Capital One Credit Card Assessing late fees when you pay on time Internet
I just want to start by saying that I pay my bills! I pay my Capital One credit card usually 5-10 days before the due date (online) and I ALWAYS pay over the minimum balance. Like they did to all their customers, I went from 12% to 17% because of the changing economic climate. I have since transferred most of my balance to a credit union card that offers a MUCH lower interest rate. I keep a small balance on this card to keep up appearances since this is my oldest credit history. Since I transferred a large sum of my balance I have paid 2 payments on the day they were due, and both times they have assessed me a $39.00 late fee on the day it was due. I do not understand this! If a payment is authorized on the day it was due, but the funds came out the next day, how are they able to do this? If you send a check in the day it was due, obviously you're not getting your funds until the check clears... so I don't understand why this would be different for an online payment. I have had BOTH late fees waived, but I just want to put this warning out there just in case someone doesn't look at their statement like a hawk (like I do!).
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Flynrider
Phoenix,Arizona,
USA
Not unique to Capital One
#3Consumer Suggestion
Fri, February 19, 2010
"I have paid 2 payments on the day they were due, and both times they have assessed me a $39.00 late fee on the day it was due."
This can be a problem with any credit card payment, since they all love to charge late fees whenever possible. If you make a payment on the day it's due, it will only post if you've made it during normal banking hours. If it's made after the banks have closed out their transactions for the day, the bank will post the payment on the next banking day. I've seen this same issue with Chase and FIA (Bank of America).
"I keep a small balance on this card to keep up appearances since this is my oldest credit history."
Suggestion : You don't need to keep a balance (and pay crazy interest) on a card to keep it in good standing on your credit report. If you pay it off in full each month, your report will still show a series of regular on time payments to the account. That's what makes your credit score look good. I've done this with a few credit cards and managed to keep my score above 800 without paying a penny of interest.
Jenifer
portland,Oregon,
U.S.A.
Frustrated with them too
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, February 19, 2010
I have a capital one card that payment was due for on February 6. I paid it out of my January 22nd paycheck, and instead of applying it to the February payment, they applied it to the previous month, and THEN turned around and charged me a late fee for February even though I did pay it. The late fee pushed me over my limit, and so they then proceeded to charge me an over the limit fee...it's an ugly ugly s****.>