How to Waive Credit Card Late Fees

I’m not one of those so-called “success stories” on the Internet who brag about saving up all these years and have no bills to speak of in retirement. Are these people for real? Who do you know spends $30-40 grand on annual travel while retired? I don't know of anyone who has $40 grand in the bank!

I am a retiree slowly paying down my credit cards bills. They aren’t going down as fast as I want them to, so I have to keep paying them and settle for the progress I have made.

Whether you’ve noticed it or not, the banks and credit card companies have stuck to the trend of charging their customers late fees for each time they are late paying their bills. Even if you’ve been good about paying your credit card bills on time, there could be a time or two when a bill is accidentally overlooked.

If you are organized and keep up with your bills, most likely, you very seldom are in danger of having to pay these expensive credit card late fees, but it may happen.

Last month, I went out of town and paid one of my bills through my automatic payment plan at my credit union. Unfortunately, the payment arrived two days late. When I received my credit card bill for this month, I noticed the $35 late fee that I was expected to pay.

Of course, I was angry for a minute, but not for long. Yes, this was my fault. I could have paid the bill before leaving on my trip. I could have run over to the bank right after I returned from my trip. But why worry over this? The charge was done and staring right at me.

There is a way around paying this, and I was going to give it a shot. I did get this $35 charge waived, and I did manage to get it erased from my credit card bill.

Long ago, I used to work for a consumer agency. I fielded calls from people who were upset because they were stuck with worthless automobiles and didn’t know what to do. Day after day, I had to field calls from people who were upset. People can be very abusive on the phone, and it took a few months for me to not take their behavior personally. But there were times when I did go home in a depressed mood because someone yelled, cried or cussed me out.

When dealing with someone on the phone, always be pleasant. If you feel you cannot talk to this person, simply asked to speak to a supervisor. If you want to have that credit card fee waived, here are the steps on how to deal with a telephone representative:

Don’t dial the bank or the credit card company if you are angry.

I repeat. If you get angry and start to yell or scream at the credit card representative, forget about working with this person to get what you want. Pick up the phone, dial the number, stay calm, and keep your voice low. Do not allow yourself to lose your temper.

Briefly explain that you received the bill stating that you owed a late fee, and you are aware the payment was late.

Don’t go into too much detail other than you realize you were in the wrong. If you paid this bill, explain that you aware it was late. But you did pay it as quickly as you could.

The contact person may verify when the payment was received and insist it was late. Therefore, you are being charged.

Let the representative talk. When he is done explaining when the company received your payment, this is the time for you to request that this late fee be waived.

If you have been paying your credit card bills all along, you have leverage when it comes to getting the late fee waived.

Ask the representative to waive this fee because you have been a good customer by paying your bill on schedule. Repeat this request clearly if the representative decides to go on about your payment being late.

There is no reason why you can’t get this fee erased from your bill.

If you have a record of paying your bills on time, the representative will work with you and erase the fee so you won’t have to pay it.

If your request is refused, ask to speak to a supervisor.

Don’t back down when it comes to getting your way. If you ask to speak to a supervisor, the representative could easily change his mind and take the fee off your record. No one really wants to have their supervisor come over to do their work, right?

If your call is shuffled to a foreign country, and if you are female, the male representative may give you a hard time. I had a case where the representative was not going to listen to what I was saying, so he found it easier to recite something from his call center manual. I asked to speak to his supervisor several times and notified him that we had a problem communicating. It was his responsibility to transfer my call to his supervisor. Before talking about my problem to his supervisor, I put in a “good word” about the employee and the lack of professional service he had given me.

Document your phone experience.

Keep good records anytime you speak to your bank or your credit card company because they are required to keep track of the times you’ve contacted them. Write down the full name of the representative, the date and time, and the purpose of your call. It is best that you get a first and last name. The last time a representative only offered his first name and refused to give me his last name, I bypassed him and asked to speak to his supervisor. I'm not willing to track down a "Mark" or a "Sheila" when I'm trying to make my request stick. First names don't cut it when you are trying to make a point.

"We don't have a Mark or Sheila," the company can easily say. Stick to a first and last for your records.

If that fee comes back to bite you after you had made arrangements with the company to not be charged, get on the phone and insist, "Hey, I talked to your representative, Mr. So-and-So on October 1, 2011. Do you have that on record?" This is why you need to keep good records of your conversations. Armed with this information, most likely, the credit card company will comply with your wishes.

Do not be intimidated by anyone on the phone.

Emphasize that you are a loyal customer with a record of paying your bills on time. You are most likely dealing with a person who fields calls all day, and to get the attention you need, play the game and be polite. Keep in mind that if you fail to communicate with this person, don't give up. Go up the chain of command if you have to, but your next step is the supervisor.

If it helps you any, picture this: the first person you are dealing with is most likely sitting at a small desk, a cubicle or a large room with other representatives. This person is your first contact with the company. It is ideal that you start and finish you request here to save time. But if you have to, go over this person's head and ask to talk to the supervisor.

You do have time to explain away your problem, so take as much time as you need. Who wants to pay a late fee when you’ve been paying this same credit card bill all along? Be firm about your request and don’t give up. Remember this is your money, and any savings will help you. If you first contacts fail, you can always pick up the phone and try again later.

A Note from Arlene: It is never too late to save money. Paying late credit card fees is a waste of time and money. I do understand that in some circumstances, late credit card fees can multiply quickly, but if you do have the cash to pay your credit card bills in the first place, pay them. Look positively into the future because one fine day, you will be done with this nonsense. I will continue to write Hubs on saving money as I go along. I retired in 2002, so saving money and the words, "discount" and "free" are getting my attention and turning my pretty little head.