I have several credit cards. All of which I pay off each month.
I have one that I use for most of my expenses: groceries, petrol, utilities, etc. I have it set to be paid automatically each month.
I have a few others that I rarely use unless I’m making a purchase at a specific store. With those cards, I try to pay them off as soon as I make the purchase.
Well this month I made a mistake. I forgot to pay one of my rarely used cards off. I was alerted to my omission the other night via text that I was hit with a $25 late fee.
Ugh. I hate that.
I immediately paid off all my balance. Then I called up the bank and asked if there was anything they could do about the late fee. They said my account was in good standing and they would waive the fee.
Now I don’t think my bank had to do this. After all, they might say “I’m sorry, your payment was late and we can’t help you,” in which case I will have lost $25.
But you don’t know unless you ask.
The Phone I used didn’t look like this.
I caught it within a couple days, called up the bank and got the fees reversed.
I then went in and setup my auto-pay. In this second case I don’t feel as responsible, since I had auto-pay setup, but it is another example that you just have to ask.
Plus if your bank says no, that might be a good reason to take your business elsewhere.