If it was CareCredit, at the bottom of the first page of each month’s statement, it literally says:

> Promotional Expiration Notice > > YOU MUST PAY EACH PROMOTIONAL BALANCE IN FULL BY ITS EXPIRATION DATE TO ABOID PAYING DEFERRED INTEREST CHARGES. PLEASE SEE THE PROMOTIONAL PURCHASE SUMMARY SECTION ON THIS STATEMENT FOR FURTHER DETAILS. YOU HAVE A PROMOTION EXPIRING ON 00/00/00.

…and on the next page it has a table showing the promo expiration date, your current promo balance, the deferred interest, the transaction date, a description, and the initial purchase date.

To be blunt, they spell out exactly what you have to do to get the 0%.

These plans are offered to help people pay for large purchases over time, and how you should use them is this:

• Get the amount you’re financing
• Get the number of months (“$2,000 at 0% for 12 months”)
• Subtract 1 or 2 from the number of months.
• Divide amount financed by the reduced number of months (let’s say $2k / 10 months = $200)
• Pay that amount—not the “minimum payment—every month.

You reduce the months (step 3 above) to be absolutely sure that it’s paid in full before your promo rate expires.

CareCredit can be a useful tool but it’s up to you to meet the terms. The “other people” you’ve talked to are right—this is how it works. The key you probably missed was “0% for 6 (or 12 or 24) months.”