A $29 late fee for a late $11 credit card payment

[CatWoman]

I was standing near a coworker's desk and couldn't help but hear her on the phone bitching to the credit card company.

I couldn't believe it.

If you don't have $11 for a payment, where the hell are you going to get $29 for being late for not having the $11?

This country has gone straight to hell.

[slackmaster]

1. I have a card that does that too

Bank of America Visa.

:nuke:

[AntiCoup2K4]

43. Bank of America would have been my first guess

Those motherfuckers screwed up my credit for an entire decade.

[Captain Hilts]

2. MBNA did this to me for a $30 bill. I told them they had a choice...

remove the fine or I would cut up my card.

They removed the fine.

Call them.

[rucky]

10. ...and cut up your card, anyways.

it's going to be a grim January for many holiday shoppers, with the legalized loansharking rate hikes.

Bushie's big wet sloppy kiss to the credit card cos.

[Captain Hilts]

16. I pay on time in full, so the interest rates don't affect me. nt

[rucky]

17. that's the only way to stick it to 'em n/t

[NNN0LHI]

24. I do the same thing but they still make money off the cards I use

I think they charge most businesses at least 5% for every transaction made on them. So even if they are not making interest from us they still make money.

Don

[CountAllVotes]

50. I do the same thing

I pay them off in full when the cycle is up for the month. I have a few different ones. I'm getting 5% cashback on one of them from now until the end of December 2005 for all online purchases.

I have another credit card that actually gives you the money at the end of the cycle every month at a rate of 1.25%. That has been a nice thing to have. I realized the other day that I've made almost $200 using this particular credit card this year. I tend to put all of my purchases on this card being they give me the money back without waiting and not many give back 1.25% without a lot of hooks and crooks in the picture it seems to me (aka Citibank - I boycott them - they make me sick; MBNA - not a whole lot better).

:kick:

[serryjw]

67. Less than 3 percent

n/t

[KamaAina]

44. You deadbeat!

That's what they call people like us who do that. "Deadbeats". I heard that on a sweet little PBS show, "The Secret Life of Credit Cards".

"Deadbeats". How very Orwellian. :puke:

[jmowreader]

33. Please don't call it "legalized loansharking"

No loanshark in America has the balls to charge the way a credit card company does.

[rucky]

41. My apologies to all the loan sharks.

don't break my knuckles.

[datadiva]

3. That happened to me at the holiday's

I was gone and was late with three Capital One payments. I called them up and they waived all three. $29, $29 and $35. Needless to say I was very appreciative. If it had been another company it would not have happened.

[salinen]

4. Credit card companies

= legalized extortion. They purposely neglect to send the bill in order to lift $29 from your wallet. They say it's your responsibility to pay regardless if they send you a bill.

My car insurance bill never misses the mailbox.

[fnottr]

5. I've been hit with something like that a couple of times

But it was my fault for not getting the payment in on time, and I had the money to cover the late fee so I didn't push the issue with them.

It was total crap though.

[NNN0LHI]

21. It is best to call them anyway. Even if you are at fault they may waive it

The late fee assessments show up un your credit report and could end up hurting you down the road when applying for credit causing higher interest rates or even being denied credit. Its worth the phone call. Just be nice about it and they will usually waive it. Especially if you have been a long time customer with them.

Don

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. The debt racked up people on these stupid cards is staggering

It's legalized loan sharking.

One great trick is to keep moving the 'due' date around so the consumer gets sucked in to these late fees.

[joeybee12]

Tell me again why the Dems who voted for the bankruptcy bill

SHOULDN'T be held accountable?

[Captain Hilts]

8. Biden is a 'ho for MBNA. He'll never get my vote. nt

[gulfcoastliberal]

39. Bingo.

Shows who is really on the side of the working class vs the corporate whores.

[Czolgosz]

7. That used to be illegal; not any more.

[Cleita]

13. Yes, usuary has become legal. It used to be that no

company could charge more than 18% interest or they were regarded as loan shark mafia and illegal. Late fees couldn't be more than 10% of the balance owed and usually were less.

I have decided not to play anymore. I sold some of my mutual funds and paid my credit cards off. I'm going to try to find other ways to get emergency funds when I need them.

