Congratulations if you can figure out the connection between this picture and the story.
There are those who steadfastly insist that credit cards are evil, and that credit card companies are greedy heartless scalawags that care only about one thing: making a profit.
I’ve got news for them: Credit card companies aren’t evil.
Neither are profits. Besides, when it comes to profits, credit card companies are no more heartless or greedy than, say, the Hollywood movie industry.
As someone who has been a credit card user for 30 years, I’ve never once been screwed over by a credit card company. In fact, they’ve always gone out of their way to keep me a satisfied customer — despite the fact that I’ve never paid a single penny of interest to them.
That’s just one reason why I’ll never cut up my credit cards — and why maybe you shouldn’t either.
I know what you’re thinking: But, Len, how can that possibly be? Credit card companies don’t care about their customers!
Yes, they do. Here’s why: The competition out there between the credit card companies is fierce — especially for their best customers.
And who are their best customers? Are they the sorry saps who exceed their credit limit and make the minimum payment each month on a balance of $15,576 — at an interest rate of 29.9 percent? Nope. Despite conventional wisdom, high-risk individuals who are always one missed-payment away from defaulting on their debt aren’t a credit card company’s best customers.
The reality is a credit card company’s best customers are folks like you and me: financially responsible people with superb credit who charge nearly everything they buy to their card and then pay the balance off in full at the end of each month. True, credit card companies never collect a penny of interest from us — but we typically provide them with a steady stream of risk-free monthly income via merchant transaction fees.
Which brings me to the subject of today’s post.
Awhile back I almost fell out of my chair after opening up my credit card bill and discovering that it included an interest charge for $107.47. Obviously, my credit card company screwed up. So I immediately called customer service to inform them of their mistake — except that it wasn’t.
Oops.
It turns out the credit card company received my payment one day beyond the end of their specified grace period. As a result, the interest charge rightfully applied, as per the terms of the contract I agreed to when I first got the card. Fair enough.
This was the third or fourth time in twenty years that I had interest charges applied because a payment got to the credit card company a day or two late.
Hold on, Len. But you said you’ve never paid a dime of credit card interest in 20 years. How did you get the interest charges waived each time?
Well … I simply asked. And the customer service representative’s reply was as swift as it was decisive: “No problem, Mr. Penzo. The interest charge has been waived.”
Done.
Hey, why wouldn’t my credit card company waive the interest charges? I’m one of their best customers!
Well-run corporations aren’t in business because they’re stupid. They know I’d leave them in a New York minute if they let those charges stick — and I’m worth much more to them than $107.47.
Just keep in mind that if you make late payments more than once per year, it’ll probably take more than simply asking to get your credit card company to waive those interest fees. And who can blame them? Credit card companies aren’t dirty rotten scoundrels — not by a long shot. But they’re still in business to make money.
Photo Credit: Miranda Granche
I half-heartedly agree that credit card companies don’t set out to be evil on purpose. It is the user’s fault if they can’t manage their finances and find themselves deep in debt at atrocious interest rates.
But that’s where I think credit card companies could be kinder (and in some ways more responsible): the interest rates they charge! It’s quite pitiful that there are cards out there with 29.99% interest rates making it very difficult for people who want to pay off their balance do so. If they really did want to make sure that risky consumers were going to pay off their debt and not leave them holding the bag, they’d lower the rate to a more reasonable 10 or 12%. At least then the person could pay off the debt in a reasonable amount of time and not pay the same amount in interest than in original debt.
*Do I sound a bit bitter? Well, I am! I’m currently paying off a line of credit we took out before we were financially savvy about interest rates (and paying our balances in full-which we now do). I’ve pretty much paid the same amount in interest payments than in original debt. I even pay more towards the loan every month (grumble, grumble). As it stands, by the time I’ve paid them in full, it will be more than twice the amount of the loan. Nice for the financial institution, right?
Of course, I suppose I’ve learned my lesson: never borrow money for more than 25-days; be sure you can pay it off in full before interest accrues!
If they are charging 29.99% then you should be responsible enough to pay off your balance in full every month. Why don’t you buy items for which you think you can pay in full? Carrying a balance is just a flexibility they’re giving you when you can’t pay off.
no thats just taking advantage
and they will get customers defaulting
which proves these companies dont even know whats best for themselves. obama had to regulate them, because they were fraudulently scamming fees and other things. they whined about how they will lose money, and in the end it turns out they made 2x the profit they had before. if they had any brains they would lower the interest as much as they can to keep poor credit customers from being overloaded, otherwise those customer just will skip on the bill. their credit risk models are completely idiotic, they dont know whats good for their own business, and are too stupid and greedy to know what will make them more money and not piss off their customers (whoever said finance guys were rocket scientists?) and this is why we see new companies like ondeck and other lenders starting to destroy their profits. once smart contracts go into effect you can say goodbye to visa mc and amex forever. their time is coming, and fast! and its not going to be pretty. but as stated above, they are too stupid and blind to see it and will go down in 1 week just like blockbuster did.
