Credit card question

[Nocturnal]

Ok, I have a card with citibank and basically I paid the months minimum balance. I did not get any statement in the mail for August. Therefore, I did not know when my due date was. I checked it online and found out it was past due. I paid it right away. Now I got a late charge which means I got a friggen past due on my credit history, again. and i was clean for the past six months. this definately sucks, can anything be done to fix that? can i call and complain and say that they did not send me a statement? will that work? cuz im seriously honest. i did not get any statement for august.

thanks in advance.

 

[thereds]

Call them and tell them to look at your past payment history. Explain your honest mistake. They usually cancel out the late charge.

 

[RossMAN]

Good news: If this is a new CitiBank card and your first late fee then they'll probably waive it for you.

Bad news: If you read the super fine tiny legal mumbo jumbo print in your account disclosure it probably says you're responsible to make a payment whenever it's due, regardless if you receive a statement or not. It should only be reported on your credit history if you paid 30 days or more past your original due date. I would call CitiBank's customer service and ask them if there was a late payment reported to the credit bureau? If they say NO, you were late but nothing was reported PLEASE do yourself a favor and write down their name, operator ID/extension, the date/time and what city they're in. If they say YES you were reported to the credit bureau for a 30, 60 or 90 day late payment then you're screwed until it falls off (about 7 years).

More bad news: If you go to CitiBank's website (CitiBankCards.com) log in, click View My Account then click Statements ... you are able to view the last 6 month's of statements. This is something you might want to keep in mind just in case future statements don't arrive.

You can also elect to have statements e-mailed to you (I prefer the regular paper statements).

Last but not least you can have CitiBank debit your minimum or full account balance from your bank's checking account every month through the ACH system, this will ensure that you are NEVER late again.

 

[technogeeky]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Good news: If this is a new CitiBank card and your first late fee then they'll probably waive it for you.

Bad news: If you read the super fine tiny legal mumbo jumbo print in your account disclosure it probably says you're responsible to make a payment whenever it's due, regardless if you receive a statement or not. It should only be reported on your credit history if you paid 30 days or more past your original due date. I would call CitiBank's customer service and ask them if there was a late payment reported to the credit bureau? If they say NO, you were late but nothing was reported PLEASE do yourself a favor and write down their name, operator ID/extension, the date/time and what city they're in. If they say YES you were reported to the credit bureau for a 30, 60 or 90 day late payment then you're screwed until it falls off (about 7 years).

More bad news: If you go to CitiBank's website (CitiBankCards.com) log in, click View My Account then click Statements ... you are able to view the last 6 month's of statements. This is something you might want to keep in mind just in case future statements don't arrive.

You can also elect to have statements e-mailed to you (I prefer the regular paper statements).

Last but not least you can have CitiBank debit your minimum or full account balance from your bank's checking account every month through the ACH system, this will ensure that you are NEVER late again.

RossMAN has a lot of experience in this field. Listen to him

 

[vegetation]

How many days past due? Should be no problem if it was just a few days. I know for sure AMEX gives a few days grace period automatically. Also, check your citibank account info, you may have opted out for the paper statement.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Credit cards are evil and insidious.

 

[badluck]

Many companies ONLY report if you are late by more than 30 days. If your company reports the day after you are late, you should get a new credit card. Call them and ask.

 

[flot]

Call and ask, they probably didn't report unless it was 30 days, or unless you're habitually late.

They will also prob waive the fee if it's your first time.

Citibank customer service is pretty cool. Just be polite, tell them you never got a statement and you didn't realize it, explain that you're worried it'll affect your credit, whatever.

You're prob fine.