Late fees? Pfft! Say these 4 lines to get them waived!
Written By: Nick Nguyen | Read full profile
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Pending on who you talk to, credit cards are either a way to generate wealth or a means to make you poor. I subscribe to the former group of people. Growing up with very meticulous parents, I learned early on to always pay my credit card balance in full, 3 days before the due date in case there was a billing issue. So, when credit cards with cashback, travel miles, and reward bonuses became a thing, I was on top of it!
What I love about Ramit Sethi’s book, I will teach you to be rich, is that he eases you into the process in case you’ve never owned a credit card before and explains how they work in terms of your credit score. Chapter 1 is all about learning how to optimize your credit cards to keep things simple and not pay any unnecessary fees.
If you’re a bookworm like me and want to have the script ready to go when you dial the number on the back of your credit card, go and grab a copy at your local library, bookstore, or amazon. (This is also a great Christmas gift for your friends and family who want to make more money or have a higher credit score but don’t know how).
Anyways, this quote really resonated with me because I learned to do the same whenever I negotiate for anything customer-service related! It happens in the part of the chapter where he talks about late fees. Now realize, we’re all human. Everyone has paid something late at least once. But, know that you don’t have to be penalized for it if it’s your first (or second) time! If you’ve got a good track record, you can get this fee waived with 3 simple sentences after a 5 minute phone call!
Seeing how most late fees range from $10 to $50, this is a quick and easy way to make money at way more than minimum wage! If you could save $10 in 5 minutes, that’s $120/hour! Salary wise, that’s the equivalent of $230,400/year assuming you work 48 weeks a year. And you can do it while on your daily walk, driving in to work, or during your morning workout on the treadmill. Talk about multitasking!
Here’s a paraphrase of the script he has in the book, but with Nick’s Twist:
You: Hello! Thank you so much for taking my call! I’m having an issue with my credit card, I know I missed a payment and incurred a late fee, could you confirm that I this won’t affect my credit score?
Customer Service Agent: Please give me a moment as I check for you. Since you paid off your balance within a few days after the due date, this won’t affect your credit score.
You: Awesome that’s great to hear! For the late fee, I’d appreciate you helping me remove that from my account.
Customer Service Agent: Unfortunately, this is something that happens when you don’t pay your bill on time.
[yes, sometimes they can get snarky with you]
You: I understand. This was completely my fault, but I will make sure that this doesn’t happen again. Please help me remove the fee. I’d like to stay a loyal customer of your card.
--- Most of the time here, the rep will be able to help you here and give you a 1 time credit, but if they want to be really difficult ---
Customer Service Agent: My apologies, but this fee can’t be refunded.
You: I’ve been a customer for 2 years, I have multiple accounts with you. I’d really hate for this one fee to make me move all my business away from your service. What can you do about this late fee?
Now they might escalate this to their manager and magically get a one-time courtesy exception for you and all is well! This conversation won’t last more than 5-10 minutes (not including hold times), and you could easily save some money! Just be wary that this only works if you’ve done it a few times over a spread out period of time. You can’t do this every month.
After working on the customer service side of things for the last 10 years, I’ve learned that you everything is negotiable. You might not get the result you want, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Feel free to check out how I recently saved $120 in 7 minutes on my internet and cable bill.
*Nguyening Lifestyles is not a registered financial service provider and does not give financial advice. All information in these posts are for entertainment purposes only. Nguyening Lifestyles is not liable for any actions or outcomes that transpired after your reading of the following post.