So mad at HSBC/BigLots (min payment inc)

[thrasher865]

So heres the backstory:  I have a CC with Big Lots that I would have never gotten, but I needed furniture for my house and I'm waiting on the $8000 tax refund. I got 6 months no interest, so obviously the most financially responsible decision would be to make the minimum payments.  Unfortunately, there is pretty much no online payment center with this card.  There is NO autopay function, so what I had to do was set up online payments.  So that I didn't forget, I've been putting in the payments several weeks in advance to occur on the due date. 

So, move forward, and in between the time I scheduled the $20 minimum payment and the time it was due to be drafted, they raised my minimum payment to $47.  Not a problem, I can easily afford to pay the new minimum, but I never received a letter indicating the change unless I somehow looked over it as an insert in my monthly statement.  So When I check my account to make sure the payment went through alright, boom, I see $27 due and a $39 late fee assessed.  Now they've instantly made back any interest I saved with the promotion over the 6 month period and then some. 

I'm pretty sure anybody that doesn't offer an autopay feature in this day and age is just trying to screw over their customers.  I'll pay this off 5 months and 29 days after my purchase date and cut the card up.

[Anonymous]

I would call them and plead your case.  The worst case they tell you NO and your in the same boat you are now.

[Watchmann]

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@thrasher865 wrote:

I'm pretty sure anybody that doesn't offer an autopay feature in this day and age is just trying to screw over their customers.  I'll pay this off 5 months and 29 days after my purchase date and cut the card up.

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You don't have much of a leg to stand on.  Everything was done by the book on their end, and you didn't pay the minimum due.  I've been in similar situations but you have to keep monitoring your statements to make sure this kind of thing doesn't crop up.  It seems that you didn't and you got caught.  Not every card offers an autopay feature, so your contention that the reason they don't is just to catch and screw people is paranoid.

[Anonymous]

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@thrasher865 wrote:

So heres the backstory:  I have a CC with Big Lots that I would have never gotten, but I needed furniture for my house and I'm waiting on the $8000 tax refund. I got 6 months no interest, so obviously the most financially responsible decision would be to make the minimum payments.  Unfortunately, there is pretty much no online payment center with this card.  There is NO autopay function, so what I had to do was set up online payments.  So that I didn't forget, I've been putting in the payments several weeks in advance to occur on the due date. 

So, move forward, and in between the time I scheduled the $20 minimum payment and the time it was due to be drafted, they raised my minimum payment to $47.  Not a problem, I can easily afford to pay the new minimum, but I never received a letter indicating the change unless I somehow looked over it as an insert in my monthly statement.  So When I check my account to make sure the payment went through alright, boom, I see $27 due and a $39 late fee assessed.  Now they've instantly made back any interest I saved with the promotion over the 6 month period and then some. 

I'm pretty sure anybody that doesn't offer an autopay feature in this day and age is just trying to screw over their customers.  I'll pay this off 5 months and 29 days after my purchase date and cut the card up.

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Have you checked to see whether the late payment may negate the no interest terms? Sometimes promo offers revert to standard APR if there is a late payment during the promo period ...

[Paxx]

I personally don't let any of my bills auto pay although that option is available on just about every bill I pay.  I just don't trust the computer to automatically make the payment on something as important as my payment commitments. To me, the risk vs. reward in this scenario is not great enough. If somehow my payment gets bumped up or the computer crashes or makes a mistake, I take a huge hit to my credit score. There is just too much at stake. So I sit down every two weeks and manually pay all my bills weeks before the due date and then watch my bank account like a hawk to make sure the payment is drafted out of my account.  It allows me ample time to correct any errors that may happen and esnures my bills are paid on time. Not only that but I get to see the balance go down more often and it encourages me to pay and keep at it. it also allows me to notice any payment differences.

[laz98]

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@Paxx wrote:

I personally don't let any of my bills auto pay although that option is available on just about every bill I pay.  I just don't trust the computer to automatically make the payment on something as important as my payment commitments. To me, the risk vs. reward in this scenario is not great enough. If somehow my payment gets bumped up or the computer crashes or makes a mistake, I take a huge hit to my credit score. There is just too much at stake. So I sit down every two weeks and manually pay all my bills weeks before the due date and then watch my bank account like a hawk to make sure the payment is drafted out of my account.  It allows me ample time to correct any errors that may happen and esnures my bills are paid on time. Not only that but I get to see the balance go down more often and it encourages me to pay and keep at it. it also allows me to notice any payment differences.

