CU CC reporting balance to CRAs after statement balance of $0

[DaveInAZ]

I have a CC with a Tucson based credit union, Vantage West (VW). The combined statement for bank accounts and the credit card is the last day of the month. So, I thought I was being cleaver in having my medical insurance which bills on the 2nd of the month charged to that card. I pay it off before the end of the month and get a $0 statement balance, 2 days later the insurance bill gets charged and I have almost a whole month to pay it off and get another $0 balance statement.

But in looking over my credit reports this morning on CK I see VW is reporting the CC to TU & EQ on the 5th of the month, and is apparently reporting a balance as of that day that includes the insurance charge that just hit the account on the 5th (as June 2 was a Friday it was pending until Monday June 5)), and not my $0 statement balance from just 5 days prior. Can they legally do this? I've searched on the web and read through most of the CARD Act and don't find any rules about what balance a CC must report. But I've never had a CC that reports anything but what the most recent statement balance was. 

[rmduhon]

Yes they can. Some CCC's will update when a purchase is made after a zero balance. That could be the issue here

[DaveInAZ]

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@rmduhon wrote:
Yes they can. Some CCC's will update when a purchase is made after a zero balance. That could be the issue here

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Well, Barclays, Cap One & Discover don't "update" : when a purchase is made after a zero statement balance reports because I've done the zero balance & then quickly charge routine with them. I'll have to dig deeper and see if VW routinely reports whatever the current chaarges happens to be on the 5th, or if this was an "update". If they regularly report on the 5th, reporting whatever the current charges are instead of the most recent statement balance was would that be improper?

EDIT: OK, my Experian account lets me see previous reports, and I can see for April & May that's what they do, report on the 5th whatever the balance that day happens to be, never reporting the statement balance. I'll call them tomorrow and challenge this. If they won't budge I may just close the CC & all banking accounts with them. I just keep it for the 11% APR and no fee BTs & Cash Advances if I ever need a cash infusion. The rewards program is one of those silly gazillion points to redeem for overpriced merchandise I don't want or need, so I just mnake small charges on it to keep it active. And I'm closing in on a HELOC with Penfed that will take care of any cash infusions I might ever need.

[rmduhon]

As far as I am aware, there is no law stating that the statement balance has to be reported, just that any reporting must be accurate. If they report on the 5th of the month then they can report whatever the balance is one that day.

[Anonymous]

How could reporting the truth ever be improper? Inconvenient, perhaps. I see no reason they couldn't report every day. At any rate, just adjust your dates to compensate, our ask them to move the due date maybe.

[Anonymous]

Many issuers will, as Zipperhead suggested, permit you to change the date that a CC typically reports.  For example, if you'd like it to report on or about the 1st or 2nd, you may be able to get them to do that -- or the the 27th, or whatever. 

I am unsure how it reporting on the 5th vs. the 1st will have much of a practical difference for you.  The important thing is to know when it reports.

Although many CC issuers report whatever was at the top of your monthly statement, not all do.  US Bank always reports whatever the balance is on the 1st -- even if the statement printed on the 20th (say) with a very different balance.  This link gives an overview of the policies of several CC issuers:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/credit-utilization-reporting-dates-for-each-card-issuer/

I would not allow this particular issue be the thing that decides whether you keep this card or not.  If the card is worth keeping, it's worth keeping regardless of when it reports.

Here are two reasons I can think of to close a major credit card (VISA, Mastercard, Amex, Discover):

    *  It has an annual fee

    *  Its credit limit is really small compared to your others (and it is not one of your older cards)

If neither is true, then I would tend to keep any card you have open.   Here are a few reasons to strongly consider keeping a card open:

    *  It is one of your oldest cards

    *  Closing it would drop your total number of open credit cards to less than 5

[pipeguy]

DCU issues my CC statement on the 20th of the month, they then report to the CRA's at the end of the month along with my car loan balances (paid 5th and 11th) the figures reported at from the close of the cycle aks the 20th on the CC and whatever the balances are for my last car loan payments (almost a month after payments).

No big deal, it's just how DCU report. Different lenders report balances as of X-day.... I don't worry about a single statement report, my scores flex a little throughout the month anyway.  

[Revelate]

To add what others have stated, I personally had BOFA do a mid-cycle report of a balance spike back in 2012... though I was going to let it report anyway .  

AFAIK lenders can report any time they feel like it: the only criteria I'm aware of is that the information they report is accurate as of the time they reported it.

[DaveInAZ]

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@Revelate wrote:

To add what others have stated, I personally had BOFA do a mid-cycle report of a balance spike back in 2012... though I was going to let it report anyway .  

AFAIK lenders can report any time they feel like it: the only criteria I'm aware of is that the information they report is accurate as of the time they reported it.

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Thanks. Well, I'd just never encountered a lender that didn't report the statement balance right after the statement cycle. Apparently they can report whenever & whatever they want, as long as it's accurate. Live and learn.

[Anonymous]

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@DaveInAZ wrote:

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Thanks. Well, I'd just never encountered a lender that didn't report the statement balance right after the statement cycle. Apparently they can report whenever & whatever they want, as long as it's accurate. Live and learn.

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That's true in theory but in practice almost every creditor has its own internal policies and rhythm for when it reports.  It sounds like your CC issuer has a rhythm of the 5th.  US Bank has a rhythm of the 1st.  Chase has a rhythm of the day that the statement prints, and also any time you pay the balance to $0.

In practice, once you know your own creditors rhythm, there's very little chance that they will deviate from that.  That's why I said that the key thing is learning how how any particular creditor works, and then you are good to go.

PS.  You might be able to set up all your other credit cards so that they have a due date of around the 1st.    That way, your cards will all be reporting between the 2nd and 5th.  Very easy for you to remember and manage your finances -- I keep promising myself I will do that at some point but haven't gotten around to doing it.