Avoiding Interest Charges

[Judith123]

Hello. According to the "Important Information about PayPal Credit" enclosed with my monthly statements, the amount to avoid standard and deferred interest on my next statement includes (amongst others) and Deferred Interest Purchases expiring next billing cycle. These are the only two types of purchases I've made to date.

Why is my Amount to Avoid Interest on my statements so much higher than just the sum of my Standard Purchases and Deferred Interest Purchases that are about to Expire?  For example: On my current statement (closing date 08/02/16), the one Standard Purchase and two Deferred Interest Purchases that expire 08/27/16 total $188.38. Why to I have to pay $444.36 (according to my statement) to avoid interest on my next statement? 

[Judith123]

About Standard Purchases -- I only made one (1) last month, due (payable) this month, for $18.35.

I know Standard Purchases must be paid when billed.  I've been paying them (in full) all year when due.

[DPCreations]

Without looking at each statement it's hard to figure out the various details posted that are not in a neat tabulated format.

Standard purchases, not promotional, need to paid in full to avoid interest charges.  If you don't pay in full there will be interest charges; it looks like that it what you are seeing.  You need to look at the full statement carefully and understand what needs to be paid to avoid interest charges.

I can't see your statement, and the data presented, isn't following the tabulated format on the statement.

[Judith123]

Here are Screenshots of sections of my current (08/02/16) statement:

 

[DPCreations]

Finally, the tabulated details, not that I wanted to see your financial information, but necessary to help.

You had standard purchases during the last month of $274; those details should be listed separately.  Standard (non-promotional) purchased must be paid by statement due date to avoid interest.

So, you need to pay the $724, plus the 2 expiring promotional purchases for a total of about $444

[sharpiemarker]

The statement saying that $444.36 is due to be paid to avoid interest looks correct to me.

Standard Purchases for the month = $274.33, plus the two items under the "No Payments Until 8/27", $23.53 and $146.50 are the ones coming up due, all equal to $444.36, the amount to be paid to avoid interest.

[Judith123]

OK, so maybe that's the problem:  PayPal is listing Standard Purchases (in the Interest Calculation section) as if I don't pay them when due.  BUT, if that were true, there would be "Interest Charges" on my statement, and there are not.  (I have paid the Standard Purchases in full when due, all year.)

[See Screenshot.]   That is, you can see I only made one Standard Purchase last month and I had to have paid all Standard Purchases made before this statement to have zero-Interest Charges on this Statement.  Correct?  

(Believe me, I value my privacy, above most everything, but here is a Sceenshot of the Purchases & Adjustments section of my current statement.)

Every month, PayPal adds my currently-due Standard Purchases to the previous month's "Current Balance" in the Interest Calculation Section and says I owe those Purchases AGAIN to avoid interest.  The "Current Balance" is a running total of Standard Purchases since March -- and they make me pay for them over and over to avoid interest.  

          Standard Purchase (due) ........ $ 18.35

          Deferred Purchase (due) .........    23.53                              

          Deferred Purchase (due) .........  146.50

          Total of Every Standard Purchase

               billed April - July,

               less $2.93 refund ............... $255.98 

                                                            $444.36

THAT adds up to the Amount PayPal says I have to pay to avoid Interest charges.   😕 

OOPS!  Meant to include this screenshot of the Account Summary, too, to show I was charged no interest on past purchases:

 

[Judith123]

Seeing as I only have the one $18.35 Standard Purchase on this statement (and I have paid all previous Standard Purchases when due), should the "Current Balance" in the Interest Calculation Section (for Standard Purchases) read $18.35?  I just want to be clear.  Thanks 

[DPCreations]

Perhaps you should look at your old statements reverse chronologically to where mimimum payment started incrasing to make sure you did't miss a payment.  Your current statement does not provide sufficient information about past transactions.

[Judith123]

Well, I finally figured it out! 

PayPal is not crediting my payments towards the Standard Purchases (non-promotional).

I pay the "Amount to Avoid Standard & Deferred Interest on the your next statement" (which includes Standard Purchases and the "Deferred Interest" Purchases due the month of the Statement).  PayPal is crediting the Deferred Interest Purchases due and, then, the "extra payment" goes towards Deferred Interest Purchases expiring in following months.  They don't credit me for paying Standard Purchases.      

THEN, PayPal adds the "un-credited" Standard Purchases the "Current Balance" of Standard Purchases (in the Interest Calculation section) -- and adds that SUM to the Amount I have to Pay to Avoid Interest on my next statement. 

(So, in order to avoid interest, I must pay the Deferred Interest Purchases due, all the Standard Purchases I made in the previous month, and the SUM of every Standard Purchase I've made since, at least, March 2016 (again).  The SUM never goes down -- it only goes up.)  

I hope what I said makes sense.  I'm almost beside myself and a little distraught.  But, I wanted to try and explain, since I started this thread.   

THANK YOU to those who replied to my posts.  🙂

[DPCreations]

I don't quite follow.  I just checked th back of my statement to see the hierarchy of payments.  (I never had standard pruchases; they go to credit cards. All I've had were deferred promotional and they get paid when expireing.) 

I looks like a payment should go first to the current standard purchases for the month.  Any monies left will go towards the oldest deferred interest purchase. Then olderder deferred interest purchases.  Finally, extra funds will goo to the monthly payment plan--standard purchase balances.

In future, purchases must be fully paid first; if not they go to the end of line after any funding to promotional purchases.  This means that you need to pay off all those promotinal purchase tha would expire in the next billing cycle before funds are applied to you existing monthly standard balance.