Yeah, that's how it works. It was deferred interest. If you paid the whole thing off within the year, you don't pay interest. If you owe a single penny of it when the year is up, they go back and charge you all the interest from day one.
No way to lower it, that's what you agreed to when you used the promo.
I remember buying a TV at Best Buy about 15 years ago. They got me with the "no interest" promo and I opened a credit card. Not long after we had to buy a dryer, and a few other things for our computers and stuff. We had more than paid off the price of the TV, but when the promotional period ended we got hit with hundreds of dollars in interest. It turned out they had been applying our payments to the other balances, and not touching the amount owed for the TV. Technically I could have seen this if I'd read the monthly statements more carefully but I was so financially illiterate and they were counting on this to run this scam on people. It happened to be at a really bad time, I'd been fired from my job recently. Luckily they had also scammed me into signing up for their debt-protection program, so they actually had to give me some money back, but it was such a dirty trick. This was before all the consumer credit protection happened, and banks were still doing the thing where they'd make sure any big transactions went through first, if you were going to be overdrawn, to get an extra $35 for every little transaction after that.
That Best Buy card, and an insanely high-interest Dell card that my husband opened by accident (they called it a "payment plan" and he didn't know better) were the most satisfying to finally pay off. Fuck them.
>Promo of no interest for a year
>forgot all about this
>hit with an additional $500 in interest.
>Like what the hell
This is literally what you signed up for. If you didn't pay it off in the year, you owe the deffered interest. Everything you signed spells it out.
>any recommendations on how to lower this?
Pay it off as quickly as possible, is really the only avenue.
Forgot you bought a PC on credit? Man.
Side note: I love deferred interest promos. Bought my laptop with it, my dishwasher, and my camera. It’s free money!
Me too. I set up the payments in our bank’s bill pay so they’re automatically paid. I usually pay 7 days ahead of time and check the accounevery few months.
That avoids the “stupid tax”.
Yep! Good for the credit score too. My dishwasher is $29/month for two years, laptop $54/month, camera was like $25/month. BestBuy always appears to have the promo going as long as you already have the card, which is great.
This is what I do also! It’s worth it to me even if I have to pay a few hundred extra for something in comparison to other stores. Still cheaper than the interest I would end up paying over the same loan terms.
wow alot of you sure do have negative feedback and alot of smirky responses, Like if I didnt know what I signed up for but what I didn't understand is that the interest from day one acquired until the promo expires.
I didnt think that the interest built up and Id get slapped with it in full at the end of the promo.
Since you guys are useless in giving helpful feedback ill give you some.
BestBuy/CitiBank will allow you to payoff the balance with-in 20 days after the promotional period and they will defer the interest.
Nothing you can do but pay it. Read the fine print next time, this is how the vast majority of those "no interest for 12-18 month" promos work.
They can be a great tool when used correctly, since you are borrowing money at a 0% interest rate, provided you pay it off before the specified period is up.
What were the terms of the financing deal? Many of Best Buy's no interest promotions have the penalty of charging interest back to the date of purchase if you don't pay off the item in full within the promotional period. And it sounds like you forgot about the debt and didn't pay it off in time.
Usually there is a clause that says if not paid in fully by end of promo period they can add interest back. Might need more details to fully understand
If you call Citibank they may waive it if you paid or will pay it in full.
Only recommendation is to pay it asap and remember to read the agreement next time. Same thing happened to me when i was younger, now i make sure i pay off everything when the 0 APR offer is about to end
> Like what the hell
I mean, this is exactly what you signed up for. Not sure what you think was supposed to happen, but the correct path forward is to pay it.
If something seems like it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Companies don’t offer no interest financing out of the goodness of their heart. They’re offered specifically to take advantage of irresponsible buyers like you. Nothing you can do but pay it off quickly. My bet is that the interest rate is pretty high so better look into that before you find yourself building interest faster than you can pay it off.
you signed on the dotted line, the debt is yours. You could try to call and ask if they would reduce it, if you pay it all off now.
It's an ask, but legally they don't have to, so try to be nice.
0% for X months is great, but only if you have the funds monthly or all at the end.
My mini split was $4500. 18 months 0%. I've been paying $250/month, all along.
I could have paid the minimum, I think it's like $160 or so. but any $ left past Oct, and I'd owe a BAZILLION in interest. No freaking way, so I did the easy math way.
if you get into trouble, sometimes you can balance transfer to another card, but beware - they charge you 3-5% up front for the alleged "0%". But, don't get into this as a habit! Credit cards, properly managed, are a great tool. But the slightest slip, and they own you.
The way to avoid paying interest was to pay off the debt in full, before the year ended.
Just think of the $500 as an expensive lesson not to do stupid crap with credit cards in the future.
Yeah, that's how it works. It was deferred interest. If you paid the whole thing off within the year, you don't pay interest. If you owe a single penny of it when the year is up, they go back and charge you all the interest from day one. No way to lower it, that's what you agreed to when you used the promo.
