[rranjith_kum]

Originally Posted by Fountainheader

OT: You pay to renew your anti-virus ?

Life is trying to turn me into a pirate !!

[thiyags22]

Originally Posted by bblost

and thats what I would like them to do.
I don't mind paying the interest on the money I have not paid.
In fact its due on me.

BUT I will not pay any interest on money I have paid.

The banks / credit card Cos call it revolving credit facility- if you pay the full amount before due date then no interest. But if you pay even 1 rupee less than the full amount they charge interest on whole amount. Last month my due amount was 15138 and since I did not have cheque leaf paid the amount by cash. Those idiots at the bank counter did not tell me that cash payment charges are 50 rupees. So I had actually paid only 15088 and hence got a interest of 550 odd rupees. Had to fight with those guys and reverse it.

Thiyags

[thiyags22]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I am aware that VISA/Mastercard making money on every transaction.

But, how am i effected when i am not levied any additional charge ( say some merchants ask for 2.5% if paying by card and in such occasions i pay by cash, thereby depriving them of that additional money)

For e.g : If i buy a product worth Rs.100 and i pay only Rs.100 then its no affect directly to me as a customer whereas the merchant pays Rs.2.50 from his pocket. So he effectively makes a gross sales of Rs.97.50 for that product.

Whereas in other cases, some merchants ask to pay Rs.102.5 and in such cases, cash zindabad

Manytimes seller is ready to give a discount of 5% if we customer pays by cash. Customer needs to negotiate and get it. May be you are losing out on this discount

[given2fly]

To cut a long story short, a friend had a StanChart CC in november 2005 with an outstanding of 2950. She paid 2850, don't know why she didn't pay the rest of 100 bucks. Now today while taking a personal loan, it showed up as a default in her CIBIL ratings (damn CIBIL), and she has been asked to settle the account for 8000/-. Yes 8 Grands is what StanChart is asking to settle for a 100 rupees outstanding on a card which expired back in April 2007. When she asked the bank what transpired that bloated it to this much, they said 350/- late payment charges, interest and a service charge of 10.2% on the entire transaction.

So we are in a classic case of Credit card addiction, but my question is how to get her out of this. I have suggested speaking to a bank executive face to face and explain and ask for a one time settlement amount somewhere mid-way between the 2 extremes. But is there any other way out. 100 bucks default and an 8000 buck penalty is too much and above all, that card expired back in 2007. :(

PS: Fellow Member, Please don't question the intelligence of the person. Mistakes happen and I am not expecting people to come up with their wisdom one-liners like "yeah, damn bank" etc. Like I've said before, I'm asking for a way to mend it, not falming or questioning intelliegence.

Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with this.

[ash_blore]

Originally Posted by given2fly

PS: Fellow Member, Please don't question the intelligence of the person. Mistakes happen and I am not expecting people to come up with their wisdom one-liners like "yeah, damn bank" etc. Like I've said before, I'm asking for a way to mend it, not falming or questioning intelliegence.

Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with this.

I too paid about Rs200 less than the minimum amount (which was equal to the total statement due amount as it was a loan EMI). This happened totally by mistake. This month I was charged around Rs1000 in fines! No option but to pay.
In your friend's case i think you can negotiate with the bank.

[Gansan]

It is always wise to imagine our credit card is a debit card and use it accordingly. If any amount is to be revolved, it is better to keep it as short as possible. And while making the last payment, it will be a good idea to add a couple of hundred rupees to the balance shown in the statement. It will automatically take care of any further, though small, interest or other charges that may be levied from the last statement date till the settlement date. Any excess amount will be automatically adjusted when we use the card subsequently. Even if we don't, it will be a small price to pay rather than (inadvertently) spoiling our cibil rating.

A word about card security: all of us are aware that cards may be passed through a data capture machine when they are handed over for swiping out of our sight, in restaurants for example. The data can be subsequently used for making duplicate cards. But what we don't know is, even if it is not passed through a data capture machine, a person can just note down the card number along with the CVV number before returning the card to us. They can then make some transactions just by giving the card and cvv numbers over phone: eg. booking plane tickets. So it will be a good idea to note down the cvv number and then mask it on the card.

[given2fly]

Thanks Gansan. However, this was exactly what I explained in PS. The deed is done, and no wise man or woman does it intentionally. But since she got in it accidentally (easy to have mixed up 4400 with 4500 or anything else), I'm trying to help her than give gyan.

[Gansan]

The only way out may be to talk to the bank, arrive at a compromise figure and settle it. Just ensure that the cibil rating will be properly restored before settling the amount.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by given2fly

she has been asked to settle the account for 8000/-. Yes 8 Grands is what StanChart is asking to settle for a 100 rupees
...
...
...
...
how to get her out of this.

Unfortunately there is no way out if:

She plans to take ANY kind of loan in next 7 years. Specially home or car loan.

If you reach a "settlement" with bank, bank will most likely:

1. Settle for lesser amount
2. HAS TO report the "write off" to CIBIL and it stays on her credit report for next 7 years.

If she pays in 8k full, and keep using some other card (and keep paying dues on time). Her credit report will normalize in about a year.

[given2fly]

So as I understand this now,

1. bank may settle for a lesser amount (say deduct part of the late fee charges but charge the interest). But that difference may be reported as a loss / write-off by the bank.

2. If they come to a genuine lesser amount, it will be good a few months time (may be a year).

3. If it is settled for full, then it is restored immediately.

Is this observation correct?

PS : One more thing, does anyone have any experience of such settlement for self or a friend? If so, can that experience be shared thru PM or here?

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Unfortunately there is no way out if:

She plans to take ANY kind of loan in next 7 years. Specially home or car loan.

If you reach a "settlement" with bank, bank will most likely:

1. Settle for lesser amount
2. HAS TO report the "write off" to CIBIL and it stays on her credit report for next 7 years.

If she pays in 8k full, and keep using some other card (and keep paying dues on time). Her credit report will normalize in about a year.

[Spitfire]

You have no way to tell whether your name is off the list after making the settlement.

But the next time you go for a loan and you are told about your past goof ups showing up. Keep the settlement letter handy, the bank will take a copy of it.

The CIBIL report is being used as a threat by some banks to their customers. This is going to snowball and create more issues. Wait and watch.

Trust indians to use something as good as the CIBIL report for unethical practices.

[mobike008]

Went through some serious hiccups of approvals while taking a personal loan for a small amount ( Rs.3 Lakhs) while buying some property due to no fault of mine has made me extra careful.

Since last 10 years I have been paying 100% of bill amount each month.

I have decided to be extremely careful with payments of my 3 credit cards. I have set an alarm one week before each payment due date on my blackberry

And, i continue to pay 100% of the bill amount each month. No tension !!!

[amtak]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

The CIBIL report is being used as a threat by some banks to their customers. This is going to snowball and create more issues. Wait and watch.

Tell me about that. DB rejected my loan application by saying your name is in the CIBIL list. No reasons specified. The very next day, Barclays and Kotak approved my loan application because I had a "good" score in CIBIL. I don't remember it properly but I think anything above 750/800 is a decent/good score.

NetFreak, could you please confirm?

[LastActionHero]

If you have been rejected you can write a letter to the bank asking for the rejection and a copy of your credit report. This is as per RBI guidelines. More here - Welcome to CIBIL and here - http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/PDFs/80974.pdf

[lambuhere1]

Is there any way one can get our credit scores from CIBIL before we apply for loans ? Might be worth a try, isnt it ?