John Lewis bank card buyers hit by late charges as a result of payments did not arrive till AFTER the due date

Frustrated John Lewis credit card customers have missed payments because their monthly paper statements have been arriving after the due date.

Some have been forced to pay without seeing their statements and, in some cases, have incurred late payment fees.

A dozen Money Mail readers wrote to us, some after being stung by ­penalties of up to 13 per cent.

The delays have made customers believe it is a ploy to force them into using online banking. 

Customers can check their balances online at any time and so do not need a paper statement. They can also set up a direct debit so that the balance is paid automatically.

However, those who are unable to bank online or who are uncomfortable with digital services have suffered as they need paper statements to know how much to pay when their bill is due and go through their ­spending for signs of errors or fraud.

John Lewis credit card customers have missed payments because their monthly paper statements have been arriving after the due date

It is the latest fiasco for John Lewis ­Partnership credit card customers to contend with after provider NewDay took over its running in 2022.

NewDay sparked anger at the time when it required loyal customers to reapply for the card – and rejected some despite customers having high credit scores.

In many cases, it slashed credit ­limits too. These limits were reinstated after intervention from Money Mail. The credit period – the ­interest-free period given to pay a bill – was also reduced, from 25 days to 15.

Penelope Baker, 79, from Sussex, says the delays have driven her to stop using her card, which she has had for 15 years. 

She says she no longer trusts the statements to arrive in time for her to pay ahead of the deadline: ‘Sometimes statements would arrive on the due date or even past it so I wouldn’t have time to pay it. Other times, I never even got a statement.’

This means the retired bookkeeper has been charged late ­payment fees. This has sometimes been a nominal fee, such as 20p. 

But on one occasion she was charged £40 for late payment and interest on a £300 invoice. ‘I didn’t even get the statement,’ she says. ‘How can I pay if I don’t get a statement?’

The Reverend Christine Parker, from Hampshire, has been getting her statements closer and closer to the payment date for the past 12 months. She has a direct debit so hasn’t incurred fees but finds it ­infuriating to be left in the dark.

She says: ‘The statement often comes one or two days before the due date and it has once come after my direct debit has been taken.

‘It’s unacceptable. It seems that John Lewis is no longer prioritising paper statements and it wants us to download it instead.’

Customers can check their balances online at any time and so do not need a paper statement. They can also set up a direct debit so that the balance is paid automatically

Christine, 77, who uses her card to shop at Ocado and John Lewis, says she complained to the retailer about the late statements in July. This was not upheld and John Lewis told her: ‘We cannot print them any earlier.’

Unhappy with this, she turned to the Financial Ombudsman Service but received no help. 

It said that while there was a short time frame between the statement arriving and the direct debit being taken, Christine had access to an online account where she could check her statements, or she could call NewDay to check her balance.

The chaplain adds: ‘It is very inconvenient. We pay by direct debit and it’s not difficult to manage. But they don’t leave much time if you have to move money around before the payment is taken.’

Other customers who have complained say they were also told to use the smartphone app. One customer who sometimes gets their statement after the payment date, says: ‘I can see my John Lewis statements on the app and pay in time if I remember to look. But why should I have to do this?’

NewDay says cardholders should receive statements just ‘several days’ before the due date. But one reader says his August statement arrived 14 days after the due date.

A NewDay spokesman said: ‘We are very sorry that some customers have experienced delays in receiving their paper statements. 

These were caused by disruptions to mail deliveries following changes to the postal service’s network, which were outside of our control.

‘We have invested in a faster mail service to get statements to customers more quickly. We want to reassure customers that we fully support their choice to receive paper statements.

‘If a customer missed a payment date due to these delays and ­contacts us, we will work with them to ensure they are supported and review any fees incurred, refunding those fees where appropriate.’

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