[Czolgosz]

20. In Texas, when the credit industry was trying to beat usury, they bought

the Texas Ledge to re-define all those fees so they were no longer counted as interest (because counting the fees as interest as had been the law boosted the interest past the legal limit). Now that the credit indusrty has repealed the Texas homestead protections with a constitutional amendment that caps the fees, the "legal" loan sharks have had to re-purchase the Texas Ledge to re-define those fees back to interest so that they can sneak them under the fee cap.

[serryjw]

70. Overdraft on debit card is worse

I have missed my my auto payroll check deposit by one day on my debit and it has cost me $32. When you live paycheck to paycheck it isn't easy. My AT&T ISP $21.99 comes out and there is no money in the bank until the payroll check hits...and the SOB charge me $32. It is highway robbery, when it is most me $32 for being ONE day late!.

It cost me $64 a few months ago because I was 50 CENTS overdrawn! THE SOB bank manager would not waive it!

[Cleita]

78. Since I worked with money and finance most of my life, I was

always struck how the people who could least afford penalties and fines were the ones who got them. We need a law against it.

[B Calm]

9. I find it stupid that people run up debt with a damn credit card!

[burythehatchet]

12. Buy food vs. don't use a credit card

starve today, don't be bankrupt tomorrow. Its not always about stupidity.

[B Calm]

15. If you need to borrow money for food, I can think of many places

better than a credit card to borrow money from.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

23. Who? The Mafia, perhaps? They may even give you a better interest rate.

[meow2u3]

60. The Mafia must have slithered into the corporate boardrooms

No wonder they have lobbyists push to legalize their organized crime tactics. This way, RICO can't touch those snakes! :grr:

[NNN0LHI]

27. That is the funny thing about borrowing money

The person who really needs a loan often doesn't qualify for one.

While someone who really doesn't need a loan can get one any time. All he has to do is ask.

Don

[Captain Hilts]

57. True. I'm unemployed and finishing a doctorate...

because I am not applying for at least three jobs a week, I don't qualify for unemployment, because I'm not registered at least half time at a university I don't qualify for educational loans and because I'm not employed I don't qualify for ANY loans.

My credit union told me to take a hike!

[MiniMe]

113. If you don't have money for food, how will you qualify for the loan? nt

[Captain Hilts]

14. This is just being perhaps hours late getting the payment in.

I always pay in full.

[B Calm]

18. Wouldn't it make more sense to use a debit card..?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

87. It would make a lot more sense if you would save your comments....

...for subjects about which you have some minimum understanding.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

22. Sounds like you've never had to choose between necessities like....

...food for your family by using a credit card, or nothing at all. Or maybe the utilities had to be paid. Or maybe a large hospital bill had to be paid, and/or funeral expenses.

Yes, it's "stupid" to have to use a credit card to pay expenses, and then discover you have no way to ever pay off the debt because of the rising interest rates and late fees.

By the way, have you noticed the record numbers of foreclosures and bankruptcies? Have you ever wondered how people get to that point, or do you think they're just being "stupid"?

Maybe some day you'll realize how totally pompous and out-of-touch your comment really is.

[B Calm]

28. Sorry I offended you..

[Media_Lies_Daily]

84. No, you're not sorry at all. You have no concept of what this....

...discussion is all about. There is a growing number of Americans that are joining the ranks of the poor, and they are getting angrier by the day.

[B Calm]

112. I make 11.33 an hour, and I don't use my credit card for every

damn thing I need to buy. Some people shouldn't have credit cards, PERIOD!

[MountainLaurel]

64. Now that's a progressive attitude

A recent study showed that HALF of all bankruptcies were caused by medical expenses. Not mink coats, or plasma TVs, or Coach handbags, but a kid with a broken leg, cancer treatments for your wife that go beyond what your insurance covers (and 75 percent of the people here had health insurance at the time of the incident), or paying for speech or occupational therapy after a stroke or an accident, which is rarely covered by health insurance.

Of the others, the vast majority had experienced some kind of crisis in their life: a lost job, a divorce, a hurricane.

:grr:

[B Calm]

111. The OP never mentioned a damn thing about the person

falling on bad times!!

[Cleita]

11. Anytime a card does that to me and doesn't take back the

fee, I pay it off and cancel it. You can pay off a card by applying for a new one with a different company.

[uppityperson]

19. cell phone co I canceled with and owe $0 keeps threatening me collections

"You owe $0. If you do not pay we will add interest and send you to collections" sort of thing.

