CreditCards Blog

I am new on here and could really do with some advice! I have a MBNA card and have a small amount owing on it. I had an oversight with the payment date (thought it was 5th but was the 1st) I called them on the first and was told I could pay by Debit card but this would be classed as a late payment as it takes 4 days for card to clear. I also was told I would probably lose my promotional rate (0%) however I was given another number to call regarding this. I asked why it would take 4 days as I thought debit card was instant payment (it is when I top up my mobile!!!) They had no answer for this. I then asked if this late payment would be registered in credit file and was told not sure but to speak to the other department about this. Anyway I called the "other" department and after some time on hold was told that "out of courtesty" they would "honour" my promotional rate, however when I asked about late payment being recorded they said it would be recorded on my credit file. I asked why as I had paid on the day it was due. They had no real answer for this. I then said that if I'd sent a cheque and that cheque had arrived on the due date they would still have to wait 3 workings days for cheque to clear, again they had little to say about this!

So am I right in thinking that payment by a Debit card is instant??? I'm a bit confused by the whole thing to be honest. I could use some advice please.

Thankning you in advance

Sarah

If this was only one late payment by a few days it will not be reported to a credit refference agency (CRA). In most cases you have to basically do the following.. pay late, then miss the payment on the next statement (essentially 2 payment cycles).

This would then classify you as "delinquent" at this stage which would be reported to a cra. In other words... if its just one "late" payment by a few days it will have barely any effect at all.:rotfl:

Also debit card payments usually take 2-3 working days... the authorisation can be instant (depending on the ammount) but then the funds are held until collected by the merchant which usually takes 2-3 working days, some companies (i.e your mobile provider) probably just put the credit on your phone before the money is collected due to the relatively small ammount of the transaction

I'm fairly sure thats the way it would work.

hope this helps
Graham