How long after you make a purchase with a credit/debit card are they allowed to charge it?

Question

I paid for something with my checking account card (using the credit card option). It went through 20 days later and overdrafted my account. I thought it had been taken out already. Is there some rule of how long they can wait before withdrawing it??

Thanks for all of the tips on how to manage my checking account guys (NOT). I just wanted to know if there is a time limit. Someone said 30 days- anywhere this is written down?

Answer 1

Hi! There is no set timeframe for a transaction to come through an account. Generally speaking, if a transaction came throughthat you did not authorize, you as the consumer have the opportunity to dispute within 45 days.....so in that logic, it could be assumed 45 days.

HOWEVER, I have worked for a financial institution for nearly a decade and as far as I'm aware, there is no definitive timeframe. It's possible that the information the merchant sends in for processing was lost on the way to the bank. It doesn't happen often, but I've seen it. Hope this info helps!

Answer 2

There are a few ways that merchants determine when to charge a credit card. You debit card was used as a credit card when you made the purchase.

The charge can be made at the time the order is placed.

The amount can be held on your card and charged when the order ships. The actual charge does not show up yet, but the money on the account is set aside.

The full amount can be charged when the order ships and not held.

You have to add in merchant processing times. The charge has to go from the merchants system, to their credit card processing service, and then on to your bank, and their processing systems. It can result in a long delay from time of original processing to the withdrawal from your account.

Going forward remember that you must keep a good balance on your account. Your daily balance or month end statement must include outstanding checks and debit charges. At the end of the month not all of the checks you’ve written have cleared the account, right? The same goes for debit purchases. To blanace you checking account take

Statement Balance
Less Outstanding Checks and Debits
Plus outstanding deposits
___________
Equals Balance you show in your account, AKA the actual balance.

If it doesn’t then something is wrong and you need to review your account for errors.

Answer 3

I made a purchase on July 3rd. Today Nov 7th I find an entry on my debit card. I called and I recalled an entry months earlier. Going back, I see no charge was made at the time of purchase, and only a partial amount was taken out Jul 24th. Today. they have decided for myself as well as many other parents purchasing from this company that there was a"glitch" in their system and today they found it and billed everyone.
Granted I should have "balanced" my debit card purchases, but isn't there something that's not right about this billing practice. I was not the only one where a company may not notice one customer, but this is a slew of people....seems they would have noticed that there was no income in four months!

Answer 4

There is no rule. You should keep track of your bank account better. After 7 days the bank will no longer guarantee payment (at least at my bank), but if you have overdraft protection the charge will still go through. You should use the debit option, that way it comes out immediately.

That happened to me at Victoria secret when I bought my wife something for Christmas. It didn't clear until January, however I keep track of my transactions and there were no adverse effects.

Answer 5

Unfortantly not. That has happed to me also.

You have to treat a debt card purchase just like writing a check. Just assume that money is gone as soon as your purchase something. Sometimes charges go through right away, sometimes they take a month. One time I ahd gas charge that didnt go through for like 3 weeks and I overdrafted. You just have to assume that money is no longer in your account right away

Answer 6

Not really. They are entitled to recover their debt as per the contract you signed when you applied for the card. However, it is odd that it took so long for processing. But 20 days is not too long, and you are responsible for keeping enough money in your account to cover for purchases, so it'll be hard to fight the overdraft.

Answer 7

No. As soon as you make the charge, you should consider that money gone. The delay in posting it is not the reason you got an overdraft. The reason you got an overdraft is because you respent that same money.

Answer 8

There's no way they overdrafted your account. On the day you used your card, you subtracted this money from your balance. So it's irrelevant when the actual withdrawal went through. It's not their fault you messed up your record keeping.

Answer 9

i was told 30 days.