Chase Does it Again! Budget Busting Late Fee!

[bumbershoot]

Please don't make assumptions - our statement DOES NOT have a time on it. IF it did, I would not be so outraged because then it would have been obvious our payment was late. So, that's not Chase's policy and so there was no reason to believe we were late.

You should probably toodle around the account online. We have a Chase car loan and while the statements don't have a time on it, the online account absolutely positively does. I have a feeling that policy is somewhere online...I know it shows up if I'm making an online payment through Chase...(and then they offer the ability to pay instantly if I pay them $10 more).

And it's even more fun for us b/c we're on pacific time and they are not.

 

[torinsmom]

Please don't make assumptions - our statement DOES NOT have a time on it. IF it did, I would not be so outraged because then it would have been obvious our payment was late. So, that's not Chase's policy and so there was no reason to believe we were late.

You are paying this online, correct? If so, I have three Chase credit cards and when I click on "Pay my bill", there is a note at the bottom of the page that says

Note: The payment date will default to today, unless it is later than 4:00 PM Eastern time. In this case, the payment date will default to tomorrow.

As far as I have noticed, that note has been there the whole time I have been paying my Chase bills online. Every other credit card I pay online has the same policy. I have missed the deadline too, and it sucks, but I don't blame the company.

Marsha

 

[eliza61]

Just some general advice guys.

new federal regulations take effect in January, some have already kicked in. The credit card companies are in no mood to play nicey no matter how good a customer you are. Fees and interest are a big chunk of their profits and now they see those being threaten.

Even after 20 years of being a customer and a credit score above 700 a few of my cc companies wante to raise my rates and just about every one I know has gotten a letter stating increase in fees.

Every one must be super vigilant with their credit cards. Check and recheck your agreements with a fine tooth comb. Don't assume because you are a long time client or have great credit that they will be nice.

With 1 kid in college, another on the way to college and me going back to school, it is not feasable for me to be totally debt free (and I don't stress about it) but I can totally make sure I'm getting the best deal out there and that I'm not used to pay some multi million dollar banker's bonus.

 

[Jeanne B]

You are paying this online, correct? If so, I have three Chase credit cards and when I click on "Pay my bill", there is a note at the bottom of the page that says

Note: The payment date will default to today, unless it is later than 4:00 PM Eastern time. In this case, the payment date will default to tomorrow.

As far as I have noticed, that note has been there the whole time I have been paying my Chase bills online. Every other credit card I pay online has the same policy. I have missed the deadline too, and it sucks, but I don't blame the company.

Marsha

Same here with my Chase account, if it's after 4 pm the payment date automatically defaults to the next business day, if I try to override it and enter the current date it tells me there will be a convenience fee charged (I'm not sure if it's considered paid on that date though if you do that, guessing it would still be considered late since it's after the 4 pm cutoff).

 

[chicagoshannon]

Don't just memorize those statement dates. I have had several instances where the billing date & due date suddenly changed (due earlier, of course) without warning.


Those CC have so many tricks!

I agree with this. Chase suddenly changed our due date back in May. We never got our bill til after the 5th of the month and it wasn't due for about 2 weeks. We were on vacation, came home to a bill. Paid it immediately because we always pay our bills the day they arrive. Got charged a late fee because they had changed our due date. It was only late because they didn't process it the day it arrived. They wouldn't wave the late fee. My husband called at least 4 times. Kicker is they "extended" our due date the very next month.

It also affected our credit scores. My husband went from a perfect score to a not perfect score. Luckily that's the only thing on our credit report so we're still fine but it ticked me off for a LONG time!

We now have an automatic $100 payment sent every month so that doesn't happen again. We pay our bill off every month (only use the card for the points)

 

[etoiles]

You should probably toodle around the account online. We have a Chase car loan and while the statements don't have a time on it, the online account absolutely positively does. I have a feeling that policy is somewhere online...I know it shows up if I'm making an online payment through Chase...(and then they offer the ability to pay instantly if I pay them $10 more).

And it's even more fun for us b/c we're on pacific time and they are not.

Yes, I'm not sure about this. DH pays this bill and so I'm not sure what it says but on the statement it just has a due date, not a due time.

 

[torinsmom]

The statement you get in the mail only has a date, because if you sent payment by mail, the time is a non-issue. If you pay online,you should really be reading the terms on the website. It is stated on Chase's website very clearly that the deadline is 4PM EST. Almost every bank has a similar policy for their credit card.

