Late Payment Fee Charged as well - Is Moratorium an Eyewash?

I had written quite a couple of articles on the moratorium and had strongly advised not to delay any payment on Credit Card or Monthly EMIs. I knew, our banks are extraordinarily thirsty for money and that they would surely come up with loopholes to suck dry every single penny out of a commoners’ pocket. 

They brought in a stratagem wherein individuals needed to register or opt-in to avail moratorium relaxations separately. They knew a huge chunk of people would miss it because they communicated this requirement via SMS or email, which usually gets stampede under hundreds if not thousands of spam SMS and mails we people receive these days.

With this, they are all set to loot and plunder their customers, whom they usually see as prey. It might sound a bit harsh, but it’s the truth. We are more prey than to a customer for the bank. We miss, they make. 

Wrapping it up, I tried my best not to miss any Credit Card or EMI payment, but unfortunately, due to this unfortunate time, I missed my payment on some of my Credit Cards. That, too, not the full amount, I did pay the minimum balance payable against the statement, and here’s how my current statement looks like. 

• ICICI Bank 

ICICI Amazon Pay Credit Card

ICICI Coral Credit Card

• Standard Chartered Bank 

Standard Chartered Super Value Credit Card

You see, apart from the Finance Charge (Interest), they have even charged me the Late Payment Fee excluding GST. When I reached them out, they said, ‘You didn’t opt for the moratorium.’