BP / Amoco - no more grace period on credit card - charged late fee for being one day late

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on July 31, 2002:

From:

RE: BP / Amoco - no more grace period on credit card - charged late fee for being one day late - delay in mail caused late payment

I am a twenty-year customer of BP Oil and have continuously used their credit card for most of my fuel and services purchases averaging between $100 and $300 volumes monthly.

My statement for July included a $15.00 "late fee" for not posting by the July 16th payment date.

I always pay my statement in "full" upon receipt and July was no exception, however this time my statement showed a July 21, 2002 payment posting date. My check was dated and post-marked July 12th, and I suppose that I received their June statement about July 6th due to the holiday week and resulting delays in mail delivery that we are all receiving.

It did however get posted several days (July 21) before my next statement cut-off and was shown as received by that date.

I called their customer service number which is only available M-F 7AM to 7PM as soon as I received it, and was told that this is their "new policy" to post a "late charge" when payments are one day late. In the past they honored a "grace period" especially due to holiday mail delays, but that they could no longer avoid a late charge.

To my way of thinking, this is only one of a number of ways that big business is trying to "gouge" their customers for paying on time and avoiding service charges or late fees.

I have cut up my credit cards and refuse to use their account in the future or until they return to a more customer friendly policy of allowing a grace period to accomodate holiday periods and mail delays.

Robert Shaw, a frustrated and disgusted former customer.

Comment On This

I am (was) a business consumer of BP, and was charged late fees (in excess of $100 each time) for two payments that I sent overnight, and were verified EARLY by the post office. They advise me that they go by POSTING DATE, even though their posting company is sometimes a WEEK BEHIND. We have also cut up our credit cards, and are looking for similar people to start a class action lawsuit. They have threatened us with DESTROYING OUR CREDIT RATING, and we are NOT GOING TO PAY!