topic Re: Really Confused.... in Credit Cards

Really Confused....

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 19:58:46 GMT

Ok, so my Wells Fargo CC bill was supposed to be due 1/23. I even get a bill in the mail for it.

Before I go to pay it, I log into my CC account and see there is NO due date.

"Your account is current, no payment is due. Your next payment due date is not yet scheduled."

Confused, I called WF and asked what the heck was going on.

Here is what I would do...

I have a $300 CL, so I would run $200-$300 through it (cell phone bill, cable bill, debt payments, etc), then when my paycheck comes, I would pay in full.

Since using a CC is supposed to be safer than a debit card (0 liability, easy to dispute charges, etc), I would use my CC for as many bills as possible.

However, the rep said that paying down my account 2-4 times per month could result in the "account being screwed up", and doing this too many times could "result in the account being closed".

He said making too many payments in one month resets the billing data and results in due dates being removed, amount due's being different, etc.

So what am I supposed to do, just rack up $300 on it, and pay it off the min each month while being charged interest? I don't think so.

I would think regardless of the payments I make to the account, and the charges I make, would have NO EFFECT on the due date.

Re: Really Confused....

titanofold — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:05:21 GMT

Well, the CSR was wrong, kind of.

You're making your payments. That will satisfy the "Pay at least $X by [Some Date]".

If you have a balance when the statement is generated, then it will properly state how much you need to pay and when you need to pay it by. However, because it is generated several days prior and sent in the mail, it doesn't accurately reflect what you owe right this very second.

You account is unlikely to be closed. Suspended, maybe, but you would have to do an outrageous amount of spending on the card before that would become a concern.

Re: Really Confused....

Revelate — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:05:18 GMT

That CSR is likely wrong on a number of factors.

If you pay once in a given month when you have an outstanding due date, if it's more than the minimum, it will push the due date out. That's true with BOFA, Amex, Chase, and every other lender I'm aware of.

If you pay multiple times in a month this'll happen, or if you pay early it'll happen. I wouldn't worry about it.

Also there's a grace period anyway which it sounds like you're not even close to hitting on the assumption that you're being paid more than once a month.

In short I wouldn't worry about it, though I'm a big proponent of only paying once a month it shouldn't really be a factor.

Re: Really Confused....

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:11:33 GMT

Do some people run everything through thier CC, or is it better to use the debit card besides?

Re: Really Confused....

Revelate — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:12:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Do some people run everything through thier CC, or is it better to use the debit card besides?

I haven't used my debit cards in 2 years. Not once.

I also haven't used a debit card in a long time. Once yo...

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:14:02 GMT

I also haven't used a debit card in a long time. Once you have a decent rewards card there is no need to.

Re: Really Confused....

titanofold — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:14:18 GMT

@Revelate wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Do some people run everything through thier CC, or is it better to use the debit card besides?
I haven't used my debit cards in 2 years. Not once.

Once my fiancée and I get our debt in order we'll be using CCs exclusively. Rewards, man, rewards!

Re: Really Confused....

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:15:31 GMT

@Revelate wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Do some people run everything through thier CC, or is it better to use the debit card besides?
I haven't used my debit cards in 2 years. Not once.

I cant remember the last time.

Re: Really Confused....

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:18:15 GMT

If your CL is $300 and you put $500 on the account, will you be able to spend that $500, or not?

Re: Really Confused....

Credit-hoarder — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:20:57 GMT

I use my own income/money first (cash or debit card) then I use credit cards (Visa, Disc. etc) for back-up so hopefully I'll never be caught with enormous CC debt and keep relatively low UTL. Store cards of course are the exception-and I don't use those often either.

Re: Really Confused....

Revelate — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:20:57 GMT

@titanofold wrote:
@Revelate wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Do some people run everything through thier CC, or is it better to use the debit card besides?
I haven't used my debit cards in 2 years. Not once.
Once my fiancée and I get our debt in order we'll be using CCs exclusively. Rewards, man, rewards!

I'd make the argument that even without rewards it makes sense to do so.

I try to make myself look as profitable as possible to both my current and future lenders: while I don't go and spend any more than I would normally (silly FICO tricks such as my secured installment loan notwithstanding) I do put any spending I can on my cards. Couple of places in the past few years mandated cash, but other than that it's a credit card for absolutely everything... then again my burn rate is sort of small compared to a lot of folks admittedly so every little bit counts .

Re: Really Confused....

barbaralee — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:20:35 GMT

In the last 4 years I have only used my debit card for the ATM. My mother has never used a debit card IN HER LIFE and thinks they are some kind of evil voodoo, lol. Honestly, she is just worried about her account being exposed to fraud.

Re: Really Confused....

killer_queen229 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:20:50 GMT

I wouldn't max out that card if I was you.

Re: Really Confused....

titanofold — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:21:38 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If your CL is $300 and you put $500 on the account, will you be able to spend that $500, or not?

Is it a secured card? Some systems will refuse to allow you to pay more than what's owed. Others will extend your credit by $200 until you use it up.

Re: Really Confused....

Revelate — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:22:12 GMT

@killer_queen229 wrote:
I wouldn't max out that card if I was you.

Why not? More likely to get a CLI for whatever that's worth. Can still pay before the statement date, and if you are spending more than your limit every month, by all means pay multiple times a month.

Re: Really Confused....

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:24:45 GMT

Yes, it's a secured card.

Re: Really Confused....

killer_queen229 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:27:18 GMT

Because I have always heard its bad and what if the user will need it and it's maxed out?

Re: Really Confused....

FinStar — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:28:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Yes, it's a secured card.

Ok, that kind of explains it a bit based on how they have the account coded but I'm sure other folks who have a secured WF CC don't run into this issue I suppose. Yet, if you are pushing payments from your bank account a couple times per month (or whichever pattern you have established) it still shouldn't cause any adverse action from what I can see.

Re: Really Confused....

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:37:22 GMT

Re multiple payments per month leading to account closure: apparently that is a possibility with Wells Fargo, according to what someone was told by their Fraud Department. They don't like their rewards card being misused, so instead of doing sensible something like capping it, they apparently look into cases where multiple times the CL is used in each month, which in turn is flagged by multiple payments per month.

So it's just possible this is applied to all of their accounts, and so could catch innocent uses of very small credit limits (although one would hope that a targetted account would be reviewed). Or the CSR could just be wrong.