Clear your credit card in full or pay a fortune in interest

A recent report showed how a man, who thought that he had cleared his credit card bill in full but had inadvertently left a 62 pence balance, was charged interest on the full balance. The customer had paid off over £5000 on his card by cheque, but left a 62 pence balance on without realising, and he was then hit with charges of over £60, which was the interest on the full balance.

The cardholder said: ‘It was a genuine mistake. I thought I had cleared my balance and when I received my next bill I thought at first someone else had used it. Then I noticed it was an interest charge - on 62p. When I called Halifax to protest, I was told that it was standard practice to charge interest on the whole amount if you don’t clear your balance and there was nothing they could do about it.’

He added: ‘I was so furious I rang back again a couple of days later and fortunately spoke to someone else who realised it was a mistake and agreed to waive the charges. But it made me realise just how credit card companies make their money.’

Officials from Halifax stated: ‘Those are our terms and conditions so the first member of staff was right, but the second person Mr Baratta spoke to took a more pragmatic approach and I am glad the charge was waived.’