[Cleita]

26. This happened to me with the Bank of America years ago.

I closed my account with them, because they started charging me for my checking account. They kept adding the service charge and it kept building up. I ignored them for awhile until they decided to get nasty with me. I had the cancelled check with the teller's stamp verifying that the account was closed. I sent them a copy with a copy to the State Banking inspectors explaining what was happening. I never heard from them again.

You should write to the Public Utilities commission in your state and explain your problem. They should be able to put them in their place. Also, the Better Business Bureau in your state should be able to help out too.

[uppityperson]

30. I'm willing to be sent to collections for $0

They're not adding any fees, just demanding their $0. If they add any fee, I'll contact one of these guys. Thanks for the recommendations of whom to contact. In the meantime, I'll let them keep threatening me and adding $0 interest every month to the $0 I owe.

[Critters2]

35. This just made me laugh!!

Let 'em take you to court!! Sooner or later you'll hear from a human being who will see what jerks they are for harassing you over $0. You deadbeat, you!!

:rofl:

Cough up the $0, or face the consequences!!

[uppityperson]

92. Exactly. I have so far ignored them. Perhaps I should start replying

I could put rude statements on the bill, or tell them to go ahead, but I'm afraid that someone might read it and catch what's up, so am just waiting to see what happens, how long they continue to threaten me for. Dang, another $0 racked up in interest this month.

[SoCalDem]

98. Write them a check for $0.00. My friend had to do that once..

She called the bank ahead of time to tell them what the deal was.. they "paid' the $0.00 check, and the company quit harassing her:) She framed the $0.00 cancelled check and hung it on her family room wall...

[NNN0LHI]

29. I would send them the bill with a check written out for $Ø and forget it

Bet it would work.

Don

[Mr_Spock]

32. Makes you wish you could get one of them in an alley for 10 minutes

Between these ass holes and the health care ass-rapists, it wouldn't surprise me to see business leaders (the new government according to the Repukes) held personally accountable for their actions in the future.

[0007]

72. That day will soon be here and it won't be in any alley and

it will be longer than ten minutes. The French had their day and we'll get our. And they wonder why folks are going nuts!!

[Mr_Spock]

76. I wonder if they realize how many thousands of people are ready

to take their greivances to the "new" government - corporations? It's getting crazy out there...

[0007]

82. I don't know! But in my 72 years of existence, I've never seen

government and big business come right out in broad daylight to screw the poor and the middle class, while giving the wealthy tax breaks and bail outs.

[Mr_Spock]

86. The tension is building in the bow, and the arrow is very large

I can't remember a time when I was so sure that my children would have a tougher time than I did. Do Repuke only care about themselves and their own families? (don't answer that :rofl:)

[Conservativesux]

109. We had our chance in 2004. No one cared all that much, so I dont

expect the peasants to get out the pitchforks now.

[MercutioATC]

100. Write them a check for $0.00 and see if that clears things up.

If not, demand in writing that they and their agents (collection companies) stop contacting you.

If they keep attempting to collect, there might be a civil case in there somewhere.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

25. Not only that

But it'll give you another hit on your credit report, which will totally suck if you're trying to buy a house or get a loan.

[Mr_Spock]

31. I'd throw any card in the garbage that would to that to me...

...in fact, I have experienced the same thing before. I pay my card off every month, except once when I was late for some reason. They put a $25 charge on a very small balance. I called & had them remove it since I was never late before, then I cut the card into 10 pieces. If everyone did that they might have to reconsider such assinine charges.

[RoadRunner]

34. It gets worse

if you underpay your credit card bill by even a single penny, some credit card companies charge a late fee, rate-jack you to around 30%, and totally screw up your credit rating.

[sinkingfeeling]

36. My irresponsible son once thought he had money in the bank and

used his debit card about a dozen times. Had $25 charge for each use = $300! Total charges to the card was about $80. I had to 'bail' him out.

Banks make their money on these type of 'penalties'.

Haven't you heard we're a service economy now! I pay my city $18 in service fees each month on $13 of water, sewer, and trash collection!

[lovelaureng]

37. This sounds about right.

Greed has no limits in our world.

[Contrary1]

38. I remember my dad raising hell with Sears

many years ago. They charged him a .50 late fee on a $3.00 balance.
Made him mad enough not to use it again.

Things sure have changed.

