Disputing Credit Card Late Fees
Sometimes You Shouldn’t Have to Pay Late Fees
You’ve always paid your credit card payments on time. Then, one day, you get your credit card bill in the mail and you realize that you have been charged a late fee. This merits a phone call to your credit card company. However, before you go demanding a credit on your account, there are some things you need to know.
Cover Your Bases
Before you call your credit card company about any unmerited credit card late fees, you need to look into your records to determine what type of payment was sent to the credit card company. If you used a paper check, refer to your check register to determine when the payment was sent.
The next step is look at your bank statements to determine if or when the check was cashed. This could be done by looking at your online statement with your bank. Modern checks basically clear within two days courtesy of the relatively new Check 21 law.
If you sent an e-bill from your bank to your credit card company, then you would want to look into similar information. Your bank should have given you a confirmation when you sent you the bill.
You should call your bank to determine when the credit card company could have received the check. They may be able to give you an exact date if the bill is sent electronically or they can give you a rough estimate if the bill was sent by mail.
If you paid your credit card in a retail store, you would want to check the receipt that you received from the cashier. This should have a payment date on it and some type of confirmation number.
Make the Call
Once you have gathered all of the information, you need to call the credit card company and dispute the late payment. There is no need to get confrontational immediately. Most credit card companies will waive this fee if you do have a record of late payments in the past.
If the credit card company does hesitate in crediting the late fees to your account, fax them the proof that you sent your payment in on time. They will usually relent after you have shown them the documentation.