Request for late fee reversal

Most people are under the impression that banks and credit card
companies are non-profit organizations. They are not. Fees are a huge
source of income for these organizations. You overlooked your bill. It
sucks to have to pay a fee, but you do. Get a calender and keep up
with your due dates.

I had a Barclays card and I paid it about 4 days before the due date
online. A few weeks go by and someone calls me from Barclays (ugh)
saying there is some problem with my last payment. The bank accepted
the online payment then 7 days later "returned" it and I was hit with
a late fee AND returned check fee. A total of 68.00. None of which
was my fault.

Called the bank and they researched the whole thing and said the
payment was never received on whatever date it was. But they also said
they never returned anything either.

I confirmed all bank account number with them and they are correct,
all I can say is that it was a computer error. But they refused to
take off the fees so I paid the balance the next month and quit using
the card. I got a notice a month ago from them saying they are
knocking my limit down to $1000 due to late payments (one..and it
wasn't my error) and some other reason. I don't need more than that
anyway.

Don't even get me started on the bailouts!

"I would like Chase to reverse the $39.00 late fee and to keep the
terms of my credit card agreement as it was before the late payment."

You want them to keep their part of the agreement (which they did) but
you want out of your late fee?

In what world does that make sense?

I imagine their way of thinking is that long standing customers have
to abide by rules just like new customers do. And being a long time
customer you should have your credit card payment routine pretty well
set.

Please let us know what their response is. I am curious to see if they
do reverse it or not...and if not what your next move will be.

That's odd, I was 3 days late on my chase card last month & they
reversed the late charge on my first call. It was my first late fee
ever, maybe that's why. Possibly send them an email.

You were late, you pay the fee.
But it simply can't hurt to ask, and I think its great you did. If
they do refund it for you being persistent, good for you. However I
think you may be out of luck.

But its always worth it to try.
I recently got "bit by the snakes" and talked my way out of $70 of
debit card overdraft fees due to an issue of my paycheck DD being held
as "pending". It saved me $70, so by all means at least try in
situations like these. They would love for you to pay the money and
shut up, but then they win.

I hate to say it but everyone who wants companies to bend the rules
usually says "long standing customer".

The point is, the fine print of these credit cards specify what the
rules are.

And you want them to bend the rules you agreed to... yet keep the
"keep the terms of the agreement".


My lease says that if I don't pay my rent by a specific day, I have to
pay 10% extra. There's nothing in there that says they'll overlook it
if I just "forgot to pay" or if I'm a "long standing resident". They
expect me to pay ahead of time, or on time.

I suspect that right now a lot of banks are tightening up the rules on
forgiving fees that customers are legitimately charged. Even those
banks that have previously waived fees for you might not do it for
other customers who have always paid on time in the past.

to make an error and miss a payment, why is Chase "unreasonable" in
refusing to refund your fee for your mistake?

The terms of your account clearly state that if you fail to pay by a
certain date that they can charge you a fee for that. You missed the
date, no matter what the reason, so they charged the fee.

If other banks, or even Chase/WaMu have done this for you in the past,
as you pointed out, it was supposed to be a "one time courtesy." There
is no guideline that says you get one "courtesy" per card or per
account. It would seem that your "courtesies" have been all used up.

Look at it this way: I can promise because of this that you'll
remember when that payment is due next month and I'll bet you'll never
miss another payment to them again!

There was nothing wrong with you asking, but they have every right to
say no...and they also have the right to change your terms.

I guess it doesn't hurt to ask, but you broke the rules so you will
probably have to pay the fee.

Sounds like you already talked to a representative but I think you
chances of getting the fees reversed are much better by talking to a
rep than writing a letter.

I also had one late payment for the first time when Chase took over
Wamu. I loved Wamu, I can't stand Chase. I currently have my credit
card hidden so I won't use it anymore and plan on canceling it as soon
as I have it paid off. Unfortunately you were late, you have to
accept the consequences.

These are the times we live in!!!! Especially with credit card reform
on the horizon, these companies are looking to scrape every last
dollar out of customers while they still can!!!

You chose to sign up to their terms and conditions, when you dont you
get what you signed up for, a late fee.

If you dont like their rules, cancel the card(s). If you play with the
snakes, you will eventually get bit.


Good Day

I paid my Chase card a few days late during the transition from WaMu
to Chase. It was completely my fault - I didn't realize the web site
would be unavailable for several days (even though they sent me
somehtin saying so, I guess). Not only would they not reverse the
late fee, but they raised my interest rate to 29.99%. ugh. I have
since paid off the card and will not use it again.

We had another card that transitioned to Chase from a lesser known
bank. Never paid late - not once. Got notified a few months after
the transition that the interest rate would be raising - we didn't
accept and cancelled that card.

I hate Chase. My advice would be to try to find another card to roll
the balance to if you can't afford to pay it off right now. Your
interest rate will go up next.

Good luck.

You asked to have a fee that was correctly assessed to your account
forgiven, and they said they couldn't do it. That is probably the end
of the story.

As far as the rates, this is a credit card company, so under the
current laws and your contract they can change them pretty much at
will. That will be changing soon, but for now you better be careful
to not make another mistake.

You admit you were late and you were charged a fee in accordance with
the terms of your account. While it's fine to ask, they said no so I
believe you got your answer.