Getting A Credit Card Late Fee Removed

Posted by The Happy Rock on November 10, 2008

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That’s right, even someone who has a great 5 year track record with credit cards can occasionally make a mistake. This past weekend I submitted an electronic bill pay request for my credit card that was due on Monday. Normally I pay my bills well in advance, but rewards of financial simplicity have started to set in and I only have three bills to pay at the end the month which has dulled my watchfulness. I knew that the payment should take two days to get there, but I just overlooked that for some stupid reason.

Other than carrying a balance this is exactly the type of thing rewards credit cards thrive on and exactly the type of thing that can make having a rewards card quickly not worth it. The fee was $39, which was pretty ridiculous and it was charged instantly without any grace period.

Once I noticed the charged I quickly emailed Chase through there customer support center asking for grace.

Here is the email I sent :

I am writing to request the removal of a late fee that I was charged this month. I sent out an online bill pay before the due date, but it didn’t seem to arrive on time.

Please provide a loyal customer grace and remove the fee.

Thanks

They promptly responded and removed the fee, no questions asked. Chase said I was a valued customer and removed it as a one time courtesy. I wouldn’t expect them to do that too many more times, so I will make sure that I don’t make the same mistake again.

Just remember that everything is negotiable, especially with credit card companies.

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» Filed Under Credit Cards

Trackbacks/Pings

Roundup: The Economy and Holiday Shopping | Credit and Personal Finance Blog | Credit Karma on November 16th, 2008 7:21 am
Credit Card Late Fees With Chase Freedom - One Strike Down | The Happy Rock on December 9th, 2008 1:28 am
Removing Finance Charges From My Chase Freedom Credit Card | The Happy Rock on February 16th, 2009 8:26 am

Comments

9 Responses to “Getting A Credit Card Late Fee Removed”

Mike (3 comments.) on November 10th, 2008 1:12 pm

I have called and had this fee removed from both Citi and Chase without problems, but I have only made this mistake once for each credit card issuer.
John @ Curious Cat Investing Blog (9 comments.) on November 23rd, 2008 6:47 pm

Asking is always wise. I had a similar experience. I always pay on time but messed up once and they removed the late fee when I called. There are plenty of companies that want your business if they don’t treat you fairly don’t hesitate to leave.
Geoff on December 18th, 2008 12:58 pm

I called to remove a first time late fee for a Chase credit card and was told that they cannot remove it. I even talked with the supervisor. Then I emailed Chase customer service and got a similar response. Any advice?
Shaw (3 comments.) on February 21st, 2009 8:55 am

It depends upon different companies i believe because i got charged for late fee and you got late fee removed , i tried by calling to customer service but there was no use.
Sharon (2 comments.) on February 22nd, 2009 6:31 am

if you do happen to get a late fee, often if you call and request them to waive it for you, they will (provided you don’t make a habit of it). They will probably remind you to mail your payment out at least 10 days before it is due because of the postal time and then the company’s own processing time- so be sure to tell them you mailed it out well in advance of the due date.
Lyndsey (3 comments.) on February 24th, 2009 2:23 am

Under the circumstances I’d have expected an entire late fee to be waived, especially if you really never have had one late before. On the handful of occasions over the years I’ve been late, I’ve usually gotten the whole fee waived. But sometimes they’ve only given half. But it’s been a while - they might have tightened up.

One thing you can do, though, is set up an automatic payment of the minimum payment to be pulled on the due date every month. Cheap insurance.