Hidden Costs Associated with Having Credit Cards
Paying Your Credit Cards Online Can Cost You in Late Fees
If you are like most Americans, you carry at least one credit card. Having credit cards is an important part of building a good credit history. However, there are certain problems that credit cards can cause, such as being the victim of sneaky tactics and unexpected charges. I think it’s about time we discuss one of these increasingly-common problems.
Victims of Circumstance
When you have several credit cards it can be difficult to keep track of balances and payments. Credit card companies can, and do, change the post office box where consumers are supposed to remit payments. From personal experience, I can tell you that one home improvement store credit card I had changed their address three times within an incredibly short period of time. This normally isn’t a problem if you mail in your paper statements since the credit card companies obviously update the address on the statements they send you. It does, however, present a problem for consumers who utilize electronic bill paying services through their bank accounts.
When you pay your monthly bills for all your credit cards online, presumably you do so out of convenience. You spend about an hour initially setting up all your account information and save it to your online bank profile. Then each month you simply initiate a payment by clicking on the merchant that you need to pay. Since you’re paying online, you’re glad that you don’t have to worry about your bill getting lost in the mail. So the next month, when you take a look at your credit card statement, you are surprised to be hit with a late fee and see that you have an unpaid balance on your credit card. You’re left to wonder what happened to the payment that you intentionally made early -- well before the payment was due.
It Doesn’t Help If It Doesn’t Get There
Credit card companies often change their post office boxes, and this can affect consumers who pay their credit card bills online. Even when you make a payment online, your bank still sends a paper check to the credit card company or merchant that you are paying. They will send the check to the address that you have on file for the company. If you don’t pay close attention to the statements that you receive in the mail, you might not realize that your credit card company changed the address that payments should be sent to – not to mention the nightmare that can be caused for consumers who pay their bills electronically and opt not to receive paper statements at their home.
If you like the convenience of paying your bills online but want to avoid hefty late charges, you need to pay close attention to the address where your credit card company is expecting you to send payments. Credit card companies sometimes change their addresses, and this can create a headache for consumers who pay their bills electronically. Keep the contact information for your credit cards current with your online bank if you use your banks online bill-pay services if you want to avoid hefty late fees and increases in interest rates.