How To Avoid Paying Those Pesky Credit And Debit Card Fees
It seems that UK credit and debit card providers would like to charge us each and every time we use our plastic cards these days. While the charge for each separate individual transaction may not seem like much, add them up over a month or two and suddenly the amount has some value. So, how do we avoid having to pay pesky fees to UK credit and debit card providers?
Use “Free” ATMs
If you are using an ATM to withdraw cash on your credit card you should expect to pay a fee for withdrawing the cash and also interest on the amount from day 1. However, if you are using a debit card to withdraw money from your bank account, it seems a bit rich that the card provider expects you to pay a fee for this service. However, unless you are using a free ATM, that’s exactly what will happen. The problem here that not all ATMs carry labels informing you that you’ll be charged if you make a cash withdrawal from that machine – despite this having to be done. So, before you make a cash withdrawal from an ATM, check to make sure you’ll not be charged for this privilege.
Avoid Annual Fees
A number of UK credit and debit card providers charge their customers an annual fee to have an account with them. With the level of intensity among UK financial service providers, however, you should easily be able to avoid having to pay this fee simply by looking around and finding a UK credit and debit card provider that has no annual membership fee.
Try Not To Use Your Credit Card Overseas
Given the convenience of having a credit or debit card in your wallet when traveling overseas it is really hard to try not to use it. However, the fees associated with using credit or debit overseas are among the highest paid. You can be charged for everything from making a cash withdrawal, to using your card in a store, to converting the foreign currency amount into pounds. Estimates are such that for every £1,000 you spend on your credit overseas you are paying £100 in credit and debit card fees!
Never Be Late
If you have a UK credit card you should never be late when making a payment. As soon as you’re late with a monthly payments your UK credit card provider will start to charge you, even if you are only 1 day late with your payment. To the extent that you can, you must try to make at least a minimum payment on time each month. Likewise, if you have a UK debit card you should never go overdrawn using the card. If your account goes overdrawn because you have used the card, you should expect to see some high fee charges going through your account.
UK credit and debit card providers advocate that they need to charge us for using our cards so cover their costs. However, in an industry where annual reported profits are in the billions of pounds, this argument seems a little weak. If you want to try and minimize the cost to you for using your UK credit or debit card, try to minimize the cost situations when you use the credit or debit card.
Related Links
- Credit Card Charges
Credit cards appear to have only one cost to a user – the interest charged on purchases, but there are a whole raft of hidden charges just lurking below the surface. So, some cards offer an annual payment option in return for certain benefits. What is the best option, and in what circumstance
- Making Credit Card Fees Easier To Understand
On average, UK credit card issuers make somewhere between £300 and £400 million a year in fees charged off of UK credit card users who have not fully understood how the credit card issuer has arranged the charging of their fees and who do not complain directly to the card issuer for any excessive or incorrect fee charges. In anyone’s language, this is a staggering amount of money!
- Citizen's Advice - If you have been unfairly charges you can always plead your case to Citizen's Advice.
