pay off US credit card made tricky
 

RBS = Royal Bank of Scotland
WF = Wells Fargo
credit card = WF credit card (US credit card)

Hi,
(1) I have always had an RBS account
(2) Went to the U.S for two years, opened a WF checking account and obtained a WF credit card.
(3) Just before returning to the U.K, I paid off all the outstanding balance on the credit card, withdrew the remaining savings from WF checking account, and closed the WF checking account. The credit card account remained open, and the card had not expired.
(4) At airport, it dawned on me that I had still to pay for the check-in baggage, for which I paid using the credit card.
(5) Now, there is outstanding balance again. I'm in the U.K and I do not know how to pay it off this time.

(6) Emailed WF, got the following reply:
"""
Payment can be sent to Wells Fargo Card Services ; P.O. Box 30086; Los
Angeles, Ca. 90030-0081. Or Bank wire to : Att. Wells Fargo Card
Services; Wells Fargo Bank N.A. ; 7th and Walnut ; Des Moines, Ia
50306
Wells Fargo is dedicated to protecting your information. To learn about
our security measures and what we do to protect your accounts online, go
to wellsfargo.com/privacy_security/fraud/
"""
which is a bit vague and unhelpful. Do they actually accept my RBS cheque? Suppose they do, I have to write the sum in GBP, whereas the sum is in USD on the payslip, so how does that work?

(7) As for the bank wire, I went into an RBS branch to ask, and was told that I will need an IBAN number etc. from WF. So, I wrote to WF again, did not receive a reply. I called the credit card hotline, waited for over 1 hour, the assistant said: "Sorry sir, I'm getting really bad line, can you just call right back? thank you." I called again, and am still waiting after 1 hour.

BASICALLY
I do not know how to pay off the credit card, and the banks are not exactly helping in informing me how to do that. What's worse is that at the beginning of next month, I will receive another 'late-fee' plus interests charge, which is quite a lot, from the credit card company.


Any suggestions?

Re: pay off US credit card made tricky
 

If it was me, I would do it the low-tech way. Simply go into a bank in the UK and purchase a US Dollar bank draught made out to Wells Fargo Card Services for the exact amount you owe and mail it airmail to the specified address. later, check online that you have a zero balance with them. Then, cancel the account by writing them a letter.

Re: pay off US credit card made tricky
 

I presume bank draught = bank draft as defined here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashier's_check
Will go into the bank to ask tomorrow. Thanks

Re: pay off US credit card made tricky
 

Barclays UK branches certainly used to be able to write you a check (cheque) in US dollars drawn on their NYC-based account for a small fee. Don't know if they still do it.

Re: pay off US credit card made tricky
 

Yes, it looks like they still do it..
If you wish to send funds yourself, you can use our paper-based international payment product, International Drafts. Once you've got this item from your branch, you send the payment by post to the beneficiary. International Drafts take longer than electronic payments but you don't need to know the beneficiary's account details.
This is why I like the paper-based method; you don't need to know the payee's account details.
http://ask.barclays.co.uk/help/trave...onal/payabroadhttp://ask.barclays.co.uk/help/trave...onal/payabroad
(For some reason I thought it was spelt "draught" in the UK, but no, they spell it "draft".

Re: pay off US credit card made tricky
 

Time to call your sponsor and tell them you're off the wagon again!