That Was Worth the Phone Call!
I messed up. I missed a credit card payment. It is a rare occurrence. I'm not sure what happened, but when I pulled out the file to pay bills there on top was a late, very late, credit card bill. I paid it immediately, with a little extra, knowing the damage was done, and wondering how bad it would be.
It didn't take long to find out. I got the statement the next day. A whopping $39 late charge! Watch your back racking up the charges happens fast! Thankfully, that fee was waived. This particular company waives late charges if you use the card in the next billing statement. We rarely use any credit cards, but Tim does use this one when paying eBay fees. Thankfully he used it once this billing cycle!
Late fees aren't the only punishment for missing a payment. Any promotional rates are gone, and the interest rate goes through the roof! My rates were about five times higher after the missed payment. That rate was not acceptable.
My first thought was that I would have to transfer the balance to another card to get an acceptable rate again. That isn't free though. There are transfer fees involved in that option.
I decided to call the credit card company. What could it hurt? I had to laugh when the automated system informed me that do to my good credit history they had increased my credit limit to an absurdly high amount. Hello? I'm calling because I missed a payment. That credit limit? Well, they must be nuts! That is a subject for another time though.
I finally got to a human being who was very friendly and helpful. My payment hadn't posted yet, so he wasn't sure he be able to change the interest rate back. After putting me on hold for a few minutes, he returned to inform me that everything was back to normal. There would be no late fee, and the interest rates were back to the original rates. At least that good credit history got me something I really needed.
Often times we forget that credit card companies want to work with us. They are willing to negotiate. I messed up, and the terms of the agreement kicked in. That doesn't mean that there was nothing I could do. A simple phone call and about five minutes of my time put everything back the way it was. It was a phone call worth making.
Image credit: wes_rand
7 comments:
This happened to me once too. We've always paid on time in the past and the credit card company was kind enough to refund our late fees and the interest that had accrued. They aren't always out to get you!
CONGRATULATIONS! Something that may be old news to you, but not everyone knows is that credit card maximum limits are a liability against future loans even if the card has a zero balance. Simply put, if you have a CC with a $20K limit, that's $20K that another lender could view as an in place loan thereby reducing your loan capability by that much.
Wow. I don't think I've ever heard good news about a missed payment. Good for you for calling...and good for the great customer service you got!!
Wonderful news and thanks for sharing your story. It's always worth a try to get an adjust or ask for a credit when something goes wrong. Such as a service charge or penalty of some sort. Congrats to you and the good service you received from your credit card company!
Have you considered transferring your credit card balances to a zero interest card? Check out mymoneybog.com (the article is called "free money: 0% APR balance transfers) for more information about how to do this. This fella actually invests the money he gets from these credit cards in high-yield savings accounts, turning them over into new 0% cards when the promotional period ends. It is a bit of work to keep track, but think of the money you will save.
Malena,
I've read about people doing that. I haven't tried it yet myself, but it something to think about.
This blog post has been included in the "Carnival of Money Stories #51" at Life Lessons of a Military Wife. Hope you will drop by and read some of the many other wonderful entries received this week!
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