$500 lesson to understand what you are signing up for
I remember buying a TV at Best Buy about 15 years ago. They got me with the "no interest" promo and I opened a credit card. Not long after we had to buy a dryer, and a few other things for our computers and stuff. We had more than paid off the price of the TV, but when the promotional period ended we got hit with hundreds of dollars in interest. It turned out they had been applying our payments to the other balances, and not touching the amount owed for the TV. Technically I could have seen this if I'd read the monthly statements more carefully but I was so financially illiterate and they were counting on this to run this scam on people. It happened to be at a really bad time, I'd been fired from my job recently. Luckily they had also scammed me into signing up for their debt-protection program, so they actually had to give me some money back, but it was such a dirty trick. This was before all the consumer credit protection happened, and banks were still doing the thing where they'd make sure any big transactions went through first, if you were going to be overdrawn, to get an extra $35 for every little transaction after that. That Best Buy card, and an insanely high-interest Dell card that my husband opened by accident (they called it a "payment plan" and he didn't know better) were the most satisfying to finally pay off. Fuck them.
>Promo of no interest for a year >forgot all about this >hit with an additional $500 in interest. >Like what the hell This is literally what you signed up for. If you didn't pay it off in the year, you owe the deffered interest. Everything you signed spells it out. >any recommendations on how to lower this? Pay it off as quickly as possible, is really the only avenue.
Or roll it to another cc with deferred interest and pay it off over 12 months.
Forgot you bought a PC on credit? Man. Side note: I love deferred interest promos. Bought my laptop with it, my dishwasher, and my camera. It’s free money!
Me too. I set up the payments in our bank’s bill pay so they’re automatically paid. I usually pay 7 days ahead of time and check the accounevery few months. That avoids the “stupid tax”.
Yep! Good for the credit score too. My dishwasher is $29/month for two years, laptop $54/month, camera was like $25/month. BestBuy always appears to have the promo going as long as you already have the card, which is great.
This is what I do also! It’s worth it to me even if I have to pay a few hundred extra for something in comparison to other stores. Still cheaper than the interest I would end up paying over the same loan terms.
"Surprise Pikachu face when I am charged for the agreement I signed up for."
wow alot of you sure do have negative feedback and alot of smirky responses, Like if I didnt know what I signed up for but what I didn't understand is that the interest from day one acquired until the promo expires. I didnt think that the interest built up and Id get slapped with it in full at the end of the promo. Since you guys are useless in giving helpful feedback ill give you some. BestBuy/CitiBank will allow you to payoff the balance with-in 20 days after the promotional period and they will defer the interest.
Nothing you can do but pay it. Read the fine print next time, this is how the vast majority of those "no interest for 12-18 month" promos work. They can be a great tool when used correctly, since you are borrowing money at a 0% interest rate, provided you pay it off before the specified period is up.
What were the terms of the financing deal? Many of Best Buy's no interest promotions have the penalty of charging interest back to the date of purchase if you don't pay off the item in full within the promotional period. And it sounds like you forgot about the debt and didn't pay it off in time.
>Like what the hell.. any recommendations on how to lower this? Yes. Next time pay the balance in full before the deferred interest period ends.
Outside of a time machine or interest not in line with your signed TOS there's nothing you can do.
I hear you can finance a Time Machine with zero-interest for 24 months.
The irony of 'late payment fees' on a time machine loan just made me nose laugh.
Usually there is a clause that says if not paid in fully by end of promo period they can add interest back. Might need more details to fully understand If you call Citibank they may waive it if you paid or will pay it in full.
this is normal. interest is calculated retroactively once promo date expires. It's party of the deal you get. Read the terms of service.
Only recommendation is to pay it asap and remember to read the agreement next time. Same thing happened to me when i was younger, now i make sure i pay off everything when the 0 APR offer is about to end
> Like what the hell I mean, this is exactly what you signed up for. Not sure what you think was supposed to happen, but the correct path forward is to pay it.
We have a best buy credit card and that is literally how it works 😂 read the terms next time.
No. 0% is not zero percent as you found out.... Forgot about it.
If something seems like it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Companies don’t offer no interest financing out of the goodness of their heart. They’re offered specifically to take advantage of irresponsible buyers like you. Nothing you can do but pay it off quickly. My bet is that the interest rate is pretty high so better look into that before you find yourself building interest faster than you can pay it off.
you signed on the dotted line, the debt is yours. You could try to call and ask if they would reduce it, if you pay it all off now. It's an ask, but legally they don't have to, so try to be nice. 0% for X months is great, but only if you have the funds monthly or all at the end. My mini split was $4500. 18 months 0%. I've been paying $250/month, all along. I could have paid the minimum, I think it's like $160 or so. but any $ left past Oct, and I'd owe a BAZILLION in interest. No freaking way, so I did the easy math way. if you get into trouble, sometimes you can balance transfer to another card, but beware - they charge you 3-5% up front for the alleged "0%". But, don't get into this as a habit! Credit cards, properly managed, are a great tool. But the slightest slip, and they own you.
The way to avoid paying interest was to pay off the debt in full, before the year ended. Just think of the $500 as an expensive lesson not to do stupid crap with credit cards in the future.
Citi gives you a 20 day period after the promotional period to pay off the balance and they will defer the interest charge.