Halifax Clarity Card .. Changes to DD

[QFour]

Halifax Clarity Card have changed the way they take DD payments. We have it set up so they take the balance on the card by DD each month. We withdrew some cash using the card so just paid the balance off. We had a txt message saying they were going to take the card balance but because it was zero we didn’t bother. Well today they did what they said they were going to do and took the whole of the balance even though we had paid it off.

So whatever your balance is at the statement date it is taken even if you have paid it off early. They have just changed the rules in the last few days.

 

[John H]

Are you saying they were paid twice - once when you paid it off and again at the date of the DD? If so, I cannot see how that can happen. We don't have the problem because we only use the card when abroad and mainly for withdrawing cash, so we have no DD and simply pay it off as we go.

 

[QFour]

Yes, it was paid off in full and then today they paid the statement amount due by DD.

I rang the card company and they said their rules had changed. If you make extra payments to your credit card at any time, this will not reduce your direct debit payment, which is the amount on your monthly statement.

 

[John H]

Yes, it was paid off in full and then today they paid the statement amount due by DD.

I rang the card company and they said their rules had changed. If you make extra payments to your credit card at any time, this will not reduce your direct debit payment, which is the amount on your monthly statement.

Seems a strange and indefensible rule. I don't see how they can take more than you legally owe them, whatever their rules. Personally, I'd cancel the direct debit or change cards.

 

[Pauljenny]

Mmm ...
I'll give them a ring at quiet o'clock, tonight.

 

[QFour]

I’ve now cancelled the DD.

 

[carol]

My DD is set up to pay the full balance I owe them each month - I only use it in the winter months when abroad. How could they take it twice?

 

[QFour]

My DD was set to pay the full balance. Although I paid off the card early, they still took the amount again.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

How many days before the DD was due did you pay the balance?

I used to use a credit card for both personal & business use (to get Tesco points for the Chunnel). I paid the business owed amount & the personal amount was then taken later by direct debit. However, to avoid the problem you had, I made sure to make the first payment about 10 days before the DD was due.

 

[QFour]

How many days before the DD was due did you pay the balance?

Eleven days.

 

[phillybarbour]

Had the card several years it’s brilliant, but never had thus problem as I’ve just leave the DD to run as I don’t draw cash on mine.

 

[GeoffL]

We use our Clarity card both for retail transactions and for ATM withdrawals when abroad. We can, if we choose, repay the ATM amounts just after (i.e. within a few hours) of making the withdrawal and thus avoid paying interest on them. Presumably we'd be unlucky for a statement to be produced between such a withdrawal and its repayment and so there is only a minimal chance of them taking twice, even under the new rules. ... or have I got that wrong?

 

[Canalsman]

Seems to me that they had done their direct debit processing run before you had cleared the balance ...

Once the direct debit has been scheduled there will be no way to stop it.

 

[Wooie1958]

Had the card several years it’s brilliant, but never had thus problem as I just leave the DD to run as I don’t draw cash on mine.

Same here, no problems :dance:

 

[Nabsim]

Sounds like they have changed something though, no way that 11 days shouldn’t be enough time for them to stop it.

Presumably this is to stop folks having free credit is it?

 

[QFour]

When I rang them they said that they had changed their system.

 

[Nabsim]

When I rang them they said that they had changed their system.

Does it mean you get charged now no matter what though?

 

[QFour]

We use our Clarity card both for retail transactions and for ATM withdrawals when abroad. We can, if we choose, repay the ATM amounts just after (i.e. within a few hours) of making the withdrawal and thus avoid paying interest on them. Presumably we'd be unlucky for a statement to be produced between such a withdrawal and its repayment and so there is only a minimal chance of them taking twice, even under the new rules. ... or have I got that wrong?

If you have bought two items retail for 10€ each and then withdrawn €50 from the cash point, you will have to pay off €70 as that is the balance on the card. If you just pay off €50 you still have a balance of €20 that you took as cash. Their system cannot work out the difference.

 

[Somerled]

This change was notified in a letter to cardholders in July and took effect on 21st September. My reading of the clause was that once the monthly statement was prepared then the DD amount was set and couldn't then be altered. Any additional payments made would therefore be treated as a recent transaction (in the same way as a purchase) and would be reflected in the next month's statement and so carry through to the next month's DD. Additional payments would still continue to reduce the card balance as vbefore and so reduce any interest due, especially relevant for ATM cash withdrawals. I hope I'm right as I forgot about the change and only last week paid off my ATM cash withdrawals in full. The text from Halifax prompted me to look out the letter.

 

[GeoffL]

If you have bought two items retail for 10€ each and then withdrawn €50 from the cash point, you will have to pay off €70 as that is the balance on the card. If you just pay off €50 you still have a balance of €20 that you took as cash. Their system cannot work out the difference.

This change was notified in a letter to cardholders in July and took effect on 21st September. [...]

I read that letter and thought that the only changes were to 'penalty fees' and that the DD transaction was initiated on the same day that the statement was produced. I understood that any interim payments into the account would continue to be applied to items that attracted the greatest interest rate. Thus if you started with a zero balance, bought two items retail at €10 each, then withdrew €50 from an ATM and then paid the equivalent of €50 into your Clarity account, the €50 should pay off the ATM withdrawal first AFAICT. Their system must be able to work out the difference because they charge interest differently; i.e. from the date of withdrawal from an ATM but from the statement date for retail transactions.

That said, the interest is only about 1.4% per month, so you'd only pay about 0.7% interest on a cash withdrawal two weeks before the statement date -- and that's still a lot cheaper than almost all other methods of buying foreign currency.