Anyone Else Stung by 28 Degrees 'Finance Charges'?

EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 16:03

Well there's one I didn't see coming. Just checked our balance to see not only an interest charge (fair enough) but also a $10 'finance charge' which was greater than the actual interest charge. So even though we paid above and beyond the minimum monthly payment and left a small balance we got slugged with this dodgy extra charge. Seems the only way to make use of the damned thing is to pay off the TOTAL balance every month and don;t use it for cash withdrawals.

More on 'finance charges' here.

https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-avoid-credit-card-finance-…

Just a headsup in case I'm not the only one who didn't know about this.

Financial Credit Card

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Comments

  • tomsco on 22/01/2019 - 16:26

    Do you know what specifically the finance charge relates to?

    • HighAndDry on 22/01/2019 - 16:38

      Because OP made a cash advance.

      • EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 16:51

        No I didn't. :)

        • HighAndDry on 22/01/2019 - 17:00

          Ah I stand corrected - got confused by your mention of "and don;t use it for cash withdrawals." (which is good advice by the way.)

          • EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 17:02

            @HighAndDry: No worries. The only thing I can even guess at is that they are slugging me for not paying out the card in full…is that even legal? We usually do pay it out each month but got hammered a bit over Christmas so pay it all out this month, just most of it. Still sounds dodgy though.

        • DogGunn on 22/01/2019 - 17:08

          Are you sure you didn't?

          Certain activities are considered cash advance, even if they would normally appear as a purchase.

          For instance, depositing money in gambling websites.

          • EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 17:17

            @DogGunn: Nope none of that either. :)

            • DogGunn on 22/01/2019 - 17:18

              @EightImmortals: Eh, just call em and find out.

              The only other thing I can think of is a late fee, but I suspect you would have known if that was the case.

              Would be curious to know what such an undesript fee is for.

  • tsunamisurfer on 22/01/2019 - 16:27

    https://www.facebook.com/28DegreesMasterCard/posts/684186044…

    Raise it with them and check it was applied correctly.

  • HighAndDry on 22/01/2019 - 16:38
    -2

    Seems the only way to make use of the damned thing is to pay off the TOTAL balance every month and don;t use it for cash withdrawals.

    Yeah, credit cards will incur charges if you make cash advances. And yes - you should be paying credit cards off every month, but even more than that, you should definitely not be using it for cash advances!

    • EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 16:52

      Just to clarify, we did NOT use it for any cash advances. :)

      • HighAndDry on 22/01/2019 - 17:02

        My bad. Just to clarify on CCs generally though:

        So even though we paid above and beyond the minimum monthly payment and left a small balance

        They credit your payments in a FILO system, so they leave the oldest charges outstanding (afaik? someone correct me if I'm wrong).

        • EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 17:03

          Fair enough, and that would account for the interest charge but this is a separate 'finance charge'.

          • HighAndDry on 22/01/2019 - 17:04

            @EightImmortals: To me that sounds like a ripoff but not illegal if it's set out in their T&Cs. Apparently they apply that to any amount that's outstanding past the interest-free period, per the Facebook page linked above.

            • EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 17:06

              @HighAndDry: Funny that none of my other cards do the same thing….

              • HighAndDry on 22/01/2019 - 17:08

                @EightImmortals: Yeah it's very non-standard. On the other hand, 28degrees cards also come with benefits that others cards don't, so something's gotta give I guess.

  • CyberMurning on 22/01/2019 - 16:40

    always pay off each month i have no such kind of issue like this

  • schmuppet on 22/01/2019 - 17:03

    I had this happen recently and it looks like I forgot to pay a month, hard to figure out based on the statements though.

    • EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 17:18

      Yeah, nah, they got my payment on time. I've sent them an email so let's see what they come back with.

  • djkelly69 on 22/01/2019 - 17:24

    Wait so the ~20% interest they are charging you on the outstanding balance is not enough, they are charging a $10/m fee for the privilege as well??