Len gives good advice here. Let me just say I just can’t explain the way my financial advisor makes me feel ever since he restored my credit. My life has changed tremendously and I have him to thank for making me become a better human.
The key is to ask and NOT GIVE UP, ask to speak to a manager if the first person doesn’t remove the fee. And if that doesn’t work, ask to shut down the card, that usually works for me.
I asked,begged, pleaded to speak to a supervisor back in 2009 when I experienced problems due to medical emergency, medical problems and my husband’s job, economic situation back in 2009. I called twenty times I am sure. I always was told no supervisor available after holding on calls, transfers,etc.
I had great credit for over 30 years until then and got slammed with 29% increases and late fees and my credit ruined because of these greedy people.
I no longer have one credit card and have horrible credit and judgments because these people refused to work with me while my husband was in ICU. The stress from it has made me ill because I always believed in paying my bills.
Not everyone has good outcomes with these companies.
It has been and still is a nightmare for me!
just dont pay them, your credit will resolve within a year or two anyway thanks to the other idiot scoring model of FICO. they are a business they take on risk by having you as a customer. when a business doesnt pay another business theres nothing they can do. so its no different than that. they are a company and youre not, youre under no obligation to pay them. the only thing they can do is hurt your credit score, but that score will bounce back anyway at some point in the future.
Sometimes giving up is the only option..
deferred-interest schemes are a bait & switch disgrace. 95% of Consumers are NOT “contract” savvy. Corporate lawyers pd by Synchrony to put thumb screws on clients the “second” a transactions is logged run rampant. Now synchrony wants to track consumers habits on every electronic device in the United States @ ck out to immediately offer a 35% cost of EACH item increase based on a 6 month & up “””promotional””” TIME BOMB TRAP. Get a grip, get an education & adopt some humanism into this ultra modern electronic trap on autopilot for the benefit of predatory credit card companies like Synchrony
You are right, they are predatory. I am cancelling anything to do with them.
My credit cards all point back to this company synchrony how is that possible
I have been hit hard by them don’t know what to do.
I pay my bills every month but they hit me with delayed interest fees. Some kind of promotion Deal and well I went from almost paid off to twice what was charged.
So pissed right now
Fantastic article. I’ve never had a credit card fee but I have gotten the bank to refund certain fees and they’ve always fulfilled my requests with me simply asking.
While I don’t think they are evil….I don’t think they really want to help you either. Long story short….I got screwed last summer while asking for help.
I just paid off a credit card with a 10k balance using a peer to peer lending loan. I got charged $73 in interest for the small amount of time that month I had a balance. Think I should try and get it waived????
… credit card companies are greedy heartless bastards …
There is way more than enough evidence to support this claim in my mind.
I’m not excusing consumers who charge over their limit and don’t pay on time. But, dirty tricks the credit card companies came up with, like universal default, trigger lists, double-cycle billing, 10 AM cut-offs and Sunday due dates are not even remotely fair. I think reform was way overdue.
By the way, you should always pay your credit card using their webite, instead of using snail mail. Then, you won’t get a late fee. I learned this after Capital One was sued for holding people’s paper mail to create late fees. I got a 50 cent refund on a $35 fee.
@LittleHouse: If the credit card companies were forced to lower their interest rates to, say, 12 percent the number of people that would qualify for credit cards would be greatly reduced. Although I would be completely against forcing credit card companies to lower their max interest rate charge to that level, I have no problem with them doing it voluntarily – which would make it much more difficult for high risk / low income folks to get a credit card. (Of course, then we’d be hearing from those who would complain that it is unfair that credit cards aren’t readily available to everybody and anybody who wants one.)
@Jenna: That certainly will work if you are one of their best customers. That means you do not carry a balance on your credit card from month to month (and – this is important – you’ve shown a LONG and CONSISTENT history of paying your card off in full at the end of each month). Otherwise, all bets are off.
@Jennifer: I’m happy you were able to get some relief by switching cards! 🙂 I think it was most likely that Chase chose not to accommodate your request because you carried a balance on your card. Still, that they agreed to reduce your interest rate some – when they weren’t legally obligated to – shows they were at least trying to meet you in the middle. They weren’t totally heartless, right? 🙂
@Mysti: It would be a waste of time. Like I was telling Jenna, unless you can show a LONG and CONSISTENT history of paying your card off in full every month it gets a lot more difficult to get the credit card companies to cooperate with you. (That should be additional incentive for everyone to make sure they always pay off their credit card in full at the end of every month!) 🙂
@Bret: Thanks for the tip! Here are my thoughts on your list of dirty tricks: 1) I agree with the first two items you mention – they are dubious practices to be sure. 2) Double billing cycles are a scourge – but to be fair, it is disclosed in the agreement the card user signs. 3) Sunday due dates and 10 Am cutoffs are definitely annoying, but I wouldn’t say they are unfair at all – especially if you can pay via their website. 🙂
Well Len, it was reduced from 18% to 16% when they were getting money from the Fed for basically nothing. That’s why I was able to get 0% for a year from someone else. Chase lost my business for several years over it.
