Discover moves due dates up, check yours today!
Filed under: Credit
Do you use a Discover credit card? If so you'd better check your due dates as the Consumerist reports that many users have logged in to find that their Discover payment due dates have been moved up several days. Upon reading this I logged into my own account and found that the payment due date I had chosen when I opened the card several years ago, to fit my paycheck schedule, had been moved up to June 1!
For a company who has spent plenty of money pitching a new kind of credit card, one that cares, this move has quickly put a damper on the sunny discover logo that wants to make you a better saver. While a change in due dates is to be expected at Citi or another issuer, the fact that Discover let's cardmembers choose a due date that fits their schedule makes this mass change surprising to say the least.
When questioned about the due date changes, Discover's straightforward explanation was that, "The payment due date is now cycle date minus 5 days, however, our grace period remains one of the longest in the industry at 25 days. Cardmembers were notified back in March and will continue to have the option to choose their payment due date."
I checked my e-mail and found that indeed I got an e-mail in March telling me about an important change in my Discover account but like so many change notifications it wasn't clear that the it meant that my chosen due date would move forward by a few days.
I'm not absolving the cardholders who didn't immediately log in and find out that their due date was changing from responsibility, but if every single cardholder's due date was shifting forward five days like Discover's media representative says, couldn't they have at least said that in the email?
Rather than coming across as a "new kind of credit card company", this move by Discover sounds more like a desperate ploy to grab $39 late fees and jack up rates before the new credit card rules come into play.
If Discover responds with more information regarding the change we'll be sure to pass it on. Until then, make sure you read every notice you get from credit card companies and pay extra attention to the due dates on your credit card bills; even if the issuer let you pick a due date and hasn't changed it for the past four years.
If you missed your due date, don't take the late fee and interest increases sitting down; ask your credit card company to remove the late charge and return your interest rate to the level it was before you missed the payment. If it's your first time many credit card companies will work with you, but you may have to ask twice.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
6-02-2009 @ 3:22PM
Susan said...
Yes, my Discover statement arrived yesterday, and this is exactly the case - my due date has been moved up by 4 days. However, Discover DID post notices on each of my 2 prior statements to be aware of this and to look for a change in due date. It's not as if we (or I, at least) were surprised at this.
Reply
6-02-2009 @ 3:26PM
Josh Smith said...
Glad to hear the paper statements had this notice. My e-statements don't or at least not that I can find looking at them now.
Thanks for sharing.
6-04-2009 @ 8:10AM
hugh jassol said...
Listen up, People. If you own a home and have some equity in it, take a second mortgage and pay off your credit cards in full. The interest on the second mortgage is 100% deductible, while the interest on your credit cards is not deductible at all. Any homeowner who doesn't know this is an idiot. Wise up. The secret is - don't run up your cards while paying down the second mortgage. Do you really need that new lawn tractor? I didn't think so. I did this years ago and today I have zero balance on my Amex or Discover cards. I have no other cards. If I want to buy something, I make sure I can pay it in full when the statement arrives, so I pay no interest. What part of this are you not getting?
6-02-2009 @ 10:09PM
Maxx said...
It may not be new to you, but they pay people good money to sit around and think up creative ways to not only screw their treasured customers, but how to go about just minimally informing them that they're going to do it. I say tell Discover and the rest of them to take their cards and shove them where the sun don't shine.
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 8:29PM
Donna said...
My paper statements gave me 2 months notice, so it was not a surprise
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 8:29PM
Jamie said...
Thanks for the notice! I had not been paying attention and after having had the same due date for over 10 years, my due date had indeed changed. You totally saved me $39, man!!
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 8:37PM
Linda Andrew said...
Discover has let me down in a different way (I was aware of the payment due date change). Try calling them and asking them to lower your interest rate because of a job loss..... no way.... they even told me "you are a no profit account"..... I owe them $6000 and pay a fair share of interest each month.... have never had a late payment, have never been over-limit, always pay twice the minimum payment, and have an excellent payment history and overall credit report. My Citi Bank cards lowered my interest rate 3% when requested. Discover certainly doesn't want to keep "good" customers.
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 8:40PM
Gloria said...
Mine too, I called them and told them that if I didn't get the date I always had my payment would be late every month, they moved it back to the original date.
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 8:49PM
rob said...
chase did the same thing to me it was only 17 days between billing dates and they refused to take off the late charge
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:58PM
Lee said...
New to California CHASE is Scarey give me back Wa Mu Higher interest. Chase said ca. is not profitiable
6-03-2009 @ 10:57PM
Shirley said...
My payment for my credit card which is not a Discover card but a Visa used to be always due on the 25th of the month. Several years ago the due date started varying andnow it changes from month to month. The only reason for the company to do this is to cause late payments and collect millions in late fees. It also gives them an opportunity to raise your interest rate if your payment is late. This practice should be stopped.
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:57PM
ricarda said...
Amen to that!
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:57PM
Paul said...
so you got notified, didn't read it nd they moed your due date FORWARD and you are complaining that they didn't do everything exactly the way you can now thought of ( isn't hindsite great?.
This is the exact kind of arguement all deadbeats like you make. You people make me sick.
Be an adult and take some responsibility
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:58PM
donna said...
I have a Capitol One Card, and they also moved up the date, but I never received an email or a notice!! I did look at my bill the other day and found out that it was die That Day!!
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:58PM
Adam said...
If this happened to me I would be looking to the industry regulators. There must be someway to level the field. Oh Yeah! Cut up their card!
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:58PM
Patrick said...
I had that happen on my Chase card without notification! I called them and complained, imforming them that it was a sneeky way of making money with late fees (I'm never late). They reimbursed my late fee charge but I still check my due date monthly!
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:58PM
lee said...
Friend, join the club, Discover did the exact same thing to me, in the exact same fashion. I had their card for over 5 years, always double paying the bill, and paying on, or before the due date. I went with Americard, less interest, smaller payments, (Which I still pay on, or Before time, and in double amounts) My advice, get rid of Discover, they don't appreciate good customers, and quite frankly, good customers don't appreciate their tactics.
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:58PM
JP said...
If it comes down to it, don't pay them at all. They, just like any other business including your employer should be trying to work with you if you fall on hard times or have a problem. Everybody is so insensitive these days.
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:59PM
Me said...
They changed mine too. It was moved 4 days up. I know I will be paying it on time.
I did get snagged with my JC Penney card. I usually always pay my cards early so it was the day after it was due, they did refund my late fee.
I also asked for a written copy of the change in the notice.
Reply
6-03-2009 @ 10:59PM
sheila said...
Linda,I have a discover card that was over 9 thousand,I had sent pretty much all I had about 3 grand in hope the monthly payment would go down. The payment went down only by 37 dollars,so I called them. I asked them to work with me and in good faith had sent them alot of money.I also told them I was trying to avoid bankruptcy and want to pay them and ask them to reduce my rate which is 29.99(yeah I am crying over that)
As of next month its going down to 17.24 not a big difference but enough to help.At least Most of my payment will go to the principle and not the intrest.
Call them back and ask them for the help,tell them if they cant reduce the intrest you may have to file for bankruptcy,cant hurt.
It helpe me some.
I hope this helps some of you.
And yes I did notice thanks to you people my date changed by 4 days.
Reply