[SofaKingLiberal]

40. F*** credit card companies.

I made a couple of payments late and Bank of America bumped my rates up to 30%. So I just sent them a check for the balance, money I really didn't want to have to spend right now, but there is no way I'm going to pay 30%. I also cancelled my card. I do not plan on doing business with them again.

[Don Claybrook]

42. I see we're back from Bizarro World, back from the brink

Yesterday's credit card thread seemed to be populated primarily by CC industry apologists explaining how the bankruptcy bill was a good thing and that the doubled monthly payments will force people to be more financially responsible, etc.

It's refreshing to see this thread, compared to the pro-usury thread from yesterday.

[CatWoman]

47. *bows*

thank you. :D

I got rid of mine, after much trouble, about five years ago.

[shanti]

75. wow, really?

link? i would like to read it.

[greenbriar]

45. I would have snickered and said...who did ya vote for???

if she voted bush, I would say "serves ya right


if she voted Kerry, I would encourage activism.

[Neverarepublican]

46. I am a deadbeat

I pay my credit card payment in full every month.
I hope they hate me.

[Neverarepublican]

48. Also,

If you have access to the internet, obviously,

pay you credit card payment online.

It costs nothing extra and you can do it really close to the due date.

piss them off and pay it all at once. If you can't pay it all at once I am

sorry but you over bought. Get it paid off and don't overbuy again.

[Synnical]

49. How about a $39 late charge for a $14.80 min pymt

Went thru this last month when Hurricane Wilma came thru So Fla. I left town and totally forgot to make my payment. I called and they reversed the late charge but, AS IF I could afford to pay such a late charge if I could not afford the minimum payment! I was outraged since I usually pay off my credit card bill in full every month.

I FEEL for people who cannot do this, 'cause I've been there. It's vomit inducing. So much for the middle-class.

edit for verbiage

[northzax]

66. what's the outrage?

your account clearly states the amount of the late fee, right? and when you called and explained, they eliminated the fee. So what's the problem, exactly?

If I loaned you money, and you didn't pay me back on time, I'd be annoyed as well. you had a good excuse, so I'd let it slide.

[Synnical]

71. The problem is that if I didn't pay attention

I would have been charged an outrageous late charge.

Doh! Many people LIVE on their credit cards, I do not. Try to keep up, won't you?

[northzax]

88. so, if you didn't complain,

they would have charged you a fee that you agreed to?

[Synnical]

107. I don't live on my credit cards

If I don't PAY ATTENTION to my bills, I would have been charged a fee. Jeez. Ever been thru a natural disaster, mister?

[Obamarama]

51. I just ditched my last credit card a couple months ago.

I have always paid my credit card balanace in full each month and never, ever carry a balance. As a result my finance charges have been very minimal. I basically loathe credit card companies and the way they take advantage of people so I decided to build up the balance in one of my bank accounts to the same amount as the credit limit on my credit card. I started using my debit card as I would have used my credit card. Instead of writing a check to the credit card company every month, I'd write a check to myself to deposit back into the account and "pay off my balance."

I decided to keep the credit card in case of an emergency. After a few months of zero balances, I kept getting bills for 49 cents each month. It was then I realized that the credit card company charges a minimum finance charge of 49 cents, even when you have a zero balance. This on top of a yearly $65 fee? FUCK THAT SHIT.

I promptly cancelled the card and told them to shove off. I realize this isn't a reasonable solution for many, but if you can swing it at all, I would suggest this tactic. For one, it makes me think twice about whipping out the plastic for a purchase I might not necessarily need. It also feels better to write a check to my own account every month instead of to the predatory credit card company.

Now, if I could only find a debit card that offers frequent flier miles!

[WindRavenX]

52. I'm one of those poor people dependent on a credit card

They're fucking evil, pure evil.

I am lucky I am lucky to pay the minimum+some to cover some ground.
I buy only food.

I feel like shit for carying even a tiny bit of a balance.

I hate the CC companies, I really do :cry:

[Synnical]

53. You have to put FOOD on your CC?

Oh my dear! That is one thing I have never done!

[WindRavenX]

56. yup

It sucks, You don't have to tell me.

A life based on refined sugar/carbs is terrible. It's why I'm always bitching on DU for food that's protein based.

[MissB]

62. Aww...

Aren't you still in college?

It may suck now, but it won't always be this bad. Someday you'll be able to laugh at the ramen years.

