Getting $10 Removed On Late Fee For Late Credit Card Payment
- 7 Comment
I should be ashamed of myself for having paid my credit card bill 5 minutes after 5:00PM on the due date. There are people who have never been late on a payment and it is sad how a personal finance blogger such as myself could make such a stupid mistake. Knowing the possible repercussions of this event, I paid the bill pondering what I can do to mitigate the penalties that Citibank might put on my account. I found that (after some nervous Googling) the typical penalties include:
- A Late Fee
The late fee can vary depending on the balance and, as expected, it increases with my balance. Unfortunately, my balance was just entered the specified range where I was slapped with a $39 late fee. - Increase in APR
As stated in the terms and conditions of the card, the bank can increase the APR on the card if there is a late or missed payment. - Drop in Credit Score
Protecting my credit score is essential for future events and missed or late payments could be reported and cause a drop in my credit score if payment isn’t made within 30 days after the due date.
What I Did
After some more research, I stumbled upon the excerpts of Ramit Sethi’s book about what to do if you miss a credit card payment. Of course, a call to the bank was a given but that excerpt proved worthy in the manner that I approached the phone call. I never liked negotiations and following the scripts made it easier for me to ask.
When I checked my online account, I discovered that my APR had not changed. Great, so I didn’t have to worry about arguing over it. Secondly, I paid the bill just a few minutes late so there wouldn’t be a ding on my credit score. Now comes the dreaded phone call. A similar experience was shared on The Happy Rock where a loyal customer of 10 years only received part of the charges removed. With only a 1 year history with Citibank, I doubted that I can get anything out of the call but it never hurt to try.
The Call
After about 5 minutes of phone options, I finally got to a customer service rep and explained my case. I asked with a little more persistence than normal and the CSR was only able to remove $10 from the late fee. Well… it was better than nothing. It turned out better than I thought since my short credit history probably doesn’t deserve it.
Mistakes are going to happen and we will all make them and eventually learn from them. Late and missed credit card payments are always a bad thing but reducing the negative effects of this mistake is the least one can do.
Photo credit: Andres Rueda
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7 Comments on this post
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The Happy Rock said:
Well, that’s a $120 an hour earnings. Glad my story could help a little, thanks for linking THR up.
May 14th, 2009 at 10:32 am -
Jerry said:
We’ve all done it. I had to dip into my reserve credit the other month. Those calls to customer service, however, can lead to results if you’re willing to do it. But, paying those bills on time is your only insurance for keeping those fees and APRs down.
Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.comMay 15th, 2009 at 4:37 pm -
Keith said:
Wow your credit card company is pretty lame. Both Chase and Amex have removed the fee for me so long as it was less than one time per year. Amex removed two of them after I explained the long drawn out situation that led to me getting a late fee and interest charge for not paying a late fee. It took a little while and I had to talk to a supervisor but if you are persistent and actually have a legitimate reason they should help you out.
December 18th, 2009 at 5:22 pm -
Simon Zhen said:
Looking back now, I believe I could have haggled a little more. I had no idea why they didn’t just remove the entire late fee. Maybe because I had a sort credit history.
It is a mistake that continues to be a lesson for me. I was lucky that they didn’t choose to raise my APR.
December 18th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
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