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Jim Charter wrote:
> Darren New wrote:
>
>>
>>> 'You mean I can't keep a positive balance on my credit card so as to
>>> avoid a service charge?'
>>
>>
>> No. It's a credit card. (At least in the USA. IANAL.)
>>
>
> Yeah I guess. But that's the reason? Since it's called a credit card
> account I can't keep a positive balance as a buffer?
No. Because it's a credit card, it's highly regulated. I believe one of
the regulations is that they can't hold on to more than $X for more than
Y days without refunding it, to prevent them from (for example) having
you dispute a charge and then having them "refund" the money without
actually returning it to you.
Try paying an extra three months ahead on your water bill some time, and
see if they don't send it back.
> I don't know, I assume so after reading these responses, I don't really
> understand all the details, that's why I thought a +ve balance would
> just be simpler.
Probably reading the rules is easier. Check for "grace period" and see
what it says.
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
Ever notice how people in a zombie movie never already know how to
kill zombies? Ask 100 random people in America how to kill someone
who has reanimated from the dead in a secret viral weapons lab,
and how many do you think already know you need a head-shot?
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Darren New wrote:
> Probably reading the rules is easier. Check for "grace period" and see
> what it says.
More specifically, see what your grace period is and what your monthly
billing date is. Sign up for on-line bill paying at your bank. Complain
at them if it isn't free, or at least if it costs more than a stamp.
When you get the credit card bill, log in to your bank and set up a
payment of the amount you owe, to go thru several days before it's due.
Job complete.
More-organized people collect the mail, open the bills, and put them
into a little sorter with 31 slots in it, one for each day by which you
have to deal with that bill, available at all good office supply stores.
Then each day, when you pick up the mail, you look at which slots are
coming up and handle at least the looming ones if not all of them.
Usually you have at least a week to pay any bills you get, often two or
three. So sit down once a week at a specific time on a specific day and
spend 10 minutes dealing with it, even if it's just writing the checks
and stamping the envelopes rather than working it online.
If you're going on vacation, *then* overpay by how much you think you
might spend, or at least overpay the minimum charges, or set up an
online bill pay to go through for at least the minimum charges you
expect about the time you expect to get the bill.
Failure to pay your cable bills on time is probably dinging your credit
card accounts as well.
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
Ever notice how people in a zombie movie never already know how to
kill zombies? Ask 100 random people in America how to kill someone
who has reanimated from the dead in a secret viral weapons lab,
and how many do you think already know you need a head-shot?
Post a reply to this message
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And lo on Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:02:40 +0100, Jim Charter <jrc### [at] msn com>
did spake, saying:
> Is it just me being paranoid? In order to avoid service charges on my
> credit card, it has been my practice to maintain a constant positive
> balance on the card. Enough that I wouldn't, though my own
> forgetfulness, incur a service charge because some amount I charged hit
> just at the due date and I forget to put money in. So now I see a debit
> on my account marked REFUND AS R.
Like Steve I'm following this thread and getting confused, but for a
different reason. I have a credit card with one company, I've authorised
them to withdraw (and pay in) money to one of my bank accounts (another
company). About the second week of the month then pull the full amount
owed for the previous month. The only time I have to do anything is if I
don't want that to happen and I just want to pay the minimum and then
incur interest charges.
Same thing with the majority of utility bills - the invoice comes through
and the payment drawn a few days later. In some case they'll charge you an
'admin' fee for not doing it this way.
--
Phil Cook
--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com
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Phil Cook wrote:
> And lo on Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:02:40 +0100, Jim Charter
> <jrc### [at] msncom> did spake, saying:
>
>> Is it just me being paranoid? In order to avoid service charges on
>> my credit card, it has been my practice to maintain a constant
>> positive balance on the card. Enough that I wouldn't, though my own
>> forgetfulness, incur a service charge because some amount I charged
>> hit just at the due date and I forget to put money in. So now I see
>> a debit on my account marked REFUND AS R.
>
>
> Like Steve I'm following this thread and getting confused, but for a
> different reason. I have a credit card with one company, I've
> authorised them to withdraw (and pay in) money to one of my bank
> accounts (another company). About the second week of the month then
> pull the full amount owed for the previous month. The only time I have
> to do anything is if I don't want that to happen and I just want to pay
> the minimum and then incur interest charges.