Also, I agree with Bret that the major credit card companies are evil. MBNA wrote the bankruptcy law passed in 2005 to make it harder to discharge credit card debt in bankruptcy. Providian which was bought by Washington Mutual had a policy of finding the most vulnerable borrowers and tricking them into paying outrageous fees. (And no, these weren’t always in the agreement). This is why these companies get sued all the time and settle.
Let me turn the tables on you for a second, Jen.
Let’s say you opened up your own CC company, JB Credit. Let’s also say I applied for – and received – a credit card from your company with a $15,000 limit, and then ran up my debt until I surpassed my credit limit. Knowing that your $15,000 “loan” was completely unsecured, would you, as the CEO of JB Credit, be satisfied with the old laws that allowed anybody to claim bankruptcy with little or dubious justification? Is that really evil for you to ask for tighter restrictions, or simply a smart business practice? I am not sure how that is unethical. I think that is a very reasonable request. (I know. You probably want to bonk me on the head right about now, Jen. Twice.)
Youre wrong, they are a corporation, they are in business and they are supposed to assess risk. They already know a % of customers will default , and they have the tax deduction available to them as a C corp to write all their losses off. Corporations can also not pay their bills, do you think Chase pays their bills? I can promise you they stiff companies left and right, and no one sues them for it. Sometimes they owe millions and dont pay it. The CEO has no skin in the game and is there to collect bonuses and stock, he can give a rats ass about customers declaring bankruptcy and whatnot, they have other levers and other gambling available to them to bring in profits. The CEO will leave with millions in sev. package and stock. There is no downside. A few years ago I sat at a table and Jamie Dimon called someone at the table asking how much Chase can get for their data centers they needed to ‘sell off’ , and it turns out it was pennies, and they would lose billions, and everyone at the table is thinking, is this guy a schmuck of what? totally clueless. but no big deal, just another writeoff and gamble a few more billions in some housing schemes. These companies operate on massive inertia, they dont take losses and they never lose.
“I can promise you (Chase) stiffs companies left and right, and no one sues them for it.”
I get it; you think CEOs get paid too much. But a simple Google search soundly negates your assertion.
Yep – I’ve done this very thing with Chase when I’ve forgotten to pay for that month. The lazy mind I have sometimes. But it’s been awhile since I’ve forgotten to pay. If for some reason they won’t do it, just argue until they do, or call back to another rep, eventually you’ll get if you have been a good customer.
Just ask, ask again, and keep asking. It pays to be persistent if they don’t cooperate right away. My luck hasn’t been as good in terms of instant positive response, but by asking for a supervisor, I have gotten it done.
I have rarely had to do this, though, as I do pay on time. This is precisely why I am persistent, because I know I’m a reliable customer to them.
Another great post Len. I am also tired of the demonization of credit card companies. Its simple – if you cant use them responsibly, dont use them at all… PERIOD. There is a movement in our country where people refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
Yes, the credit card companies are little angels, which explains why they are strategically headquartered only in states that have no (anybody? anybody?) USURY laws.
To state that customers paying 29% interest are of less value than those of us who make purchases and pay off the balance (effectively borrowing at zero percent) is wishful thinking on your part. Unless you have some statistics to back up what you say. No, I didn’t think so.
Wow, never thought a credit card company would do that since interest charges are a core part of their business model.
Mind me asking which company/card was this?
@Amack: At the risk of sounding like an arrogant jerk – I know, too late… 🙂
Common sense, my experience, and key evidence presented from one commenter in particular that irrefutably backs up that fact. The proof is in the pudding.
Jen was an 8-year customer (eight years!) with Chase who was carrying a balance and she had to fight them just to get them to lower the interest rates a couple points. They ended up letting her walk. If that’s how a company treats their valued customers – which it isn’t – they have a funny way of showing it.
Me and lots of other commenters here who consistently pay their bills in full from month to month (which now includes Jen!) have had to ask that our interest charges or other fees be waived for whatever reason and, guess what? The fees get waived. In my case it has happened several times over 20 years. Sometimes on the first request, sometimes after going to a supervisor – but the fees always get waived! Why? Because the credit card companies don’t want us to jump ship and go to another company.
@Simon: It’s happened with at least two separate companies over the years. At least twice, and maybe three times, with Citi. It also happened with another card I had – I think it was with MBNA.
I had good luck with this once with American Express too. We have multiple cards, and the payment went to the wrong one.
I called and they reversed it. It never hurts to ask!
Yup, I’ve had this experience before. The last time it took 3 phone calls (for some reason my online payment didn’t go through), but in the end things got credited.
Thanks for this article, stumbled from Google. For the first time in my life I was late with a payment and was thoroughly disheartened by the $37 in interest charges. 1 phone call to MBNA Canada and I (supposedly) have it waived as a one time courtesy. Hope it comes through!
Can we get real and cease with the tired rhetoric? Please?
