How To Avoid Credit Card Penalties
It is a sad fact of life that credit card companies are very
willing and fast to slap a penalty charge on your account for
every mistake, delay and slip up you cause, immediately and
without a second thought. These penalty charges can amount to
millions of dollars taken from consumers each month. They are a
necessary part of all credit card operations and are fair in the
sense that it means that customers who do everything correctly
and on time are not penalised for the extra work and expense
that other customers cause, but what you will want to do is make
sure you are not one of the unlucky customers that is paying for
these extra expenses.
The best way to avoid these penalties is to look at the entire
situation from the point of view of the credit card company.
Really, all they want from you is to keep your card safe, to
stay within your credit limit, and to make at least your minimum
payment, on time every month. If you manage to do these simple
tasks you will avoid ever incurring a penalty on your account.
The problem is that it is very easy to slip up on these things.
It's not easy at all to keep track of your outstanding balance,
especially as we use credit cards for more and more things and
companies begin placing holds and other such transactions on
customers accounts without them necessarily knowing or
understanding about them. Then there is the fact that it is very
easy to forget or become late on a payment. Every one has busy
periods in their life and sometimes we simply have other more
important things on our minds than paying our credit card bill
on time. Some people are less organised than others and for them
it can be very difficult making sure all their credit cards are
paid out in full and on time.
If your card is lost or stolen without any fault on your part,
and you call your credit card company as soon as you find out,
you will only be liable for a maximum of $50 dollars. And if you
manage to let the credit card company know before any thing has
been spend on your stolen card you will not be liable for any
thing. This is also the rule that applies for identity theft and
fraud so you can feel safe using your credit card online. Taking
a few simple steps can mean you are virtually never subjected to
credit card penalties.