>
> Same thing with the majority of utility bills - the invoice comes
> through and the payment drawn a few days later. In some case they'll
> charge you an 'admin' fee for not doing it this way.
>
Yeah, I might try and get organized enough to try something like that.
At least for bills. I didn't know you could do it for credit card.
You're probably confused because normally people of my age are a little
more mature about these matters.
I had that set up once apon a time, I think with either cable or phone
but had one of the payments bounce. The company disallowed me to use
that method after that. I should probably try to set it up again.
With credit card though, I did like my +ve balance idea because it did
cause me to monitor activity on the card, but gave me a cushion if I got
the timing wrong.
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Darren New wrote:
>
> More specifically, see what your grace period is and what your monthly
> billing date is. Sign up for on-line bill paying at your bank. Complain
> at them if it isn't free, or at least if it costs more than a stamp.
Yes I have to understand this grace period concept better. I was under
the impression that at say midnight of the day of the due date which is
I think the 15th of the month, if I happened to have an amount owed
showing, then I would be charged interest. But if I put a transfer in
to pay it before the deadline I would be okay. So far, try as I might,
I seem to forget to check at deadline time.
I do pay most of my bills online, but as onetime payments usually.
>
> When you get the credit card bill, log in to your bank and set up a
> payment of the amount you owe, to go thru several days before it's due.
Yeah I know, and most of hte time that works, it's just taxing for me to
caonstantly remember.
>
> Job complete.
>
> More-organized people collect the mail, open the bills, and put them
> into a little sorter with 31 slots in it, one for each day by which you
> have to deal with that bill, available at all good office supply stores.
> Then each day, when you pick up the mail, you look at which slots are
> coming up and handle at least the looming ones if not all of them.
Wow! That's just way out of my league. Even if I had the space for such
a device my mail would start lapping the month.
>
> Usually you have at least a week to pay any bills you get, often two or
> three. So sit down once a week at a specific time on a specific day and
> spend 10 minutes dealing with it, even if it's just writing the checks
> and stamping the envelopes rather than working it online.
Gawd, shoot me now.
>
> Failure to pay your cable bills on time is probably dinging your credit
> card accounts as well.
Probably
>
Thanks for taking the time, Darren
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And lo on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:06:11 +0100, Jim Charter <jrc### [at] msncom>
did spake, saying:
> Phil Cook wrote:
>> And lo on Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:02:40 +0100, Jim Charter
>> <jrc### [at] msncom> did spake, saying:
>>
>>> Is it just me being paranoid? In order to avoid service charges on
>>> my credit card, it has been my practice to maintain a constant
>>> positive balance on the card. Enough that I wouldn't, though my own
>>> forgetfulness, incur a service charge because some amount I charged
>>> hit just at the due date and I forget to put money in. So now I see
>>> a debit on my account marked REFUND AS R.
>> Like Steve I'm following this thread and getting confused, but for a
>> different reason. I have a credit card with one company, I've
>> authorised them to withdraw (and pay in) money to one of my bank
>> accounts (another company). About the second week of the month then
>> pull the full amount owed for the previous month. The only time I have
>> to do anything is if I don't want that to happen and I just want to
>> pay the minimum and then incur interest charges.
>> Same thing with the majority of utility bills - the invoice comes
>> through and the payment drawn a few days later. In some case they'll
>> charge you an 'admin' fee for not doing it this way.
>>
> Yeah, I might try and get organized enough to try something like that.
> At least for bills. I didn't know you could do it for credit card.
Well you can in the UK
> You're probably confused because normally people of my age are a little
> more mature about these matters.
Eh? You mean where I monitor bills and credit card statements as one
combined outgoing prior to payment dates and ensure that funds exist
within the bank account to deal with them in advance such that going on
holiday for a fortnight and not being able to get to the bills doesn't
mean me returning to invoice plus reminder plus reminder plus threatening
letter; that sort of maturity?
> I had that set up once apon a time, I think with either cable or phone
> but had one of the payments bounce. The company disallowed me to use
> that method after that. I should probably try to set it up again.
As I said some companies here penalise you if you don't do things this way.