I don’t work for any credit card company, but I agree. They collectively are just a normal business, not Darth Vadar and the dark side…
Sometimes credit card bill get lost in the mail, or I inadvertantly throw them away with all the other junk mail I get… So, maybe once every 2 years or so, I’ll miss one. When I call, they remove the charges on my account right away and typically apologize for the missed bill, saying that there must have been a printing problem or something similar.
If my frequency of missed payment was higher, I might get a different response, but I’m one of the customers you describe above…
Great writeup!
I spent as many years as I could bear at one of the top 5 credit card companies, and I can tell you from experience that they do everything in their power to try to get you to screw up without realizing it, hoping you won’t have the nerve to call in, or that you won’t notice.
There is a large portion of the credit card consumer pool that does not read their statement. It’s a hard number and it’s used to project ROI. An even larger number of folks don’t read the fine print on any insert, that is printed that in the smallest font allowed by law. And that is a hard number that can be used in ROI projections. You get your bill on a certain day, you are less likely to open it right away when it comes on one of two days, deemed the most profitable mail dates.
When the government moved to protect SSNs, the cc companies were happy that you had more hoops to go through to get to a customer service agent, now that you won’t be able to use your SSN to verify your identity.
The credit card companies are not evil to the people they know have the power to do something about it. If you are smart, well organized, educated on your rights, the ccc’s will cater to you. Everyone else is considered a target.
Oh, and don’t ever go with paperless billing. That is a huge scam.
Well it happens sometime … 🙂 but what I can say that they really do calculate things before they market any product like that and we as a normal consumer cannot get even a hint of what they really do.
I remembered I had a virtual card attached to my offshore merchant account. They were good and payments were on time but every company charges money. Some few, some more, when you use it on ATM or even on web now.
Well we can just say good luck to them!
Ahh yes you guys are absolutely right 🙂
@MoneyReasons: Yes, I suspect if one misses a payment more than once every 18 months or so, it might make a little more difficult to get them to waive the interest.
@CantLeave: “The credit card companies are not evil to the people they know have the power to do something about it. If you are smart, well organized, educated on your rights, the cccs will cater to you. Everyone else is considered a target.” So it sounds like if people are financially responsible and hold themselves accountable, they have nothing to worry about. 🙂
I recall one time when I wrote the check wrong by one cent and the computer charged me interest, the bank credited me the interest without even asking as ” no one pays all but one cent of the balance”
I’m glad that worked for you Len but I had a very different experience with Chase several years ago. Not only would they not waive the interest (I was a customer for 8 years) but they jacked up the interest rate to something ridiculous. A supervisor agreed to cut it down a few percentage points but that’s all. I was still trying to pay off the balance from some hard times a couple years before that. I informed them that I would just transfer the balance to another card with 0% interest and I did. Fortunately my excellent credit score helped me out.
OK, Sharing my personal experience between Chase & Capital One. I paid off both cards, both were zero balance & the ffg. week both generated a similar amount of interest charge (IC) ($34) I called Capital One first & asked a CS rep. if they can waive (IC) They are willing to help out & waived the IC for me. Next, I called Chase, I asked the same thing to a CS rep. He is not willing to do anything regarding the IC & I requested to talk to a Supervisor, She told me the same thing they cannot waive the IC. I asked them to just close the CC for me. Capital One Rule!!! Chase lost a Shopaholic customer. 😉
I haven’t had to ask for a waived fee yet (thankfully), but Discover has come through for me on two double-charges and one awful Ebayer. I will keep my rewards cards as long as they still give me 1-5% cash back and have no annual fees. Between Discover and PenFed, I think I get the best deals – 5% off on gas, 2% on groceries, and 1-5% on everything else. Nope, not evil. 🙂
For late fee & interest charge waivers on a Chase credit card, my sister always gets them via e-mail request without breaking a sweat ever since Indian service reps started answering the e-mails in 2011. Prior to that, she has to make several LONGGGGG calls just to get a $25 LATE FEE waiver. Now she even gets interest charge waivers along with the late fee without asking for it.
I don’t know that credit cards are evil, but they can cause you a lot of pain if you don’t have any willpower and always hand over the plastic to pay for things.
I don’t have a CC and I will do everything in my power not to have one again. I am debt free, but the house, so I have little bills: mortgage, water, trash, electricity, basic things like that. I don’t need the risk of identity theft that comes with this product, and I certainly do not NEED the GAMES that CC companies play, all the time.
I also don’t purchase crap I don’t need and haven’t budgeted for.
I was one of “those” excellent customers with a high FICO. I paid my balance off, in full, every single month, for 11 straight years. I had bumps in the road along the way. For example: UPS went on strike. This was in the days before the internet was what it is today. When I called customer service, I got told that I should have used FedEx or some other delivery mechanism than the one I used. Duh. All carriers were overwhelmed by the UPS strike. I got my late fees waived, but never again.
I’ve also had to fight “fees and increases of rates” when I mailed a check. The check cleared the bank many days before the due date. Yet CC company insists my payment was late. I spent many hours fixing these sorts of things over the years. I’ve got better things to do than fight greed.
