Comments on: Credit Card Late Fees With Chase Freedom – One Strike Down

By: Andy @ Retire at 40

Andy @ Retire at 40 — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:04:07 +0000

This post has been featured on the 89th Carnival of Money Stories at Retire at 40.

By: Pinyo

Pinyo — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:02:21 +0000

I’m sorry, but it happens to the best of us. I’ve slipped before and have successfully negotiated the removal of fees and finance charges on some occasions. But sometimes, you have to pay the price.

But overall, like you said, I still come out on top.

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:15:36 +0000

@Thecpa – This is one area where I diverge from Dave. I don’t think people who get control of their spending and pay the bill off every month can’t put purchases through a cash back card. With that said if it is causing hassle, grief, or even stress then there are bigger things to spend you time and energy on. As it stands I will get $400 back from Chase this year, which is a decent chunk of change and once this is past it shouldn’t be any more hassle.

@Ryan – The rate seems to be the same

@John – You may be proved right if it happens again, but I am not willing at this time.

@Others – At your recommendation I will try and call in the next day or two and see what I can get done.

By: shela

shela — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:47:47 +0000

A lot of people don’t like Chase, but most banks do charge a late fee in the $30 to $40 range if a payment is late. The real issue here is that your payment was late because you weren’t paying attention.

If you have a credit card account with Chase, they can e-mail you a statement and it will arrive in your in-box: print out the payment coupon as soon as it arrives and send the payment right away. Or try an e-mail reminder service to remind you of the payment due date far enough ahead of time that your payment won’t be late. Or do what I did: when Chase sends you an offer of $100 or $125 to open a checking account, take them up on it and then schedule regular payments from your checking account to your credit card (I schedule a payment each week to cover the purchases for the prior week). Chase bonus points and dollars never expire for customers who also have checking accounts with Chase, so that is an additional bonus.

I have had no problems with Chase, other than I sometimes do not get the Chase Rewards Plus bonuses when I make purchases through their links to merchants. I just wait 8 weeks, and if the bonus is not credited, I send an e-mail to customer service. I have only had to do this three times in the past year, and they have consistently credited the bonus within 4 hours of receiving my email. Chase even sent me a holiday card last year thanking me for my business — no other company has even bothered to do that.

By: jacquelin

jacquelin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:39:56 +0000

I did have a simular problem, but not with Chase. I did call my credit card bank and talk to a rep. When I asked to have the late fee removed, I was told a flat out “no.” -even though I had been with this credit card company for 15 years and on excellent standards with them. So when I was told “No.” I said, “fine, then you give me no choice but to cancel this card, (and I said her name.” “And I will write to the company and tell them what happened with you, (I said her name again.) I also stated the time of call, and the date, like I was taking down notes. She then removed the late fee-a little p.o.’d, but she did. I still have the card-that was about 5 years or so ago. Maybe you could do that-it’s worth a try.

By: John @ Curious Cat Investing Blog

John @ Curious Cat Investing Blog — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:54:02 +0000

My belief is it isn’t worth dealing with such companies. They constantly make it annoying to deal with them. Just cancel the account, it isn’t worth the cash back to deal with them in my opinion.

By: Credit rapide

Credit rapide — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:04:52 +0000

This company is horrible! Such a big company making such a big mistake. Good luck

By: Ashley @ Wide Open Wallet

Ashley @ Wide Open Wallet — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:36:52 +0000

You should call. Email is ok, but calling is way better. It’s a lot harder to say no to someone over the phone then trough email.

Depending on how determined you are you can always “rep shop”. That’s when you keep calling back talking to a different customer service person and asking. Eventually you will find someone who will take it off.

By: Ryan K from Going Carless

Ryan K from Going Carless — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:19:24 +0000

You might want to check out your APR too. They probably raised that…

By: Thecpa

Thecpa — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:05:33 +0000

Happy Rock,

Let’s get Dave Ramsey involved. If you called him to discuss this situation you would probably hear him say, “Happy Rock, pay off this card and cancel it now! They are a bunch of filth to deal with. Why do you think they offer such a generous cash rewards program? It’s not for your benefit. It’s for Chase’s benefit. You know how you can tell if they are lying? Because their mouths are moving. You need to get gazelle intense with paying this off.” That’s what I think he would say to you.

Need I say more?