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ditto.

[Watchmann]

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@Paxx wrote:

I personally don't let any of my bills auto pay although that option is available on just about every bill I pay.  I just don't trust the computer to automatically make the payment on something as important as my payment commitments. To me, the risk vs. reward in this scenario is not great enough. If somehow my payment gets bumped up or the computer crashes or makes a mistake, I take a huge hit to my credit score. There is just too much at stake. So I sit down every two weeks and manually pay all my bills weeks before the due date and then watch my bank account like a hawk to make sure the payment is drafted out of my account.  It allows me ample time to correct any errors that may happen and esnures my bills are paid on time. Not only that but I get to see the balance go down more often and it encourages me to pay and keep at it. it also allows me to notice any payment differences.

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Simple answer is to do the auto pay well before the due date so you can monitor if has been done right.  Do you manually pay your mortgage, auto loans, life insurance premiums as well?  Those are recurring autopays of sorts.  I've had payments of one sort or another automatically drafted from my checking accounts for about the last 35 years and never had one go awry.  I think you are making extra effort for yourself that is unnecessary.

[creditwherecreditisdue]

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@Watchmann wrote:

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@thrasher865 wrote:

I'm pretty sure anybody that doesn't offer an autopay feature in this day and age is just trying to screw over their customers.  I'll pay this off 5 months and 29 days after my purchase date and cut the card up.

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You don't have much of a leg to stand on.  Everything was done by the book on their end, and you didn't pay the minimum due.  I've been in similar situations but you have to keep monitoring your statements to make sure this kind of thing doesn't crop up.  It seems that you didn't and you got caught.  Not every card offers an autopay feature, so your contention that the reason they don't is just to catch and screw people is paranoid.

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No notice of a CIT is not exactly "by the book".

I would call them and squeak, Something is not right here and you need to get to the bottom of it. You also need to be very certain that you have not lost your promotional APR due to the late payment.

[Watchmann]

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@creditwherecreditisdue wrote:

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@Watchmann wrote:

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@thrasher865 wrote:

I'm pretty sure anybody that doesn't offer an autopay feature in this day and age is just trying to screw over their customers.  I'll pay this off 5 months and 29 days after my purchase date and cut the card up.

---

You don't have much of a leg to stand on.  Everything was done by the book on their end, and you didn't pay the minimum due.  I've been in similar situations but you have to keep monitoring your statements to make sure this kind of thing doesn't crop up.  It seems that you didn't and you got caught.  Not every card offers an autopay feature, so your contention that the reason they don't is just to catch and screw people is paranoid.

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No notice of a CIT is not exactly "by the book".

I would call them and squeak, Something is not right here and you need to get to the bottom of it. You also need to be very certain that you have not lost your promotional APR due to the late payment.

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Agree that it is not by the book, but most likely the OP received something and didn't recognize it for what it was and threw it out.  (How many times do guys swear that their wives didn't tell them something and then find out that wifey had indeed informed them?)  It happens.  And if he was getting statements electronically it is often difficult to realize there are notices included.  He should call up and see what can be done, but I'd be prepared to pay the bill in full.  These days missing a payment usually means the default rate kicks in.

[voidman]

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@Watchmann wrote:
Do you manually pay your mortgage, auto loans, life insurance premiums as well?  Those are recurring autopays of sorts.  I've had payments of one sort or another automatically drafted from my checking accounts for about the last 35 years and never had one go awry.  I think you are making extra effort for yourself that is unnecessary.

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I pay each and every payment manually.

 I like to get go to the table, open my money-book. Strick off each creditor for whome the payment has been made. And total up all outgoing. And plan for next months creditors.

Writing down the criditor's name and amount I owe and the due date does not have the same feeling as typing the same thing on a excel sheet. 

It is like playing tennies with Wii and playing it for real. (not sure if it s a good analogy) 

 

Message Edited by voidman on 11-07-2009 08:07 AM