I also know many folks who miraculously had their rates increased to 29.99% for no reason. No late payments anywhere in their financial lives.
If most people didn’t have CCs, then maybe they’d reinvent themselves to look better than the local loan shark.
Len, ask Aunt Doris how she survived all those years without the beloved credit card..
“Len, ask Aunt Doris how she survived all those years without the beloved credit card…”
I hear ya, Spedie. The same way my grandparents and your grandparents did — by diligently saving for what they wanted.
However, in my case, the proof is in the pudding. Credit card companies aren’t angels, and using the card comes with risks. But, as I mentioned, I’ve been treated well by credit card companies for over 20 years. I’ve made well over $10,000 off of them in rewards during that time. They’ve also saved me a few times from having to pay for the sins of unscrupulous merchants who tried to screw me.
I’m not willing to forgo those dividends. I believe that for most responsible users, the rewards outweigh the risks enough to more than justify their use.
But that’s just my opinion.
Why don’t you just set your card up with your bank to automatically pay off your full balance every month. You will never be late then. Like you I got my first card at 18 and never paid a dime of interest.
The sad thing is many people reading that look upon those that use credit wisely as “preaching” to them. People need to defer purchases if they don’t have the money to pay off their cards. A smart phone for example is a luxury – not a necessity of life. If you can’t afford things don’t buy them. Say NO to your kids once in a while.. (Contrary to the lobbyists hired by companies like Tracphone to make phones a “basic human right” and actually being sucessful with such nonsence.
When I was a child I received $1.00 a week allowance. I didn’t buy candy. I saved my dollars week by week until I could get an air rifle. When I had the $14.00 to buy it at the time I bought it. I didn’t ask my dad to spot me the money then tell him I would give him $22.00 back later (interest payments) Maybe parents should do that to teach their kids about credit. Here $100.00 bucks son but it’s $120.00 to pay me back at the end of the month, $140.00 if it takes 2 months…. A valuable lesson might be taught.
Ted. You are so correct I never heard of deferral interest before. I’ve paid my furniture a year early. Well I have 4 more payments and their going to hit me with $516 interest for paying off early. They sent me a warning saying don’t pay it and just pay the $37.00 late fees because it’s cheaper. Then they will report me to the credit union. I wonder if I could by another peace of furniture for about $516 since I have to pay it anyway. Wells Fargo
In 1983 I went to England and stayed there for a month in the city of Leicester – about 110 miles to the North of London. When I came back, I had missed paying that month bill for credit card. There were two charges: Finance ($40) and interest ($3.96). I called them and they waived off finance charges. I had to pay the interest.
Since then in 30 years, I have not paid a single cent in interest or finance charges and I am grateful for that.
Credit Cards are not evil neither are the companies. It’s how one uses the card that makes a big difference.
I buy everything with plastic, even a gallon of milk ($2.99) at the corner store.
Great article, Len. I also pay for nearly everything with a credit card, and I have my account set up so they send me an email alert when my monthly statement is ready. As soon as I get that email, I pay off the statement balance. I also normally make another payment shortly before the due date for anything that I charged since the statement date. I’ve had no troubles with this system so far. Even if my second payment doesn’t make the due date, I don’t get charged interest because I’ve already paid the statement balance.
Before I had this system in place, I think there were two instances where my payments were late. Once I called and asked for the late fee to be reversed; the second time they reversed it themselves.
I don’t think credit cards are evil. They are just like most companies in that they look out for their self interest. Sure they do have some dubious practices but it’s all laid out on the contract. I once had late fee charged to me and it was the first time being charged in years and I did the same thing Len did. I asked for it to be removed and they removed the fee.
Isn’t he term “credit card companies” just another name for “banks”?
I don’t know about you but most of the reason I am prepping for financial collapse is because global banking practices.
I would have to put them in the evil category. But I tend to be a bit on the judgemental and critical side of things.
Wow, Josh. I couldn’t have said it better myself! I agree with you.
You’re right, Josh. But I’m not interested in boycotting them to make a point if it means I am going to leave lots of money on the table — especially since nobody cares if I’m boycotting them.
I’m more than willing to take advantage of those banks if it means a little extra cash in my pocket.
I know. I have no scruples. 😉
The bird is waving/charges waived??
All I could think of was you could duck the interest payment by having them waive the fee because the duck has his foot up and looks like he is waving?
Bingo, Barbara!
My take on this was different. I think they are evil. Why? Because while you check your bill like a hawk, there are many who don’t, so it’s ka-ching! for the credit card people.
I liken this to when I buy something at the grocery store and notice that the register rang up a price that was not the sales price. I point it out, they check, and take it off my bill. Just like you w/your credit card. No Problem, right? Maybe not? What about the hundreds of other customers, who weren’t watching the register like a hawk like me and who were overcharged? ka-ching! for the grocery stores.
Bill. I didn’t think of that. Very punny.
When I was young I had a gas card never paid interest on but received a bill where I supposedly filled up 4 times in the same day @ the same station. I couldn’t clear it up so I paid the bill and included the cut up card. The service station went out of business later that year. I felt fraud was committed as you couldn’t read the signature on all 4 fill-up records they sent me. Lesson learned KEEP RECORDS!!
