Just got an email from my CC co. today... a recurring charge came through that I had forgotten about. They of course approved it, and instantly charged me a $29 over limit fee for the $9 that this had put me over. I've argued this fee w/ Household once before, so I doubt I'll get anywhere this time. If I'm $2 below my limit, wouldn't it make sense for them to decline a $13 charge? Grrr... Gai-jin
Butch is right. You shouldn't be anywhere near your limit. A CC is not free cash. You have to be responsible and hold yourself accountable. You have to play the game by their rules. Expect another letter jacking your rate soon - if you haven't gotten one already.
Credit cards SHOULD never have over the limit fees charged to you unless you forget to pay them one month and the interest brings it above the limit. However Butch is right, they can legally do that. It isn't right, but they do it anyway. My wife had a $400 card which was having the $9 a month "Credit Protection" thing on it that she didn't actually agree to but somehow got suckered in with it. Then after 2 years of paying the minimums, I suggested to her that she stop paying altogether. The balance was now around $1200 because they would add $9, and a $29 Over Limit Fee, and interest, but they weren't smart enough to require that the minimum be enough to bring it well under the limit to allow for the monthly drafts. SOL is up on the wife's card in a few months, and since I have records of over $600 being paid to them since it was blocked from new charges, I have no qualms about never even considering giving them a penny. You're right, it shouldn't be legal. The thing with credit cards, is that it should block if the limit has been reached. You can complain, but it won't help. The best thing you can do is to make sure to NEVER have anything that monthly drafts out of a credit card or make sure you keep the balance down $50 to cover it and sock drawer the card until it's down close to $0 ChrisB
Alright you two. In a land of capitalism when 2 or more make an agreement and sign a contract to stipulate all the criteria, then BOTH sides must be held accountable to it's provisions. If it's in your contract that you pay a late fee if you go over, you read it and signed it, then you should be held to it's stipulations. The ability to contract which contains remedy, independant of government supervision, certainly should be legal. Hate to be a party pooper but lets be sure we understand who made the mistake. Only when we recognize a problem exists can we even begin to fix it. Sucks I know. .
Perhaps a bit more insight on this account would be helpful... This is my only CC, has a $300 max on it, and I pay it off every two weeks. (Sometimes more) I use it as a cash card, essentially. Again, it would seem to me that IF they choose not to extend more than $300 credit to me, then do so anyway, the company should not have the right to charge me extra for that. Gai-jin
Or, a reasonable company would give me a bit of notice... this was an instant charge. The balance will again be paid off this friday. Last time, I had already made teh payment via their online system, but it takes 2 days to post, and in the 2 days, a charge went over. It would seem to me this company is just trying to rape the consumer. Unfortunately, thus far I haven't been extended credit by any other CC company. Gai-jin
I know whatcha mean Gai-jin. I'm not disagreeing with ya. Hang in there and stay at it. It really does get better.
1. Why expect them to avoid a source of revenue - their 3% on the transaction plus the $29 fee? 2. If they automatically denied overlimit charges then someone else (maybe even you next year ) would be complaining because they got charged a $30 NSF fee or their lights got turned off because the CC company wouldn't go $5 over the limit. I don't disagree that most banks have turned into greedy bloodsuckers but if we want to use their cards/money we have to play by their rules. (You know, he who has the gold...) The fun part is making sure they play by the rules too and dinging them when they don't. Pay the overage before your statement comes out otherwise it could really hurt your FICO.
Can do. Just applied for an AT&T card, so hopefully I'll have another option soon. I've been considering paying $600 one time, so that I'd actually have a credit in my account. My bi-weekly usage SHOULDN't go over the $300. (Would that help my fico, to have negative utilization? Of course, there's also my truck payment... Gai-jin PS If the AT&T is declined, is there any way to have hard inquiries (even legitimate ones) removed from your CRA reports?
Can't hurt to give them a call. I've had overlimit fees and late payment fees removed. Based on how "they" look at things, I try to stay within 80% on any card I've got. I had a similar problem, brought on my own stupidity, because I joined a gym and had them charge a card that was fine. Over time, I started to lean on that card (unemployed at the time) and forgot how close I was. Three months in a row, overlimit fees and surprise! DMB jacked me from 9% to 19% - Ta Da!! That was over a year ago and I've paid them down substantially - 10k limit down to 5,600 - and gotten them to drop the APR down to 16% in three different requests.
Lets not forget how some banks intentionally hold payments, in order to get the "Late fee". It's fine to be held accountable for our actions, We are adults. As long as both sides play by the rules.
Re: Re: This SHOULDN'T be legal... I just got dinged for 2 $35 fees on 2 CCs by Bank One for paying them one day early.
Re: Re: Re: Re: This SHOULDN'T be legal... Yep gave them the checks on the first instead of the second.
And you are?????? a. Throwing a wall-eyed fit b. Paying the "early fee" c. Complaining to the Fed d. None of the above, fill in your own blank
HUHHH???? Like the payments went to the PREVIOUS month...and NONE for the current month??? ...so it was NOT really an EARLY FEE...it was a LATE FEE...because the NEXT MONTH had no payment and they counted the NEXT MONTH AFTER THAT AS THE LATE PAYMENT MONTH???
Re: Re: This SHOULDN'T be legal... *You have to play the game by their rules. SoParkDiva *Wrong a usual They have to obey the law. THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """"```--~~~~~~~~~--```'""'''