[WindRavenX]

65. yup-- I'm a Junior

And this shit can't end soon enough. Carbs suck when it's all you can eat x(

[Occulus]

96. Well, here's what happened to me...

I needed a PC for school; my parents wouldn't buy one OR allow me to grab the one they had but never used. I need to type papers and do research, lived off campus, and didn't own a typewriter.

Try doing all your work for school on campus. That's what they wanted me to do.

I begged. I very literally got down on my knees and begged. No dice.

They were happy to cosign a CC for the $1100 I needed to get a bottom-barrell PC. Knowing I couldn't pay it off.

"Well, how bad do you want it, son? We're NOT going to help you, except to get the card."

(These are the same people who found out I was gay, kicked me out of the house, and not a year later, "helped" me pack my things and left me homeless on the side of the road after I lost the apartment I was in at the time I got the card. Then my "let" me move back in with them... only to promptly cancel the school funding they were providing, thus forcing me out of school.)

All this happened over ten years ago. I'm still paying the damn thing off.

Moral:

NEVER EVER EVER CHARGE MORE THAN YOU CAN AFFORD IN CASH AT THE TIME.

Second moral: NEVER EVER EVER PUT YOUR KID IN THE POSITION MY OWN PARENTS DID TO ME.

I should add, these people pled poverty the whole time; years later, I found out they had hundreds of thousands sitting in the bank. At the time I asked, $1100 was *pocket change* to them.

I feel like I got, to put it bluntly, dicked. I learned the lesson a long long time ago, and I haven't used that card in a very long time, but the debt just WILL NOT disappear no matter what I do or how much I try to pay off.

[upi402]

54. I paid my card off, gold looks good when you look at our nat'l debt

and who owns our tender asses.

MBNA is troublesome to many. That's why I avoid 'Working Assets' credit card.

[upi402]

55. oh, and Byrd voted for the CC bankruptcy bill ...wtf?

[DanCa]

58. My debit card does that too .

I have to be very very careful and thats why I check the automated phone line every day to make sure what transaction passsed. I only get five hundred and some odd dollars on ssdi so i cant afford a late bill.

[jbnow]

59. They have many tricks

Suddenly changing the due date without notice.(Always look at bill as soon as you get it)

Having a clause that being late on other debts is cause to raise your interest rate

In fine print adding a TIME it has to be paid by on the due date

Change their payment P.O. Box

And so much more. It is easy for those of us with good credit to say we'll close the account and get a new one. But that isn't easy for everyone.

The bankruptcy bill protected them from us but didn't bother to protect us from them.

[bullwinkle428]

61. Another trick that MBNA was pulling with me -

they would move the due date around each month, to an earlier and earlier point, with a shrinking amount of time from when the statement was received to the date the bill was actually due. I bitched about the late charge once after they did it, and after doing a second time, they refused to remove it. I paid off the card (not a large balance anyway) and am using a different card now.

[SPKrazy]

63. This is true, and apparently our country's credit card debt is at record

highs!

Of course, she could have just forgot to pay it and now she gets to pay the fee.

Can't say I've never done that.

[Quixote1818]

68. I am always late but I just call them and tell them I was on vacation

and they always take it off.

[MercutioATC]

69. The late fee is in the contract. She signed it.

Whether she was late on an $11 payment or a $300 payment, she'd owe the late fee.

It bothers me when people throw personal responsibility out the window and complain about complying with a valid contract that they signed.

[Quixote1818]

73. The credit card company should only charge her the lost interest

on the money she owes them. Regardless of a signed contract when the amount owed becomes a very small amount credit card companies should have the ethics to either wave the late charge or only charge the amount of interest they lost on the $11 for that month. What if she had lost her job? What if she had a relative in the hospital and couldn't afford to pay the $11?

You are sounding a little anal retentive about something the Credit Card company could fix rather easily by having a computer programmer make a couple of adjustments. That would be a much more ethical and sincere way to do business. Remember, $35 dollars could be a families eating budget for a month and to a Bank that makes billions, that money would never be missed.

I have never been one to get caught up in this idea that just because someone signed something that relieves a company from being ethical, flexible and having compassion. Thats just ridiculous.

[MercutioATC]

74. Why should they do that?

It's specifically stated in the contract when the payment is due and what the late fee will be if the payment is not recieved on time. She agreed to this.

Nobody is forced to use credit. If you want to use credit, you agree to the terms set by the creditor. If you don't like those terms, you can 1) shop for another offer or 2) not use credit. What's the issue with this?

