One of the most important things to do when you have a credit card is to sign up for the card issuer's auto pay program. That will prevent accidental late fees that can decimate your finances by bombarding you with late fees and raising your interest rates. Upon examining one of my statements for a credit card that I recently switched to auto pay, I noticed this explanation: “The amount debited to your primary bank account will be automatically be reduced by the amount of any payment received.” What the heck??? Can you not pay any more than the minimum unless you send a check for the entire payment amount, plus any additional, thus rendering your auto pay amount zero?
Upon a brief conversation with the bank's CSR, it became a bit more clear. In order to pay extra and have your auto pay debit your bank account by the normal amount, your check for the additional amount you wish to pay must arrive at the credit card issuer after the auto pay date, but before the closing date of the credit card statement. Go that?
It's pretty important, because if you have your credit card set up to debit your account for the amount of the minimum credit card payment, and you want to pay extra, you have to ge3t your check in during the proper window. If not, you will only succeed in reducing the amount of your auto pay debit by the amount of your extra payment. If your check for the extra amount you wanted to pay was greater than the amount of the minimum payment due, you would only ending up paying the amount your check was for and nothing would be debited from your account for the auto pay.
Hope that makes it a little more clear than mud.
Upon a brief conversation with the bank's CSR, it became a bit more clear. In order to pay extra and have your auto pay debit your bank account by the normal amount, your check for the additional amount you wish to pay must arrive at the credit card issuer after the auto pay date, but before the closing date of the credit card statement. Go that?
It's pretty important, because if you have your credit card set up to debit your account for the amount of the minimum credit card payment, and you want to pay extra, you have to ge3t your check in during the proper window. If not, you will only succeed in reducing the amount of your auto pay debit by the amount of your extra payment. If your check for the extra amount you wanted to pay was greater than the amount of the minimum payment due, you would only ending up paying the amount your check was for and nothing would be debited from your account for the auto pay.
Hope that makes it a little more clear than mud.
No comments:
Post a Comment