Credit Card

[jennyjoan]

My last payment of £52 will be paid on some date this month but I often wonder how it works - that the bank know it is my last payment.

[Mamyalynne]

All I know it that some Credit Cards charge a monthly fee, many do not.

You need to check which yours is.

[Jackdaw33]

Why not just google your particular credit card and find out the particular terms and conditions?

[Sunk]

I posted this recently that I used a card that I do not normally use, but paid off the balance with an hour of using it.
A month later I saw on my bank statement the balance had gone out and a Direct Debit that I must have set up years ago.
I would manually cancel the Direct Debit if I was you. I did last month.

[bobbinwales]

Just look at your online credit card account. We cant give a definite answer as we dont know all the details like what the £3 0r is it £6 charge is, whether theres interest due, whether your signed up to pay £52 a month until you stop it orisit £52 or remaining balance whatever lowest. For piece of mind your best check with them

[jennyjoan]

well an update - had to go in person to the bank and get the credit card completely destroyed as indeed £3 interest would have gone on and on.

It did take her about nearly an hour to do the business. No more credit cards for me.

[bobbinwales]

Glad its solved. Cant understand what the interest would of been for unless you hadnt been repaying in full or had been withdrawing cash on the card.

[jennyjoan]

No Bobbin - I was paying like £100 a month when I should have paid about £20 (I think). so was overpaying if you like

[bobbinwales]

Well if you were paying £100 a month rather than the full balance each month it not surprising interest was been added unless it was a 0% deal. As Martin Lewis says ' PAy in full'

[barry1010]

What bank was this with? If you have zero balance you should never pay interest.

Didn't you have an interest free agreement?

[jennyjoan]

oh Barry - I just paid the £6 - glad to get rid of it. Santander

[jennyjoan]

Bobbin I was paying £80 a month TOO MUCH as I say I was paying £100 when it could have been just £20 or thereabouts.

[barry1010]

JJ, credit card companies allow you to pay any amount a month from a small percentage of your debt to the total amount owed. Lets say you owe £1000 and your credit card company requires you to pay at least 5%. That means they will ask for for £50 a month and they hope that is all you will pay as it will take much longer for you to pay the debt off and they are adding more interest every month. So your debt grows instead of shrinks. You may think you are overpaying if you pay £200 but you will still be charged interest on the £800 you still owe. If they charge interest of 2% per month your next bill will be for £816. I have put that very simply but that is the gist of it.
If you pay the £1000 then you will not be charged interest.

If you have a zero balance you will not be charged interest.

[bobbinwales]

//Bobbin I was paying £80 a month TOO MUCH as I say I was paying £100 when it could have been just £20 or thereabouts.//

In that case it looks to me like you might of misunderstand how credit cards work. To avoid intrest you need to pay in full not just the minimum (unless it was a special intrest free deal balance transfer type but even then people are caught out if they make purchases if there not interest free)
Good answer from barry