Fighting Over-the-Limit Credit Card Fees

The credit card company did the right thing in removing this horrendous charge. Especially considering that the customer has an excellent payment history. Same thing happened to me. The first rep I spoke to was rude and said it couldn't be done. Didn't want to give me his employee I.D. or the city he was in, so I hung up and called the #800 again. The second rep I spoke to was happy to remove the charge. I have only paid late once in 15 years. I have a FICO score of over 750. It would have been poor judgment on the issuers part to NOT do this.

Moral: If the first rep isn't willing to be reasonable, try another. Or switch cards.

The over limit and late charges are out of line. Mind you . . .you are only willing to make this "mistake" once in a certain period of time. So be very cautious . . one day past the due date can get you a $29 fee also and that is easy to do in this busy world. I also have a very high fico score. The credit card companies removed mine with a warning that "since you haven't done this before". Consumers need to find out how to get this horrendous charge off the process entirely. . .thirty days and you are charged interest. pay more than your payment one month and it does not count to next month . .anyway they can get extra charges they do. Now how do we stop it.

I have had the same thing happen to me several times. Being an over the road driver I am unable to have access to internet to always check my balances. And the credit card people have always removed the charge.

I remember getting a double over the limit fee from Cross Country Bank. I received a new card with a small credit limit of about $400. I made a trip to a computer store about a week later, and charged up about $394 worth of items. Since I was so close to the credit limit, I planned on sending in a payment in about a week. Just so happens the billing date was in a week (which I didn't know), so this being the end of the billing cycle, I was charged about $6.50 in interest, which took me over the credit limit. I was charged a $35 over the limit fee. Well, the next day was the new billing cycle, and guess what? I'm still over the limit the next day, so I was charged another over the limit fee! I was able to get one of the fees removed. Basically, I did not charge over the limit, but I was never told the billing cycle was going to end 2 weeks after getting the card. With a Capital One card I had, if the over the limit was caused by them charging interest, I was not charged an over the limit fee, which is nice. I can charge up to the limit without worrying about paying fees because of the interest.

Yes, it does pay to squawk. While wintering in Florida last year I received a statement for a charge on a Sears credit card. The statement was dated the 2nd of the month and due on the 25th. They mailed it to my NY address and the forwarding date (on the yellow forwarding strip) was the 21st and mailed over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend from NY to Florida. It was due the day before I received it. I sent a brief note of explanation with the undated billing envelope with the Post Office's forwarding date on it along with full payment to their office in Texas asking that I not be charged any penalty because of the mail delay. Where it was between the 2nd and the 21st is anybodys guess. I received a statement the following month, December, showing a balance due of $15 plus a $1 finance charge. I wrote a calm and detailed letter to their problem resolution section in Nevada on Dec 19th and never received a reply. The January statement showed a balance due of $16 and another $1 finance charge. A phone call on January 17th finally resolved the problem and I received a $17 credit on the February statement.