> With credit card though, I did like my +ve balance idea because it did
> cause me to monitor activity on the card, but gave me a cushion if I got
> the timing wrong.
That's the bizarreness so you buy something on CC for $40 then when it
comes to pay you send them $50 so you have positive $10? The only way I
see this as a good thing is if the credit card pays interest on the
amount, which I know some do, but in that instance they wouldn't be
refunding it to you so why do it?
--
Phil Cook
--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com
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Jim Charter wrote:
> Yes I have to understand this grace period concept better. I was under
> the impression that at say midnight of the day of the due date which is
> I think the 15th of the month, if I happened to have an amount owed
> showing, then I would be charged interest.
Yes. But there's a grace period, meaning that if you charge something on
the 1st, and it shows up on the bill on the 3rd, and the payment is due
on the 10th, that particular charge won't be part of what you need to
pay. In other words, if your payment date is the 15th, anything charged
after the beginning of the month shows up not on this bill but on the
next bill, giving you a two-week grace period. They should be mailing
you the bill weeks before the payment due date. If they haven't mailed
you the bill for it, you don't need to pay it yet, even if it was
charged between the time they mailed you the bill and the time the bill
is due.
> But if I put a transfer in
> to pay it before the deadline I would be okay. So far, try as I might,
> I seem to forget to check at deadline time.
Pay it when the bill shows up. Leave it on the breakfast table, so it's
annoyingly in the way every morning, then just ... take care of it.
There are some things you have to do, like putting gas in the car, that
you just have to do.
> I do pay most of my bills online, but as onetime payments usually.
Me too. I used to just write checks, but paying online is just as easy
at this point. And handy if you know you'll be away.
> Yeah I know, and most of hte time that works, it's just taxing for me to
> caonstantly remember.
What's to remember? The bill shows up in the mail, you pay it that day. :-)
> Wow! That's just way out of my league. Even if I had the space for such
> a device my mail would start lapping the month.
Well, yes. To be honest, I don't even do that. :-) But it's the way
(say) a small business handles it, where it's worth deferring bills
until the due date.
Better is to just pay it when it shows up.
> Thanks for taking the time, Darren
Sure. It's just a habit you need to get into, like looking at the gas
guage once in a while, and stopping when you need to.
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
Ever notice how people in a zombie movie never already know how to
kill zombies? Ask 100 random people in America how to kill someone
who has reanimated from the dead in a secret viral weapons lab,
and how many do you think already know you need a head-shot?
Post a reply to this message
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Phil Cook wrote:
> Same thing with the majority of utility bills - the invoice comes
> through and the payment drawn a few days later.
While handy, it hasn't been available in the USA long enough for me to
trust it to work reliably. :-) It only took them about 5 or 10 years
before direct deposit failed to suck. No way am I letting them take it
*out* without my interaction.
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
Ever notice how people in a zombie movie never already know how to
kill zombies? Ask 100 random people in America how to kill someone
who has reanimated from the dead in a secret viral weapons lab,
and how many do you think already know you need a head-shot?
Post a reply to this message
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Darren New wrote:
> > But if I put a transfer in
>> to pay it before the deadline I would be okay. So far, try as I
>> might, I seem to forget to check at deadline time.
>
> Pay it when the bill shows up. Leave it on the breakfast table, so it's
> annoyingly in the way every morning, then just ... take care of it.
Never underestimate the extent one can get used to junk lying around.
> There are some things you have to do, like putting gas in the car, that
> you just have to do.
I need gas. I don't need to pay the bill. Not paying a credit card bill
does not have immediate consequences.
--
The severity of the itch is proportional to the reach.
/\ /\ /\ /
/ \/ \ u e e n / \/ a w a z
>>>>>>mue### [at] nawazorg<<<<<<
anl
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Jim Henderson wrote:
>> I also don't use debit cards, for similar reasons.
>
> Well, with the debit card, you've got a PIN associated with it, so I
> don't quite understand the issue there. Of late, I've preferred to use
If you can use it as a credit card, then no. No PIN is needed and the
money is still debited from the account.
--
The severity of the itch is proportional to the reach.
/\ /\ /\ /
/ \/ \ u e e n / \/ a w a z
>>>>>>mue### [at] nawazorg<<<<<<
anl
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