[Fredslist] An alert to credit card users

[Radonavitch, William]

I have a friend that had the same scenario with a Kohl's card.
 
 
 
 
 
 
William Radonavitch
 
Allstate
1257 Sunrise Highway
Bay Shore, NY 11706
 
631-968-9500 office
631-764-5232 cell
631-968-9092 fax

________________________________

From: fredslist-bounces at gothamnetworking.com on behalf of David Abeshouse
Sent: Wed 3/25/2009 11:51 AM
To: Fred'sList
Subject: [Fredslist] An alert to credit card users



 

Gotham Colleagues: 

 

I want to alert you to a very strange (indeed counterintuitive) business policy of at least one credit card company.  

 

As I was paying my credit card bill yesterday, I noticed a little "finance charge" on my credit card statement for the period ending 3/9.  I saw that they'd posted my previous month's payment as of 2/20, well before the due date, so I was puzzled, and rather than ignore it (which was my first impulse), I called customer service to ask why I'd incurred the finance charge. 

 

The phone rep confirmed that I've had my CitiCard for over 25 years, and have an excellent payment history, paying the full balance on time every month, up till this January, when my payment was "late."  I asked by how much it was late and she said by one day, which caused the balance to "revolve," and me to incur a late fee (which I hadn't noticed on my Feb. statement) and the finance charge on my March statement (the one I paid yesterday).  She cheerily volunteered the following info: Citi Cards had shortened my statement cycle (the period from when they print my bill through the due date for payment), because I was such a good customer.  Baffled, I asked her to explain this, as it was counterintuitive to me.        

 

She "explained" that this benefits me because it allows me to use my card more effectively.  I disagreed, and asked her what she meant by that and she couldn't explain it any more specifically.  I told her that the only way it could benefit someone was if they were to use their entire credit line each month (and I don't put $20K per month on this card - far from it), as faster payment would free up the line sooner.  However, for the vast majority of us who don't use our entire line each month, this policy actually was punitive, because shortening my statement cycle to substantially less than the 25 days I'd had previously requires me to pay the bill pretty much as soon as it arrives (artificially making it a priority) and renders me more susceptible to inadvertently missing the payment deadline by a day or so if the mail is slow.  

 

So, I clarified with her that the reason for this whole scenario of late fee and finance charge was imposed on me because I'm a good customer who always pays his bill on time and in full, so they shortened my statement cycle, rendering me susceptible to extra charges if my check - mailed a week in advance of the due date (I don't bank online yet, for a # of reasons) - arrives a day late due to US Postal Service delays.  She agreed with my summary.  I told her that I needed to have my 25-day statement cycle restored or I'd be an ex-Citi Card customer immediately.  

 

To her credit, she apologized, went to check on it, and said that she could remove the charges and restore my 25-day statement cycle.  I also asked her to submit a customer complaint about the policy, in hopes that others wouldn't be subjected to this wrongheaded practice (wish me luck!!).  

 

The moral of the story is: If you're a good credit card customer, check your statement cycle, and if it's not close to 25 days or thereabouts, call to ask that the longest possible cycle be restored to your account, to decrease the possibility of incurring a late fee or financing charge.  In these times, every cost saving helps.  

 

Best regards, 

 

David 

 

 

David J. Abeshouse  

Law Office of David Abeshouse  

50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 400  

Uniondale, New York  11553  

Ph: 516-229-2360   Fax: 516-229-2361  

Alternative Dispute Resolution  

Arbitrator/Mediator  

David at BizLawNY.com  

http://www.BizLawNY.com <http://www.bizlawny.com/>   

 

See my LinkedIn profile:   

http://tinyurl.com/455eqj <http://tinyurl.com/455eqj>   

See my Avvo profile:  

http://tinyurl.com/4u34gg <http://tinyurl.com/4u34gg>   

 

 

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