how to fight late charges
You paid your credit card on time, perha as long as one week before it was due. The next month you check your statement and see a $39 charge for a late payment. Angered, you call the credit card company and learn that the payment was credited to your account one day after it was due. Further questioning reveals an important fact: even one week is merely enough time to get your bill proce ed. Fortunately, your late charge was reversed becaemploy you took one important step.
Just becaemploy you have been a e ed a late charge doe t mean you must pay it. If you receive a late charge, contact the credit card company and interpret what ha ened. At least for the initial infraction you should have the charge reversed. However, if you have a pattern of being late then dont anticipate help from the company.
Sometimes co umers arent sure when a payment is proce ed. If you’re paying online, make sure that the date that the funds are being credited is at least one day before the due date. Even if it’s paid on the due date, it may not be credited to your account until the afternoon. Many companies co ider bills on time as long as they are proce ed by 1 p.m. on the due date.
If you mail in your bill, check the addre where the bill is going to. If it’s a post office box the credit card company may not get there every day to pick up the mail. They should, nonetheless then they may not. In addition, if it’s an out-of-state addre , anticipate that the mail will take some time to get there. Most mail is delivered in 2-3 days nonetheless bottlenecks and the holiday season can slow things down. Ask if the credit card company can give to you a local mailing addre big card lendrs have addre es scattered acro the country to receive payments find one that is near to you. Better yet: pay your bills online.
If you’re polite and mention your good and long standing relatio hip with the credit card lendr when you call them, then your late charge should be reversed. If you have a history of making late payments, dont anticipate any help. Remember, you can always ask for a reversal all they have to say is no. Be polite and the clerk on the other end of the phone is likely to accommodate your request.