Marsha

 

[mrsklamc]

DH got a survey this weekend basically asking him what it would take to get him to apply for a Disney Visa. I thought 'Seriously? Why not work harder to retain your current customers instead of spending money finding new ones?'

 

[BrightScouter]

We are now down to only a balance on one card. Thanks Dave for the FPU class!

But, while we were paying them down, we changed our internet banking to make an auto payment of half of the monthly payment every 2 weeks. That way, we always had two halves of the minimum payment sent in and credited every month. It also paid an extra half payment two months out of each year. Just a thought for the future.

Now, to get that last credit card paid off and be debt free!

 

[bumbershoot]

Yes, I'm not sure about this. DH pays this bill and so I'm not sure what it says but on the statement it just has a due date, not a due time.

Aha. My husband never realized it, either...when he was in charge of doing the online pay for the car we were paying our bill up to 8 days after the due date (with the car loan there is a 10 day grace period).

Then I took it over and started paying ON the due date, and the amount of interest we were paying dropped significantly.

Now I'm paying it as soon as the bill goes "live" (which means that the next bill due for us is the November bill, which I will pay mid-october), and it plummeted even more.

Hubby had just never noticed these things, and always paid the bill in the late afternoon...sigh....

Not saying your hubby is absolutely like mine, but it's possible. At least you know now!


(I know the interest thing isn't the same with a CC...I was just showing that hubby didn't even think it was possible...that along with not noticing the time info...)

 

[wdwaholic]

I'm confused!! I usually set up my payments about a week in advance to pay on the due date. I've never had a late fee.with what everyone is saying does this mean I can get hit with a late fee because even though i set up my payment early the payment date is the due date and does it still post after 5p that day,thus causing a late fee? Should I now just pay it as soon as my paycheck hits?-will i pay less the next month as less interest is added ?
Trish

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I'm confused!! I usually set up my payments about a week in advance to pay on the due date. I've never had a late fee.with what everyone is saying does this mean I can get hit with a late fee because even though i set up my payment early the payment date is the due date and does it still post after 5p that day,thus causing a late fee? Should I now just pay it as soon as my paycheck hits?-will i pay less the next month as less interest is added ?
Trish

If you carry a balance from one month to the next, it is always a good idea to make your monthly payment as soon as you get your bill. Or at least make your payment as soon as you can after receiving it. This will help to reduce the amount of interest that you will -pay in the long run.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm confused!! I usually set up my payments about a week in advance to pay on the due date. I've never had a late fee.with what everyone is saying does this mean I can get hit with a late fee because even though i set up my payment early the payment date is the due date and does it still post after 5p that day,thus causing a late fee? Should I now just pay it as soon as my paycheck hits?-will i pay less the next month as less interest is added ?
Trish

Just in case my post caused confusion, with our car loan, we pay more interest the longer we wait. I don't know if it works the same way with credit cards. I was just using that as a too-much-talking way of showing what all my husband hadn't noticed, when he was in charge of paying that bill...he hadn't noticed the time-stamp payment issue on top of the other things.


Since you're paying a week before the due date, you should be fine. You should, however, check the statement when you get it, to make SURE that the due date is the same as the due date has been in the past. I've read repeatedly the last few months that CCs, and especially Chase, is moving due dates around and you only know if you look at that statement carefully.

 

[etoiles]

Aha. My husband never realized it, either...when he was in charge of doing the online pay for the car we were paying our bill up to 8 days after the due date (with the car loan there is a 10 day grace period).

Then I took it over and started paying ON the due date, and the amount of interest we were paying dropped significantly.

No, I read the statement when we get it in the mail so I know we have not been charged any late fees on this card until recently. I mentioned it to DH and he stated that he did see when he paid that it would be late but he got too irritated on the phone with them because they kept stating that he was a "valuable customer" but would not allow him to speak to anyone else or do anything about the fee so he cancelled the card. It's ok, all the BP's around our house have closed anyways so I've wanted to get a new gas card.

I do think though that the way they have things set up screws people over online. If people's checks get there on the due date they certainly don't get their money from those that same day - it usually takes a week for a check to clear. But, when people pay online they charge you late fees if the money does not get there immediately. Also, it would make sense to have a time posted on the statement as well.

Either way, Chase will not get our business for that card again! Case closed!

 

[madge]

Almost every bank has a similar policy for their credit card.

Marsha

I paid my visa bill (not chase) today via phone, and the automated system was very specific about payments made today needed to be paid by 7pm CST to post to today's date. I paid attention after reading this thread. LOL