ElainePDX
Level 2 Member
Just thought I'd mention this glitch:
In late April, I noticed that a bill to FIA Card Services for my Fidelity 2% card hadn't been paid properly. I called immediately and they reversed the interest and fees. The CSR couldn't explain why the autopay amt for the full balance was not grabbed as it has been in previous months/years. She verified the bank acct number, and I paid the bill in full while on the phone. [When there is some dispute re: a CC bill, which is resolved by phone, I always ask to pay the full balance on the spot, so the acct is brought to zero. Just a bit of insurance to me....]
Both the CSR and I figured the computer had sneezed and since it was resolved, I promptly forgot about it.
Then today I see the same thing has happened to a US Bank Club Carlson card: despite the notation on both the April and May statements that autopay was on, the bill had not been paid. The first CSR told me she could see that something happened to change the autopay on 4/20/15, pretty much accusing me of having inadvertently making some change.
We called back a bit later, since my husband was the primary and the CSR would not reverse it without speaking to him. In the course of the call, a more helpful CSR agreed to credit back the fees/interest. Once again, I told him I wanted to pay the bill in full. He did it, reading back to me the acct number and routing code. I immediately noticed that the routing code was not the one I recognized.
It turns out that because the bank was bought, the routing code had changed. The 4/20/15 change - done, we think, by US Bank probably on some instruction from my bank - removed the old routing number and inserted the new one. But since any change in autopay can take 1-2 statement cycles to be implemented, it wasn't properly in force on the date the bill was due.
I expect that I haven't had a problem with other CCs since the autopays are only there in case my payments from BB, RB, or other payment options don't end up paying off the bill in full. Generally there is no balance when the date comes to grab the payment. But if we are traveling, or the balance is small, the autopay will handle it.
So, if you have autopays on any of your CCs, and your bank is bought/merged/changed, pay attention to the routing number. And if you update it on your CC accounts, be mindful that any change will take the 1-2 statement cycles for implementation to kick in!
In late April, I noticed that a bill to FIA Card Services for my Fidelity 2% card hadn't been paid properly. I called immediately and they reversed the interest and fees. The CSR couldn't explain why the autopay amt for the full balance was not grabbed as it has been in previous months/years. She verified the bank acct number, and I paid the bill in full while on the phone. [When there is some dispute re: a CC bill, which is resolved by phone, I always ask to pay the full balance on the spot, so the acct is brought to zero. Just a bit of insurance to me....]
Both the CSR and I figured the computer had sneezed and since it was resolved, I promptly forgot about it.
Then today I see the same thing has happened to a US Bank Club Carlson card: despite the notation on both the April and May statements that autopay was on, the bill had not been paid. The first CSR told me she could see that something happened to change the autopay on 4/20/15, pretty much accusing me of having inadvertently making some change.
We called back a bit later, since my husband was the primary and the CSR would not reverse it without speaking to him. In the course of the call, a more helpful CSR agreed to credit back the fees/interest. Once again, I told him I wanted to pay the bill in full. He did it, reading back to me the acct number and routing code. I immediately noticed that the routing code was not the one I recognized.
It turns out that because the bank was bought, the routing code had changed. The 4/20/15 change - done, we think, by US Bank probably on some instruction from my bank - removed the old routing number and inserted the new one. But since any change in autopay can take 1-2 statement cycles to be implemented, it wasn't properly in force on the date the bill was due.
I expect that I haven't had a problem with other CCs since the autopays are only there in case my payments from BB, RB, or other payment options don't end up paying off the bill in full. Generally there is no balance when the date comes to grab the payment. But if we are traveling, or the balance is small, the autopay will handle it.
So, if you have autopays on any of your CCs, and your bank is bought/merged/changed, pay attention to the routing number. And if you update it on your CC accounts, be mindful that any change will take the 1-2 statement cycles for implementation to kick in!