Finance charge? Why... I paid in full!?

Question

The situation is that the statement before the last i paid one day late and i was charged a late fee and fiance charge in the next bill (last bill). And i paid all of that in Full. Now this months statement I'm getting a finance charge... but for what? i understand that if i don't pay in full then i will incur a finance charge but i paid in full, the account balance along with late fee and finance of last bill. BTW then was the only time i've been late... i always pay in full... no exception. plz help.

Answer 1

1 sent back some merchandise 2 2 comps but they STILL try 2 get $$$ from me when I'd already been having financial hardship, & trying 2 do whatever I can 2 make things right I just keep disputing it, because since I rightfully returned everything, I don't owe a dime. I have other things I'm, trying 2 right, & I sure don't need others in the way who I already dealt w/.

Answer 2

Yes, ask them.  Also ask them to reverse the fees.  Most companies will do this for a good customer no more than once a year.

Recently, HBSC refused on the phone to reverse a late fee for me where there were very unusual circumstances that occured while I was on a 7-week vacation (a merchant failed to post two credits that were due).  I wrote a letter to them and got my credit!

Good luck!

Answer 3

Ask the card issuer not this board.  Only they know for sure.

Answer 4

You are likely being billed based on something called double cycle balance.  It means that unless you pay your balance off in full, on time, every month, they average the last two month's balances to calculate the late fee.  It's a sneaky thing, but very common in the credit card industry.  If you just missed by a day or so, I would definitely dispute it.  It's probably a modest amount of money, and they would rather keep you as a customer than have you move on to another bank.

Answer 5

When you see a finance charge, it is for the month prior.  In this case, because you were late in the prior month, that caused finance charges to kick in.  So, even when you paid the full amount of your last bill, the balance was accruing finance charges until you paid the full amount.  

You should definitely call your company though.  If you have never paid late before and always pay in full, they should give you a refund of (at the very least) the most recent finance charges, if not the prior one and perhaps even the late fee.  It can't hurt to ask.

Good luck.

Answer 6

Just because you paid your monthly statement in full does not mean that your entire account is paid in full.

Might you have bought something on your card a couple of months ago that is just now showing on your card?

Can you go online and look at your account?  I would no longer have a card that I couldn't access online.

  My suggestion is that you call them tomorrow and ask them why you were charged interest on a -0- balance.

Be sure to get the person's name and how to contact him/her again.  I always ask for a supervisor when I have an important question.