This is neat. If you treat these credit card companies right, they will value you as well. Will keep this trick in mind if ever this happens to me as well.
Funny — something similar happened to me the other day. I have my credit card set up on automatic payments, in full, every month. But last month I accidentally overdrafted my account. It was completely, 100 percent my own fault.
I paid the balance in full, immediately, with cash in a different bank account, but the one-day delay triggered a finance charge. I simply called my credit card company and asked them to waive the fee. They agreed immediately.
I’ve had similar experiences with credit cards. If you have a great payment history then they will work with you.
I once was able to get a fee waived on my checking even by reminding the rep about my history with the company. You can’t lose out by asking.
I don’t understand why some people treat the credit card contract in a different way than a contract with anyone else. For any contract, including credit card contracts, it seems to me one should understand it, comply with it, and monitor (transactions) enough to ensure the other party complies with it. It’s possible for either side to make an error. When a possible error is discovered,the first order of business is to reconcile the error. After that is done, you can begin imputing motive, behavior pattern, and business practice quality to the other party–both within the context of the error(s) and within the context of transactions on which both parties agree. If you decide that you don’t like the motive, behavior, or practice of the other party, stop doing business with them!
Well said, Peter.
I had no idea you could ask for an interest fee to be waived… the only time I didn’t pay off my balance in full was when I was in the middle of exams and co-op in my last year of college, and forgot until a week later. I ended up handing over a little over $10, so it wasn’t a disaster, but I wish I’d thought to ask for it to be waived.
Stick with me, Nina. I’ve got more than a few “tricks” like that up my sleeve. 🙂
I took out a credit card for a furniture store. When it was down to $310 I was charged accrued interest in the amount of $1, 050, I was not aware there was a deadline and that there was accrued interest. Is there any suggestions on how to get my money back? Anything would be tremendously appreciated!
Unfortunately, Andrea, I don’t think you’ll be able to get out of that one. Sorry.
In the future, remember that those 0% interest loans are only 0% if you pay off the entire balance BEFORE the zero-interest period expires. Otherwise, as you found out … you are back-charged for interest payments at the default rate (which is usually ridiculously high). It’s all explained in the fine print of the agreement you signed.
Thank you
Deferred-interest !!!!!!!!
It’s the best Blue Collar scam in America right now Aundrea. Lawyers at CFPB Consumerfinance.gov recommended it not be legal & they got shot down in Congress.. SERIOUSLY Beware of Synchrony Bank hiding in your closet & behind most every store branded credit card in America.
The consumer is the one that’s ultimately getting branded idiots.
We are now like cattle to the slaughterhouse for Synchrony etc
So many good articles here. I think you can make lenpenzo.com go viral easily!
Thank you, Belinda. The good news is it already has: almost 8 million page views so far!
The other day, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a 40 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she has 83 views.
Correction: 84 views.
I’m still not sure how I ended up here, but I thought this post was REALLY good. Cheers!
I just got off the phone with Wells Fargo and had a really bad experience with them. I got charged interest for a late payment the first time in. I spoke to 3 managers and each one said I’m sorry there is nothing I can do for you. So upsetting.
Appreciation to my father who turned me on to your web site, Len. It is awesome!
Thank you, Jamie!
There’s a saying that goes, “Anything is negotiable”! It is possible to get a full refund on interest provided your situation fits is covered under the policy. Actually, the manager or supervisor has authority to even waive the full interest amount. You can speak with the manager or the cancellation department, or ask if any promotions are on right now.
Comenity capitol bank just charge me $2 for interest and would not reverse it .
This is the paypal credit card.
Folks , very bad service, do not use it.
they are evil.
If they collect $2 from 1m people, that is 2 m we are talking about.
Yep, it adds up fast, DC.
Great post, Len! Love your website so much I just became an Insider.
Well, I had $101.02 for one day late, Capital One charged me $30 for that.
I called in and they said it would be waived, but not any more in future. No explanation about why the IC rate was like 30% per day. must close this account in the year end.
Thanks for this. It was very helpful for me.
My family always say that I am killing my time constantly surfing the web, but it’s articles like this that convince me that it’s worth it because I’m learning new and valuable tips like I read in this post. Thanks, Len!
p.s. I also joined your insider subscription service. It’s awesome!
I am an o0utstanding Chase customer. They are requesting I pay a 0.73 cent charge on a bill I consider closed. I will not pay this nickel and dime fee. I have a had accounts with Chase since 1985, and this is predatory.
