Royal Mail workers are planning a national postal strike at the end of this week (Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd October), and as well as the disruption this could cause, there’s also a chance it could cost some people money.
If you pay your bills  or invoices through the post, by cheque, for example, then there’s a chance that you could incur charges for a missed payment – especially true if you pay your credit card bills in this way.
Although the volume of cheque payments continues to fall, some are still likely to get caught out. If you are due to make a payment this week, give your credit card provider (or whichever supplier you might have to pay) to see what other payment methods are available. Many will now be able to accept debit card payments either over the phone or online.
For credit card payments it’s usually a good idea to get a Direct Debit setup to pay at least the minimum payment so you know that you’re making at least 1 timely payment each month – of course, ideally you should be paying off your full credit card balance each month, but that’s naturally not always practical.
The Payments Council offers the following top tips for paying bills during the postal strikes:
- Keep a note of when your credit card statements or other regular bills are due. If you think a bill may be due you should check with your supplier
- If you have already sent a cheque to pay your credit card bill and are concerned about it getting there in time, speak to your credit card company
- If your bill is due during the period of the strike, look at other payment options:
- pay online – if you bank online or by phone you can set up a transfer or you can log onto your credit card company’s site and pay by debit card
- pay by cash or cheque at your bank or local post office
- Consider setting up a Direct Debit to pay at least the minimum payment on your credit card bill. This can usually be done simply over the telephone or online
