Skip to Content

Paying a credit card on the due date? Don't wait until the afternoon.

More
Text SizeAAA

Filed under: Banks

One day, I predict, a bank will go too far with their fees, and there will be some measurable backlash, where there will start becoming a trend of people more commonly putting their money in credit unions or under their mattress. We're not there yet, but apparently Bank of America is trying to speed up that day.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has an interesting story about one Greg Fischer, a consumer who paid his September Bank of America credit card payment through his bank's web site. He paid on the deadline day.

However, his bank said that he was late anyway. Why? He paid at 4:10 in the afternoon, past a 3:30 p.m. cut-off that he wasn't aware of, a cut-off, I'm sure, that's buried somewhere in legalese on his credit card statement or on the credit card's web site.

Do you think credit cards should charge a late fee if you pay any time on the due date?




He's out more than just a late fee. Since he was late with a payment in April, his interest rate doubled to 28.99 percent. He was told that the bank wouldn't consider lowering the fee until he had paid on time for six months. Now if you do the math, April to September is six months straight. Nice timing.

So I have a suggestion to credit cards and credit card users. If you're a credit card user, and you often do pay your bill around the deadline day, you may want to dial up customer service and see if there's a certain hour and minute you need to make your payment by. If you're a credit card company, you'd probably engender a lot of goodwill if you'd simply jot down a time on the bill, whether it's 3:30 p.m. or 10:14 a.m., right next to the words that say "Due Date."

Geoff Williams is a freelance journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale).
Subscribe to Walletpop

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 18)

How Much Should I Save?

$
$
%
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard Filed under: Insurance, Video, Ad Rant

Warren Buffett does his best Axl Rose for Geico

There are plenty of old geezers who wish they could rock out like Axl Rose just once in this lifetime, but Warren Buffett has made it a reality. Sizzling up the Internet right now is a new ad for ...
Megan Angelo
Megan Angelo Filed under: Shopping

If you spend $100: spring tops at Ann Taylor

Depending on where you live in the country, chances are the weather has you in a deliriously good mood this week -- after a long few months of blizzards, monsoons and whipping winds, it's finally ...
Ann Brenoff
Ann Brenoff Filed under: Shopping

Teva sandals light the way to the beach

No more goofy headlamps on my head when I take beach hikes at dust or dawn with the dog. Teva, which revolutionized the footwear industry when it created the world's first sports sandal, has yet ...
Julia Scott
Julia Scott Filed under: Bargain Babe

Blockbuster coupon code for free movie for renting 2

Rent two movies from a Blockbuster Express and you'll get a third rental free with coupon code GU13D5. The code expires Monday, March 22, 2010. Rentals from Blockbuster Express, a rival to Redbox, are ...

Banking Tools

Use these bank account calculators and tools to help you make the smartest bank account moves.

    Headlines from WalletPop Partners