Friday I received an E-bill from one of my Visa cards. I noticed it said my next payment would be $45.00. That is ridiculous because it has been about $17 a month.
So that was a red flag that I decided to look into. I called the Card Company and was told my payment was received 8 days late. I couldn't argue very efficiently because I didn’t have my records in front of me. They had charged me $39.00 for a late payment.
While I was talking about it to him he said as a courtesy he would reduce the charge to $19.00. So I hung up and was upset with myself because I must have overlooked a payment. When I dug out my records, I had not neglected a payment. They keep changing their payment due day. Sometimes it’s the end of the month and sometimes it is after the first of the next month. I had forgotten that I made my payment early so it would be sure to be there in case they wanted to change the due date again. By now it is too late to call back and straighten them out so I had to stew and fret about it all weekend. I am the queen of "stew and fret" if there is something to stew and fret about. I called the first thing this morning. I talked to a different person this time and I told him that payment was not 8 days late, it was for the next month. He said the payment came in before the statement had been generated, and therefore it was applied to the last month’s account.
I still wonder why the man I talked to Friday only reduced the charge to $19.00. He was looking at the record and must have known what really happened. He just let me think I had paid 8 days late. Cheats me out of $19.00 and makes me think he is doing me a favor.
If they had real people instead of automated machines doing everything, it probably would have been applied to the next month’s account. He is crediting my account the $39.00. I told him I would like to charge the bank $39.00 because they made a mistake on my account. If they can charge us $39.00 for making a mistake, why can’t we charge them for making a mistake. He informed me that the bank did not make a mistake. It was not applied properly so I call that a mistake. Well, I gave in and decided I would not charge them. hehehe
I had a former job that required me to deal with irate customers, so I just love being on the other end of it for a change. The first thing Monday morning, how perfect was that?
9 comments:
Grandma! You make me laugh!
I love getting back at those buggers, even if it is just to torture call-center workers. I like to answer with an awful accent and accuse them of things...but, I never had much class. I think those banks DO mess with us unfairly.
If the government did such a thing, there'd be war! Why do bankers get away with it?
Tsk Tsk Tsk, don't you know banks cannot make mistakes? Nope. I think it's a law. No such thing as a bank ever making a mistake. Must be something wrong with you if you think they did...sheesh.
Boy, do you make me laugh!!!!!
I use to work for Bank One Credit Card Services back in 2004. I got MANY calls just like yours. I never got a call where someone called just say "hey how are you doing today?" Everyone was MAD! We were told to trick people.. like say.. yes I see you do have a late fee can you tell me when your payment was mailed? Then they would give you a date 2 days before it was due and we would say well you have to allow at least 5-7 business days for your payment to get to us. Sorry I can't remove that fee! I got sooo mad at the company that I would just remove fees and get in trouble for it.
Credit card companies are evil.
Roberta Anne
You go girl!
Oh my goodness -- the EXACT same thing happened to me! They said I had actually made the payment too EARLY, so they charged a LATE fee? HUH? They also brought the fee down to $19. I was gonna pursue it further, but broke my ankle and life has changed a lot. :-(
Thanks for the reminder!
Carol
Brilliant thinking on the make-them-pay-you idea. I could totally go for that. And if you're the Queen of Stewandfret, can I be some kind of honorary princess? I'm sure I have all the qualifications.
You are the Queen of Stew and Fred, I tend to be the Queen of Seethe. It makes me furious when things like this happen, but then on the other hand I really love it when THEY are the ones that messed up! Even when they don't want to admit it.
S2
I paid off my credit card this month--totally paid it off. The online statement still shows a payoff amount even thought it shows a zero balance owing. Go figure.
My credit card is with the same bank as my checking account. When I make a payment the money comes out of my checking account immediately, but does not get credited to my credit card for about five days. All I save by doing it online is a stamp. I have emailed them twice asking why the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing and haven't got a straigt answer yet.
Lorrane, we have a lot of the same pet peeves.
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