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I
knew it, I knew it, I knew it!
A few years ago most credit card
banks changed their policy of what "late" means.Now,
"one day late is late," even "one minute late is late." It used to be that late was if your
payment was due on the 1st but received on, say, the 20th. Not anymore. If you're 24 hours late, it's late, and you will be charged
the late fee. Late fees have also been rising and some are now as
high as $39!
What did I know?
I had the feeling that since being
one day late means that banks can charge a late fee, it's
possible that, well, payments could "accidentally" be held
for say, oh, 24 hours. Oops, you're late!
My theory was a step closer to
confirmation when one of my credit card payments was exactly one day
late. I always track everything--every check, every payment date,
and all transactions. I use Quicken and other custom software I
developed to pay my bills. So when I was late by one day, I took a
look at the date that bank's check was mailed.
Guess how early I mailed the payment?
Seven days!
The 8th day was the late day. I
called the bank and told them that they'd better waive that fee, or I
would transfer my balance and close the account. They did waive
the fee for me, but I wonder how many other people don't call to
waive these one-day-late fees?
I wonder how many people simply pay
the late fee because they figure "well, I guess I was late." Being
exactly one day late has happened to many people I know.
I asked them if they called the bank to voice their concern and get
the fee waived. They said that
they didn't because they thought they were actually late.
Tell you what, being one day late
isn't worth 39 bucks! There is no way that it costs the bank $39 for
someone to be one day late.
The way I see it--it's like
being mugged in an alley!
As it turns out, my theory is even
closer to confirmation. Look at those small slips of paper with fine
print that come with your statement. Many of those papers are
lawsuit notifications from banks that are accused of "not
crediting payments promptly," and charging late fees.
The funny thing is that in these
class action lawsuits, when the smoke clears, the lawyers get paid
millions, and most of us only get back a few cents! Every case that
I'm involved in, because I'm a cardholder, has been settled without
the bank having to admit any wrongdoing.
What can we do?
Be sure to look at every charge on
your credit card statement. Don't let the bank get away with
charging you a late fee. I don't care if it's really your fault for
being late!
First of all, it doesn't matter
because $39 is a rip-off for being 24 hours late. And, second of
all, the bank should treat you like gold for being a good customer,
and should waive at least one late fee as a courtesy even if it IS
your fault.
--End--
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