Well thats true with most companies except Chase. The only thing chase wants is to suck as much money out of you than they can. I had 9.9% fixed with Washington Mutual back then, never missed a payment nothing. Then the bastards took bought out WaMu and then all of the sudden for no reason, they jacked me up to 27.99%. Mind you I had no credit card debt and my payments were daily to them, $100 a day like clock work right inside the branch. So it was 30 days before Chase officially took over WaMu. Regardless of how many times I asked they refused to lower my APR. So just before Chase took over WaMu, whatever the remaining balance was, it got paid off, told Chase to go F themselves and that was it. Then they started to charge my bank accounts some $19 a month when it was free from WaMu, same thing, took out some $500k out of accounts and told Chase to go F themselves again. Just for laughs I’d call Chase every 2 years on an account that is still opened, even with a $0 balance these thieves still refuse to lower the APR. I’ve seen other people who use Chase have a 29.99% interest rate. Your better off defaulting on it and declaring Chapter 13. If you cant make your payments well your credit and Fico store are going to drop to the mid 400s, maybe 500s, throwing bankruptcy gives you 400 automatically. So its either relief from these people charging you an arm and leg. When I filed for chapter 13 and they knew about it, the first thing they did was send me credit card offer after offer, you’d think they’d wont. But they dont care, they borrow the money from the Fed at 1/2% and then pay your card off. That 29.9% interest is pure profit! Why do you think they wanted to give me cards again, they knew I was debt free and wanted to put me in the same boat again. So at 15% 22% whatever, throwing you a bone here and there will make you think they are doing you a favor. Remember, $1500 / 12 months = $125. So if they throw you a $125 they are still making $1375 off you and thats 100% profit
Also forgot to add : Take a look at what this market is today, everything is tightened up. The so called days of having 9.9% are over, except perhaps Juniper Bank, but people in the 700 credit score range are having APRs of 15 to 17%. That was in the 2000s what you were charged with a score in the 500/600’s. So its really a con job they are playing on you. You have this 700 credit score but your history says you pay on time, so why get charged 17%. Thats because everyone is a walking droid with no ability to fight back. Use cash, its 0% and you have no debt. How do you pay your bills, with cash. Banks tell you to use your credit card company and you pay 7 to 10% additional for things because of what the bank charges companys to use a credit card. Charge this charge that! Because just like when I filed for bankruptcy. Banks sole main source of income is interest rates on make believe debt, aka numbers in a computer. They will send this to a collection agency who the agency buys the debt for 10 cents on the dollar, that why these so called consolidation companies promise to cut your bill in 1/2 because they are making another 40% ontop of what they sold your debt for. The minimal payments, in my opinion, is what pays the principal amount. If your balance is $2000 and you get charged $50 a month, well in 3 or so years the principal is paid. The other crap is imaginary numbers in a computer. Remember what I said, credit card company’s dont use their own money to pay off your debt, they borrow it from the government for 1/2% and thats it. Thats why they have to right you off as bad debt after 4 months, where these scumbag collection agencies will buy that debt for $200 (on that $2000 owed) and try ramming them down your throat. They are are already in the hole for $200 so they want that $1800 profit. thats why these collection agencies are scumbags. But just remember the consumer protection act of 1978 and they will back off, they are trying to bank on you not knowing that. So all in all whats better, paying $20,000 over a 5 year period then start saving money and trying to dig yourself out of a hole, or filing for bankruptcy (if its leget and you cant make your payments there are some things you can do to have a legal bankruptcy, such as cash advances and the debt being immediate, such as you got the card 6 months ago maxed it out and refused to pay for it – bankruptcy doesnt work like that) and starting a fresh start with the hopes that you’ve learned your lesson and dont repeat it. Remember the whole goal of these banks and credit card companies is to keep you in debt for as long as possible nothing more, so throwing you a bone here and there, is really them saying thank you for the 100% profit we made on you, keep using that credit card!
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I’ve paid mine online for many years.
Couple things about online payment:
1. 2 of the 3 cards we have, and use the most, allow us to schedule the payment for any date. So as soon as the statement comes, I FIRST review the statement to make sure there are no charges we didn’t make…..then log in, schedule the payment transfer from our checking account, write the C# on the statement, and throw it in the “paid bills” drawer. THAT avoids the “we didn’t get it in the mail in time” baloney.
2. 2nd thing…..and you have to watch this…..is when I go to pay, there are 3 options: Pay minimum, Pay full amount of statement, Pay some other amount.
IF you screw up something in the payment on down the page and have to refresh/start over, I’ve found the Pay amount reverts to “Pay Minimum”…..by default. One time I did that, and got hit with an interest charge the next month. I figured out what they were doing, called and got the interest waived by pointing out at no time in the last many years had I ever paid the minimum and was not intending to do so now…..so take it off or cancel the card.
Now the reason we have 3 cards.
Used just one for many years, got a good gasoline rebate on it (fly points mean nothing since we don’t fly). Problem was, the card would get hacked every so often (like once a year) since I buy a lot of stuff online. Then the regular scheduled payments would either get missed while waiting on a new card, or have to go thru the pain of setting up new numbers for those accounts (Dish, phone, etc)….so we got a local bank card from same place we have checking, and ONLY use it for those regular monthly accounts.
So far, that has worked well. Minimize our exposure to getting card compromised, never have to fool with re-setting those accounts.
