw. store????

Some Internet sites now offer discount if you pay by check.
Led

 

[T_Bone]

Hi Guido,

Well that's what I did on my other Visa cards that's many years old.

According to BOA, we can not do that now. They pick the the month ending date and the billing date. There choice not ours!!! This just changed this month so I would be checking my cards.

She did say I can request a one time payment date but that's only a once per year request.

T_Bone

 

[T_Bone]

Well I agree with Paul, as there's too much risk using a ATM debit card as your open too complete account drain without any recoruse. It would be like writting a blank check. To use one for internet buying would be financial suicide.

Visa credit cards offers many assurities. Product guarantee for upto 2yrs, a simple dispute form, $50 maximum owner theft limit libility, etc: ATM cards don't protect this way.

I just switched my cards over too world points cards, so that may have something to do with my revolving due dates.

T_Bone

 

[Old Timer in Ohio]

Hey there T Bone;
When they first came out with "credit cards,
(in the early 60's)there was a $500.00 limit. Hell we hit that limit in just a few days.
The next thing we did, was to "cut" our
cards in four pieces. and mail them backto the bank.They weren't too happy with our decision.
It's been CASH ever since!!
Once they get you on their "hook" it's hard
to get off
Bob
God bless

 

[T_Bone]

Hi Bob,

I think we all went thru that stage in our young years. I too went without them for 30yrs but now there more handy to use along with online banking and bill pay. Older and being wiser, it's very easy to manage CC's now.

If they took bill pay away from me, I'd get the shakes. I really like that feature

T_Bone