    Doesn't seem right to me - as mentioned by a few people above, are you sure there wasn't a late or missed payment, a purchase of a lottery ticket on credit or other cash advance equivalent, etc?

    • EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 17:32

      Nope, just went back through our purchases for the last couple of months and it's standard goods (mostly iherb and one from hobbylink ). Our last payment was rec'd 5 days BEFORE the due date. Beats me, I'll see what they say if they reply to my email.

  • Diji1 on 22/01/2019 - 17:57

    Well it's not like the largest banks in the world do the wrong thing all the time to obtain money.

    Oh wait …

  • littleburrito on 22/01/2019 - 19:25
    -1

    On the top right corner of your statement, it should state monthly payment $X, minimum amount payable $x, payment due date and closing balance.

    For eg:

    Minimum Amount Payable $50
    Payment Due date 31 Jan 2019
    Closing Balance $500

    You need to pay $500 by the due date to avoid any interest charges. You will still incur interest charges even if you paid $499.50.

    • John Kimble on 22/01/2019 - 19:50
      +1

      He's talking about some weird/ambiguous charge on top of/in addition to interest charges (I think)…

      • EightImmortals on 22/01/2019 - 20:22

        Correct. I got an interest charge PLUS this unexpected one.

  • RockyRaccoon on 22/01/2019 - 19:53

    So what did 28 degrees tell you?

  • HeWhoKnows on 23/01/2019 - 13:22

    The new charges associated with this card has been posted before.
    It was sold off and since then its completely changed.
    Get rid of this card!

    Get yourself a Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard instead
    Much better option and always was!

  • reactor-au on 23/01/2019 - 14:53

    I also got this ambiguous charge, luckily it was only a dollar and some change. I settle the card weekly to try avoid these sorts of charges. I dunno.

  • Clear on 23/01/2019 - 15:19

    More reason not to use them. I can't see any benefit whatsoever in having them compared to othwrs.

    And that price protection offer that hasn't existed for new customers for years doesn't count.

  • EightImmortals on 23/01/2019 - 16:00

    OK so after my email bounced I finally got a chance to call them and apparently this unexplained fee is their way of thanking people who don't pay the card out completely each statement. Cos I'm such a nice guy though the CSR said he would reverse the charge 'this time'. I think I'll just go back to using the VISA for OS purchases, sure I get charged the foreign transaction fees but none of this other nonsense.

    Cheers

    • RockyRaccoon on 23/01/2019 - 20:29
      +1

      Your choice, but I think you are over reacting. Go with Bankwest as a better alternative, if not then keep this card and work within its rules. Compared to your Visa and paying transaction fees this is the better of the two especially given you are going overseas. At least wait until after the trip.

      BTW I only use this card for OS transactions, so unless you expect your OS trip to be completed and not being able to pay it off in time. its probably better for your pocket to use this card.

      • bluesky on 23/01/2019 - 20:45

        I only use this card for OS transactions,

        Me as well - but just a heads-up for those relying on this card while travelling.
        It can get declined while overseas (has happened to me) and there are some hours in the day when you just cannot get to their Customer Support. So always have a backup card - like ING Debit or something.

        • EightImmortals on 24/01/2019 - 08:15

          Yeah I'll hang onto it at least until we get back and keep in mind to PAY IT OFF EACH MONTH to avoid dodgy charges. :)

  • Topdog on 24/01/2019 - 09:07

    fiance chargers are interest.

    • EightImmortals on 24/01/2019 - 09:11

      Nope, I got a separate interest charge.

      • Topdog on 24/01/2019 - 09:12

        one is usually a interest free period has expired but if you have two its usually a cash advance as well. Thats how it works on my statement, sorry I could not be more assistance.

        • EightImmortals on 24/01/2019 - 09:14

          No worries, look up a few posts and you'll see what the answer was. :)

  • Topdog on 24/01/2019 - 09:24

    sweet

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