Then another card came out with better cash back, so we went with that one and rarely use the gas card except for gas, as it still has the best reward for that. Still keep it for backup in case the primary card gets hacked, but only use it for that gasoline brand otherwise.
Great comments as usual, Andy. Thank you for taking the time to share them.
Having the default option as “pay minimum” after a refresh is a particularly sneaky trick that I am sure nets the CC companies millions of extra interest every year off of otherwise diligent plastic users who pay off their cards in full every month, but figure they can’t get the interest charges waived.
Calling in doesn’t always work. I made a mistake with one of my Citi cards. I paid $1323.01 s/b $1333.01 for my pif balance.
That $10.00 ended up costing me like $27 in interest. Mainly because it was one of my most used cards, and if you don’t pif, the grace period goes away.
I called them three times, and i couldn’t get them to neither waive the interest charges, nor restore the grace period. I had that card for 13 years (always pif). It’s one of 4 Citi cards (they all have diff rewards)
They are not trying all that hard to retain a customer.
I stopped using all my Citi cards, except for the CostCo card.
I understand it’s my fault, but it still hurts. I actually just reviewed my statement and saw that i made the same mistake with Discover (underpaid by $0.50). They charged me $5.15 in interest.
We’ll have to wait and see if this will end any different.
I’m sorry to hear that, Thomas? Did you try elevating your complaint to a Level 2 supervisor? Remember, if the person on the phone is not helping you, or says “there’s nothing they can do” you can always ask for their supervisor. And if they can’t help, you can often ask for the Level 3 supervisor.
That being said, I would drop those cards too, if they failed to waive the charges.
With Citi, i called three times, no go.
And and update to Discover, they removed the interest charge. I’m sure i’ll get hit with some trailing interest from the lack of grace period, but at least they were willing to remove the interest.
Depending on how much it is, i might call again when i get the next statement.
I’m still stuck with the no grace period situation for the next 2 to 3 month. Which kinda sucks, because this quarter they are on 5% cash back for Grocery stores.
I just had this happen last month. Completely forgot to schedule my payment and it was late. I think this was the first time I’ve ever not paid my credit card bill on time. I sent a Secure Message to Chase and requested that the late fee ($27) and interest charge fee ($55) be removed from my account. Within a couple of hours received a message back saying they were being removed as a courtesy for being a good customer.
Len, the trick works very well for me!
Glad to hear it, Lashonda!
Excellent article! Just found your blog! And you are right about CC companies – to a point. They’ll (usually) bend over backward for their best customers, but only their best.
I have 5-6 credit cards, most with ridiculously high interest rates. Why did I choose such cards? Because they pay the best bonuses and cash back. Since I pay my bill in full every month without fail, then I never owe any interest.
My best haul was a $20,000 interest-free(!) unsecured loan from Discover a few years ago. Only catch was I had to make two purchases a month for at least $1 each — which of course was subject to interest because my minimum payment went toward the interest-free loan first. After about three years of faithfully making my exactly two $1 purchases per month, discover finally sent me a letter relieving me of the purchase obligation. I had won! I took about 6 years total to pay back that $20,000 loan and the total cost to me was maybe $100 or so. Pennies compared to how useful that $20k was.
These are some of the things you can do with 840+ credit.
Thank you for this article! It inspired me to try this with Citi and they were most gracious in reversing the interest charge. There was no late fee as I had made a payment earlier in the month. I just scheduled my payment for the wrong date.
You evidently don’t deal with Synchrony Bank
Deferred-interest schemes are a plague on the nation you can thank Synchrony Bank for that. Asking them to relieve 18 months of 35% backdated interest to the second of the card was swiped, good luck son
We had a promotional 24m no interest charge and we missed it, we just didnt realize the date was creeping up. They charged all of the interest upfront. I am prepared to pay the original balance right now…is there ANY WAY they would go for that? It seem pretty ludicrous that Im even asking.
All you can do is call and ask, Heather. Good luck to you!
OK….. so if I pay my monthly bill on time, I have never been late on a bill, yet they still charge me an amount in “interest charges” even though regular interest charges are included in the minimum bill amount, would this be considered predatory lending?
Every credit card company handles minimum payments differently. Are you sure your minimum payment includes the interest charge?
I missed my BJs credit card payment by a little over 30 minutes on the due date. I incurred a late fee and a finance charge. I called and spoke to a representative, the late fee was waived. I was transferred to a supervisor and asked if the finance charge could be waived. The answer was no, ” we are unable to waive finance charges.”
I have been a good customer but finance charges were not waived. I will call back and speak to a higher level manager.
Yes, you must be persistent and do not take “no” for an answer. If the supervisor won’t help you, then ask for the supervisor’s supervisor.
I had a promotional balance of $1160 to pay. Mistakenly I paid $1157 instead of $1160. Citi charged me $442 in interest. I called and they said they couldn’t waive it because I’ve already had a fee waived in 2016. I’m calling back tomorrow.
You should because that is crazy, Monica! In any case, the interest total doesn’t make sense at all. Let us know how it goes.
thank you for sharing the useful information on credit card interest