Discover Now Issuing Paper Checks for Overpayment?

[uncredited]

I think I've heard a few mentions this on the forum before, but I generally have been paying my cards via bank bill pay before statement, and, generally, I round/estimate up somewhere between $0-10 over the real statement.  For all the cards, generally, it just posts a negative balance at the end of the month and carries into the new month, no big deal

For the past 2 years or so, this has also been true of Disco.  Once in October, I dramatically overpayed Disco by accidentally paying twice, forgetting I'd already paid it, by $550 or so, though I'd spent most of that excess down before the statement posted by just shifting spend from another card to that one since I'd already spent the money.  I'm not sure where the final tally ended, but I ended up getting  a paper check in the mail for five dollars and change.  Then since then it's been back to normal of posting negative balance of whatever the difference is.

For March, however, a paper check for a buck fifty seven showed up in the mail, and I checked the statement and it shows on statement date a line of "Credit balance refund (sale type)" as a charge to zero out the statement.

Is this something that Disco is doing across the board now, or some random thing they do occasionally to balance their own books? And/or if I'm putting myself in Disco's bad graces by always slightly overpaying if they're going to be issuing paper checks monthly from now on?

That'll be an annoyance if it's their normal from now on.  Paying to the penny is inconvenient if paying before the statement via bill pay, as is getting paper checks weeks later.

[CorpCrMgr1]

Haven't overpaid Discover. Have had checks under $2.00 which arose from rewards sent from BoA and Cap1.

[Kforce]

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@uncredited wrote:

Is this something that Disco is doing across the board now, or some random thing they do occasionally to balance their own books? And/or if I'm putting myself in Disco's bad graces by always slightly overpaying if they're going to be issuing paper checks monthly from now on?

That'll be an annoyance if it's their normal from now on.  Paying to the penny is inconvenient if paying before the statement via bill pay, as is getting paper checks weeks later.

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My daughter has a Disco and pushes payments every month.

Almost always has a few dollars negative on new statement.

Last month ( -6.23 ), month before ( -0.35 ) .

Not a lot but most months she is negative, never a check in the mail.

I guess you are just special     

[citymunky]

I just cashed in my 0.18¢ check from Cap 1. 

This was CB from one of their offers, and when it posted to the account the balance was $0 at the time and the CB made my balance  -0.18¢.  However my QS1 sat it like that for 3 months before they decided to sent a check. 

[narcan04]

Lenders don't like to be in the habit of owing you money. 

On the rare occasion I had a negative balance it was usually less than a dollar, and was just applied to the next statement as a credit. On there even rarer occasion I had a larger negative balance, the lender sent me a check.

If you're seeing different behavior then you're used to from discover my suspicion might be that the larger negative balance raised an eyebrow and now they want to stay on top of your account not going negative.

[Kforce]

I don't remember the time period, however if one has a negative balance,

that is static (Non changing credit balance) for 60 or 90 days, they are required

to refund you the money.

If your negative balance changes every month, there is no requirement

to refund you.

Have had more than 12 issuers, pushing payments each month, every month

with negative balance, for years.  Before one vacation I overpaid my main

CC by ~7,000 and never a peep.  Overpaid 6 cards last month.  This is not

an issue with most CU's and Banks.

Could this change (maybe), are there issuers that really do dislike this, (maybe).

Most do not care. 

Like I said above Discover has had no issue for my daughter for 3 years of payments with

most months being overpaid. 

[gdale6]

Per the CC Act of 2010 the creditor has to issue a refund if overpayment exceeds 90 days. I only overpay 2 months then pay exact for the 3rd so stmt balance is 0, this solves checks showing up in the mail.

[uncredited]

Definitely strange then that they have a "sale" type system to zero it out like that, if it's not something they use all the time. I'd agree that the time I massively overpaid probably "raised eyebrows" and started this.  But the weird part about is is the large negative was BEFORE the statement cut.  I'd spent most of that difference before the statement actually cut so the actual negative when the statement cut was probably between $5-50, not $500, it was only that large for a period between statements. I'd moved my Citi spending to Disco since I'd already given them the funds by mistake. But also that was 4 months prior, for the Oct statement.  The Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb statements all allowed negatives.  And then randomly Mar sent the paper check again. 

It could have something to do with Mar being the anniversary month of my first statement somehow combining with that overpayment month or something. Maybe they have to zero some lingering balance in the system on the anniversary or something. Or maybe it has to do with how early in the month I overpay. I usually schedule sometime near before the statement cuts, but last month I may have done it a week or two sooner because I knew I wouldn't be using that card for the remainder of the month before statement.

I'll have to see what they do next month. It sounds like it's not a new standard policy or something so there must be some condition or sequence of events that triggered it.  It doesn't seem to be a "my account" thing since they've done it twice, but not consecutively so there must be something about the timing of something triggering it.  Paying too early may well be it.

[Kforce]

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@uncredited wrote:

I'll have to see what they do next month. It sounds like it's not a new standard policy or something so there must be some condition or sequence of events that triggered it.  It doesn't seem to be a "my account" thing since they've done it twice, but not consecutively so there must be something about the timing of something triggering it.  Paying too early may well be it.

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I pay all my cards, on the 5th & 20th each month.

Two times every statement period.

On 5th whatever current balance is rounded up nearest $25

Have all cards with statement dates moved to near end of month.

On 19th or 20th overpay current balance to cover, pending, and 5-10 days normal spend.

Again rounded up to nearest $25.

Don't worry about the 15 points from being all zero every month.

Curious what you find out, and why some have trouble with

overpayment and others don't.