HSBC - Household Bank I paid my balance in full 12-15 before receiving statement. They have a hold on my account for the same amount. Payment cleared the bank on the 19th. They say up to 14 days to release the credit hold on the payment amount. ripoff Salinas California

This has also happened to me this year - I paid the balance before I left on Christmas vacation so I could use the funds but they are still not credited to my account even though they have cleared my bank account days ago. Has your account been credited? I can not get any answer except for the "agreement blah bl;ah blah"

Maybe I should have labeled this in the beginning as "people beware" for those that will possibly experience the same thing in the future.

Legel or not I merely wanted an explantation from HSBC as to why one would hold a direct bank transfer; not a from you good people out there that are not directly involved with the company.

I do appreciate your facts and speculation but that is not the point. As far as I am concerned this is a closed matter and I will be closing the account. It was a low interest offer that came in the mail and I should have merely thrown it away. I pay my Bank of America account off every month and it is usually in the $500 range or more with no holds ever.

Thanks again.

Some people would use bad checks to defraud credit card companies. They'd charge the card up near the limit, then send a bad check to pay it off. Before the card company could realize the check was bad, they'd charge it up again. Then when the check bounced, the balance would be twice the credit limit. The customer would not make any further payments.

Now that practice is obsolete since a bank transfer can't "bounce" like a paper check. But they still do it. Actually it would make more business sense for them not to hold the money. They aren't "keeping your money hostage," the money you sent was to repay them for what they loaned you earlier. Now they refuse to loan any further money for a while, because they think you're up to something. They are required by law to immediately credit the payment toward your balance, and stop charging interest on it.

It would be better for them to let you go out and charge more immediately, because they make a percentage of every charge as well as interest on the money they loan. But it is their choice to do it this way and it is legal. Your best plan is to "vote with your feet" and use a card that doesn't do holds.

It is just bad business to treat someone who pays their bills on time like this and that is just the point.

I have a credit card through my bank and that just may be the only one I carry after this week. Although I do appreciate your explanation, I pay my bills on time and am fully aware of late charges and all the extras where they zing those who do not pay on time. That is exactly the point in this matter. I am not a deadbeat who plays "beat the bank" paying their bills, or pays them late. I paid this account two days after the statement was generated and before it was received in the mail.

By the way . . . my payments last month were $100 each. One on 11-27 and one on 12-4. There were no payment holds on the card then. I guess paying this card off of such a small amount ticks them off as they make no interest on me in that case.

It is just bad business to treat someone who pays their bills on time like this and that is just the point.

I have a credit card through my bank and that just may be the only one I carry after this week. Although I do appreciate your explanation, I pay my bills on time and am fully aware of late charges and all the extras where they zing those who do not pay on time. That is exactly the point in this matter. I am not a deadbeat who plays "beat the bank" paying their bills, or pays them late. I paid this account two days after the statement was generated and before it was received in the mail.

By the way . . . my payments last month were $100 each. One on 11-27 and one on 12-4. There were no payment holds on the card then. I guess paying this card off of such a small amount ticks them off as they make no interest on me in that case.

It is just bad business to treat someone who pays their bills on time like this and that is just the point.

I have a credit card through my bank and that just may be the only one I carry after this week. Although I do appreciate your explanation, I pay my bills on time and am fully aware of late charges and all the extras where they zing those who do not pay on time. That is exactly the point in this matter. I am not a deadbeat who plays "beat the bank" paying their bills, or pays them late. I paid this account two days after the statement was generated and before it was received in the mail.

By the way . . . my payments last month were $100 each. One on 11-27 and one on 12-4. There were no payment holds on the card then. I guess paying this card off of such a small amount ticks them off as they make no interest on me in that case.

It is just bad business to treat someone who pays their bills on time like this and that is just the point.

I have a credit card through my bank and that just may be the only one I carry after this week. Although I do appreciate your explanation, I pay my bills on time and am fully aware of late charges and all the extras where they zing those who do not pay on time. That is exactly the point in this matter. I am not a deadbeat who plays "beat the bank" paying their bills, or pays them late. I paid this account two days after the statement was generated and before it was received in the mail.

By the way . . . my payments last month were $100 each. One on 11-27 and one on 12-4. There were no payment holds on the card then. I guess paying this card off of such a small amount ticks them off as they make no interest on me in that case.

And this was their policy even then: if they received monthly payments of up to $50, they would post and clear normally. Anything over $50 would be subject to a 14 day hold. I whined and complained, they said it was in their disclosure statement. I found the paperwork they sent me, and yes, it does indeed say that. I've since closed that account and moved on, but the language is in there...sorry, but you agreed to it when you signed the back of the card and went to use it. There's a few ways to get out of the hold, but it's a pain in the butt: spread your payments out in under $50 increments, i.e., spread the $200 payment out to 4 $50 payments. They will post and not be held. I wouldn't send them on the same day, and if you could, spread them out a week or so so they don't all arrive at the same time, and you're liable to get confused and pass payment due dates, and that could get you penalized. But, if you've got the time to monitor this, they weren't a bad credit card company to me, just had quirks that ticked me off and I got better customer service elsewhere. Good luck.

When you said that you paid off your balance that was $272.66, it sounded like a relatively small balance to owe, for a credit card anyway.

So that made me wonder if you have a SECURED credit card. If you have one of those, the lender can, and most often do, hold your security for a full 60 days before it is released back to you.

I've personally experiences this with both Merrick Bank, Orchard Bank, and the discontinued Chase secured credit card.

The very first time it caught me by surprise, 'cause I really did have plans for that security deposit that I thought I would surely have days after I paid off the card.

But yes, if you have a secured card, then Household isn't in the wrong.