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Original poster

I don’t understand my credit card balance?

31 replies

Zoommeout · 12/07/2025 11:34

Just that really.
ive got minimal going out of my credit card.

  • 3 reoccurring card payments (DS set up mobile phone pay monthly and a club my children attend)
  • I will use cc to pay for clothes (non grocery items eg sch uniform, a new lipstick etc)
  • groceries when I’ve ran out of money

other than the 3 reoccurring, the others are few transactions. So eg if I’ve spent £8 in Argos for a new water bottle , I will transfer £8 so that I can see I’ve paid it . The reason why i started paying this way was because I can’t understand where the ‘extra’is coming from on the current balance as I like to clear every month.
if there have been eg 10 grocery purchases I lump these together snd pay it.

its driving me nuts. I’ve done it today and I’ve got £144 balance unaccounted for. No charges listed on statement . (I mean current balance not statement as I understand the diff of these)

what is going on???

OP posts:
Original poster
Zoommeout · 12/07/2025 11:35

I guess I’m asking can there be “hidden” charges I can’t see on my app/ statement??

OP posts:
Original poster
Zoommeout · 12/07/2025 11:36

And any tips for managing this better?
-I have current account for wages in and essential bills out

  • a grocery spend account
  • savings account

I use credit card for non essential items (and more recently groceries towards end of month when I’ve ran out of money from my grocery account

OP posts:
OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 12/07/2025 11:36

Interest ?

Original poster
Zoommeout · 12/07/2025 11:39

@OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon but surely it would be listed as interest? I pay the statement balance before the due date?

OP posts:
Redrosesposies · 12/07/2025 11:40

If you pay off your balance in full every month, you cannot possibly have £144 unaccounted for.
Can you get a pdf download of your full statement rather than just a summary on your app. It will show you the exact transactions on your account.
To be honest if you can't manage it properly, you might be better not having it at all.

Original poster
Zoommeout · 12/07/2025 11:40

Can interest charged not be shown on my bills? Is that a thing?

OP posts:
Rattai · 12/07/2025 11:41

Are you sure it's not in credit??

Chewbecca · 12/07/2025 11:42

No, interest will be clearly stated.
Download your statements and go through each line.

Some cards have a fee - could it be that? Mine shows in a different section of the statement.

And if you are paying it off item by item, is it possible you have missed something then been charged interest?

What about cash withdrawals - they attract another fee?

Or foreign payments also attract extra charges on some cards?

dementedpixie · 12/07/2025 11:43

It will depend when the cut off date is on your statement too. If you wait for the statement it will show all your transactions in the billing period and then if you pay it off before the date shown on the statement you won't get charged interest. Making odd payments here and there will confuse which payment matches which transaction as some transactions might show on one statement and then the payment might end up on the following one.

Your statement should detail all the transactions you have made. Do you have your credit card set up for PayPal or Amazon that you are making transactions on?

cyvguhb · 12/07/2025 11:43

Unless you look at your statements neither you or anybody us can know what's going on.

Your method sounds overly complicated, why not pay the balance in full when you get the statement. If you have some kind of older balance being carried forward making random payments might be confusing the allocation of payments

slosd · 12/07/2025 11:44

Are you with HSBC? If so are you looking at the statement balance OR the current balance. This confused me initially.

CatsorDogsrule · 12/07/2025 11:44

Are you sure it isn't a credit on the account? The adhoc payments you make might not be crediting to the account in line with statement dates. You also say you pay the statement balance, but are your small payments in between accounted for?

TBH, it would be better to have a direct debit to pay the statement balance in full each month. This way you know that there will be no interest and payments in/ out will tally up correctly.

Decorhate · 12/07/2025 11:44

Different card companies treat credits (payments into the account) in different ways. So say your bill at the end of the month is £100. If you get say a refund after that of £10, some will then reduce the £100 to £90. If you pay off your bill by direct debit every month they would take £90 when the bill is due.

But other companies would take the £100 still and deduct the £10 from anything you spend in the current month.

So it may be something like that.

If you can afford to pay off spending as you go along, why not use your debit card instead? Or just wait till the end of the month and pay the monthly credit card bill in full then.

dementedpixie · 12/07/2025 11:45

Is the bill paid by direct debit or are you making your own payments?
Sometimes they will take the full amount even if you've made payments during the month

Like a pp said, check you are not in credit rather than owing them money

Chewbecca · 12/07/2025 11:45

TBH, it would be better to have a direct debit to pay the statement balance in full each month. This way you know that there will be no interest and payments in/ out will tally up correctly.

This is excellent advice.

FloraBotticelli · 12/07/2025 11:46

What is the £144 itemised as on your statement?

Interest would still be charged even if you’re paying before the due date I think? Eg if you buy something on the 3rd, pay it off on the 20th and your payment is due on the 27th, you’d still pay interest from the 3rd to the 20th perhaps?

Also statements can be a bit out of date. I can usually see an up-to-date balance on my app, but the statement covers at the month before. E.g. if you cleared the balance to £0 on the 10th July but the statement covers 1st June to 31st July, the balance on the statement vs app will look different. Go by the app for the most up to date view.

Is it an interest free card? If you’re using it for purchase through the month make sure you’ve got a card designed for regular purchase (rather than balance transfers).

dementedpixie · 12/07/2025 11:49

@FloraBotticelli if op is paying the balance off each month by the statement date then she shouldn't get charged interest (unless she takes money from an atm with it). Credit cards usually have an interest free period and won't charge interest if paid by the date specified.

TheStirrer · 12/07/2025 11:50

Are you sure you have definitely paid everything off?
if I log in to my credit card I usually just see transactions since my statement. If I paid these off but had a larger outstanding balance and was late paying I would need to pay interest.

Em308 · 12/07/2025 11:57

Is it a credit? Did you return something and get refunded?

EBearhug · 12/07/2025 11:57

When I had an interest free card, only the balance transfer was 0% - I had to pay interest on any purchases, and they prioritised clearing the 0% part.

So if i opened it with £4000 on balance transfer and then used the card to buy something for £150, there would be £4150 on the card. I pay £200 back to them, and my balance would be £4000 - £200, so £3800, plus £150 + a month's interest on that bit, say £2, so overall, I'd be at £3952.

Foreign currency and cash transactions are often charged at different rates, too, and can have fees on top.

However, my bills are always clear what the different charges are for, be it interest (and at what rate,) a foreign exchange fee or whatever. So if you go back through your itemised bills, you should see where it came from, and if you can't work it out, you need to contact the card provider.

LIZS · 12/07/2025 12:00

Are you definitely clearing the balance in full on time each month? Some will charge full interest on the current balance if not.

MrsMoastyToasty · 12/07/2025 12:00

Are you drawing cash on it?

dementedpixie · 12/07/2025 12:07

So it's your current balance youre looking at rather than your statement? That balance will be all the transactions made since your last statement and will include purchases and any payments you've made. Check it's an amount that you owe or whether you are in credit.

When your statement is produced on its due date these transactions will be listed plus any further debits and credits to give you your statement balance.

ItsAWonderfulLifeforMe · 12/07/2025 12:21

You are confusing things by constantly paying in amounts- I would wait for your statement, eg mine is released on about the 5th of the month. Statement says the full payment amount to clear the balance, and when it’s due by (mines approx 30th). Just transfer one payment by that date. The current balance will continue to go up as you’re spending but will show on the next months statement depending on the cut off

AndSoFinally · 12/07/2025 13:05

If you pay it off bit by bit as you buy things, can you not see which transactions don't have a credit "match" that you've paid? That way you know if you've forgotten to pay something or if it's a random charge that shouldn't be there?

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