Nextcard Question

Nextcard posts your payment pretty quickly but does not give you back your available credit for quite some time after a payment. When I had my Nextcard account I think that even for their online payments they did not give me the available credit back for 7 days.

 

I noticed the same thing so I called them up and they said, for regular payments they hold payment for 7 days, for large payments $1000 and above the hold is for 14 days.


It happened once to me. I sent them a large check and it wasn't available until after 14 days.

 

For some STUPID REASON credit card companies are POSTING but NOT giving credit for the payment until as many as two weeks later...(they say the payment check MAY bounce)!!!

HAPPENS TO ME ALL THE TIME...EVEN ON "BT" CHECKS FROM OTHER BANKS...

HINT~~~MAKE THE CHECK LIKE $2,132.62~~~NOT $2,000.00 (A REP AT DISCOVERCARD LET IT SLIP THAT 90% OF THE CHECKS THAT BOUNCE ARE $X,000.00 OR $XX,000.00

I FORGOT ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND HAVE A "HOLD" ON ONE OF MY FINAL CHECKS TO PAY OFF THE 5.90% BT DISCOVERCARD BILL BEFORE 03/26/2002...IT WAS $5,000.00!!!...STUPID ME...

Ask if you can do an "ELETRONIC" BT...(EFT) NO HOLD.

 

George I don't know if the reason is stupid. Here's what I heard. The cc companies say that many customers are at or near their credit limit. So the cc companies put a hold on payments to defeat the people who take a cash advance to cover the check to the cc company. Of course, the good customers, such as yourself, are rightfully insulted by such practice.

Just a thought.

 

Dear "GEORGE",

Thank you for taking the time to contact us about your Discover(R) Card Account.
Although we post your payment to your Account on the day it is received, it may
take an additional 15 days for the funds to be available for purchases. This is why
your current balance and available credit do not match. This does not effect the date
that the payment is posted to your Account. It effects the ability to use the available
credit. It will not effect what date your balance transfer is paid. The payment date will
be considered the date we received the payment.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We appreciate your continued
business. If I can be of any further assistance, please contact me again. Thank you
for choosing to use Discover(R) Card.

Sincerely,

XXXXXX

 

The bastards have no conscience.

 

What AMAZES me, is that the "CHECK" or BT is charged to your account in 24-72 hours after they get it in MOST cases...DOES IT REALLY TAKE 15 DAYS FOR A CHECK TO BOUNCE???

 

George - they are flakes. It should only take 3 to 5 business to find out if a check bounces.

 

Nextcard has your money available for their use in the gap they create between when they cash the check and when they make the results of your payment available to you.

It's like when your bank account is empty and you write a check the day before payday, knowing your paycheck will hit your bank account before the check you wrote hits (except that after you tender check you can't control when it will actually be withdrawn). Nextcard controls exactly when you can "withdraw" the funds by delaying the date they make it available.

You writing a check before payday provides you with only a day or two of "extra" money. Nextcard using this practice with all of their revolving customers provides them with a controlled, continuous extra padding on their available funds.

-ingenue

 

Either the cc compnay was using a bogus excuse, the rep was making up something stupid, or there are some really stupid credit users out there (Probably all three.)

If you're close to your limit and take a cash advance to cover your payment check, the next month's interest and cash advance fees themselves would then put you over the limit.

e.g. You have a CL of $5000, a balance of $4950, and a minimum payment of $100. You write a check for $100 and send it in. After it posts, you have the following scenario:

balance $4950-$100 = $4850

You take a cash advance for $100 to cover your check:

balance $4850+$100 = $4950

Next Statement interest = $82 (approx. 20% APR)
Next Statement cash advance fee = $5

balance $4950+$82+$5 = $5037 (OVERLIMIT)

Now, while being overlimit is bad for the consumer, it's not so bad for the CC company because they get to charge you $30 for it. Which means in this case they charged you $30 to borrow an extra $37. That's an 80% finance charge right there, on top of which they will continue to charge you 20% APR.

So really, credit card companies do better to allow this self-defeating tactic to anyone dumb enough to use it.

-ingenue