This is really a reminder to myself and anyone else who happened to miss a payment on a credit card. The typical fee is around $40 and many banks will readily remove it unless you are a repeat offender. This just happened to me last week with my Chase Freedom Plus and I was able to reverse the fee in one short phone call.
Steps to take if you missed a payment
1. Pay off the overdue balance as soon as possible
2. Wait for a few days till your payment is through
3. Call the service center and explain your situation
4. The officer will usually reverse the fee unless your are repeat offender
Now, since I always pay my balance in full I was also hit with an unusual for me finance charge (the interest on the balance). So far I have not been lucky to reverse that one… :-(
Did you have a recent late fee charge on your credit card? Did you try to remove it? Please share your experience in the comments!
Yes I did. It was on my Capital One No Hassle Card. I always pay my balance in full every month as well. I took the amount out of my checkbook and filed my bill in the paid file, but FORGOT to make my payment online!! I had no clue it was overdue until my bill came the next month with a $35 late fee and $10 finance charge.
I called Capital One right away and told them what I’d done and they reversed both charges for me!! They’re great to work with.
I recently forgot to pay my Chase Amazon card. I have never been late on this card. I called and asked if the late fee could be removed. The answer was no. I cancelled the card on the spot. I suspect the agent helping me was having a bad day. I probably should have asked to speak to a supervisor.