Credit Card Glossary
Fine Print Warning
How the credit card companies define the word “late” might be different then how the average consumer would be. The fine print allows the credit card company to decide how words like “late” are defined at their whim and at their own discretion.
For instance the fine print of your credit card contract may specify the time of day by which your monthly payment must be received in order to avoid a late fee. So for instance, if you think your credit card payment is due on the 15th you could still be charged if you did not pay it on the 15th by the time specified.
The Fair credit Billing Act requires credit card companies to credit your account on the day that the payment is received. However the fine print according to the law also allows the individual credit card to make its own specific payment guidelines. If those guidelines are not met the credit card company can delay your payment by as much as five days. This turns your “on time” payment into a late one. Of course, this type of little detail is exactly the kind of thing that is buried in the “fine print” of any contract.