Washington Mutual charges credit card interest before the due date

Yesterday, I called Washington Mutual to cancel my credit card. I wanted to pay the $16.98 owed on the card by June 17 and then close the account. Well, it's not that easy.

The rep said I had to pay $20.00 because I may owe more than my account shows and if $20 is too much, they will reimburse me with a check. I asked her why I had to pay more than the amount on my last bill when I had not used the card since my last bill. Without getting a straight answer, I pressed her and learned that the company charges interest by day and that the contract I signed consented to interest starting after the due date. "Well it's not after the due date, so why should I have to pay interest." She said I "may" have to pay interest as it can accrue before the due date of the bill! This really lit me up. Do your credit cards charge interest before the due date?

What's more, if I paid on the phone, she'd couldn't close the account until the payment posted. Then she told me it would cost over $14 to pay on the phone! So I had to create a username and password to access my account online. After paying it, I have to call back after the payment posts to have the account closed. After I set up the password, the password would not work. I got frustrated and quit, hoping it would work after a few hours to let it filter through the system. I am having to go through 3-4 steps to pay and close my account.

If I just pay the $16.98 and WaMu charges interest on that, then I could owe $2 or so on my next bill. Then if I pay that $2, there will already have been interest charged on that balance, and I'd owe $0.23 or so. This would go on ad infinitum until I acquiesced and paid more than I owe. At that point, WaMu has my money and will reimburse me in 3 months! If I don't like that, I can call after I cancel the card and ask for an expedited reimbursement.

I know credit card companies do all kinds of stuff like this, but this is the first time I have heard of charging interest before the due date. That forces you to over pay your balance and then rely upon the company to issue you a check. You also have to remember they were supposed to issue a check and follow up with them 3 months later if they don't send it. Such bullshit!

What I have been doing is just going online a couple of times a month and paying off my balance. That way, interest does not accrue during the month before my due date. i also have one card I keep long term with a high credit line (to improve my credit) and I switch from card to card as I get 0% offers in the mail. Usually I can get a 0% card for 12 months. If I forget to pay a bill on time, I can usually call Chase and ask them to wave the late fee. They will do this twice.

Keep extra vigilant of the credit card companies, and don't use Washington Mutual.