[Quixote1818]

79. Because it's the right thing to do and it's common sense

Rules are meant to be broken or bent when it's ethical. Then again we could run things like FEMA after Katrina. We all know how great playing by all the anal retentive carefully crafted laws worked out for everyone when they were in charge.

Come on, you honestly believe she should have to pay a $30 late charge on $11??? This is a matter of common sense and just having a company take the time to make their terms fair. Who on earth is going to think they are going to be in a position to owe $11 and not be able to pay it???? Like she foresaw that before signing the dotted line.

Sometimes life throws people curve balls and HUGE Corporations should not take advantage of people who get stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Then again, I am willing to bet the Credit Card company waved the late fee if she explained her situation. Would you have waved it if you were on the other side of the line? I would have!

[MercutioATC]

81. It's great if they CHOOSE to do it, but they're under no OBLIGATION

(legal or ethical IMO) to do so.

Yes, I believe I should pay a $30 late fee on a late payment of $11 if that's what's in the contract I'd signed. Why wouldn't I?


Again, using credit is a CHOICE. To me it's like being late for work, getting caught speeding, and bitching about the ticket. Yes, you were simply trying to be on time, but in the process you violated the terms of your "agreement" and you paid a fee for it. I wouldn't be happy about the ticket, but I'd never suggest the cop was "unethical" for issuing it.

[U4ikLefty]

83. That was a horrible analogy.

n/t

[MercutioATC]

85. I think it's accurate.

Bitching about a ticket is no less silly than bitching about paying a late fee that's part of a contract you signed.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

89. Even the police will let you off every now and then with a warning....

...because they're still human, despite the exceptions we read and hear about in the news.

The CC companies are no better than the old feudal lords who squeezed the last ounce of goods from their serfs. They have no more understanding than did the old feudal lords of the amount of raw revolutionary anger building among their "loyal" serfs.

[MercutioATC]

94. And credit card companies often let people with an excuse off .

Neither has a legal or ethical obligation to do so...and I feel it's silly to complain if they choose not to.


CC companies are nothing like feudal lords. Serfdom wasn't voluntary. Credit use is.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

108. Tell that story to the millions of American that have either already...

...gone bankrupt, or are in the process of filing for bankruptcy. We set a new record for bankuptcies and foreclosures every month. More than 50% of those bankruptcies are due to owing very large medical fees, and/or some other large expenses.

As to your comment that CC companies often let people slide on their late fees, please define the word "often".

I find it rather curious that anyone would defend the CC companies on any grounds.

[U4ikLefty]

91. So a far as your concerned "bitching" about a credit-card contract

is the same as "bitching" about a wrongful infraction that could later lead to prosecution?

This is about unfair "credit" practices that have been going on in this country since the first Europeans set foot here & started to commit genocide.

[MercutioATC]

95. Yes. Both are legal contracts. You're expected to comply with both,

since in both cases you agreed to the terms.

As far as "unfair credit practices", I'd like to have somebody explain what's "unfair" about asking somebody to comply with the terms of a contract they agreed to.

[Quixote1818]

103. So if she owed a Penny and got charged a $30 late fee

you would be cool with that? You seem to be so bent on following the letter of a contract you will stick with that agreement to the point of absurdity.

Throw away the laws and use common sense for once. Their are times when laws and contracts become obsolete. Why is that so hard to comprehend? Most company's will change the rules if someone runs into hard times and if they don't they are ass holes plane and simple.

[MercutioATC]

104. Absolutely.

What don't people understand about late fees and/or contractual agreements?

The problems with "throw away the laws and use common sense" are 1) it costs money in terms of time and (more importantly) 2) "common sense" is subjective.

The absolute bottom line is she agreed to pay a $30 late fee if she didn't make her payment on time. She paid late.

Again, if a company CHOOSES to waive a late fee, good for them. However, they're under no legal or ethical obligation to do so.

[Quixote1818]

117. Their is no legal obligation but the ethical obligation is obvious.

The whole point of the original post was that "If she doesn't have the money to pay $11 where is she going to get the money to pay for a $30 late fee?"

We don't know the exact specifics of this case but if it is true that she doesn't have the money as the origional poster is implying then the company is under an ethical obligation to wave the late fee.

Why is that so hard to understand? Letting her slide is the good hearted, ethical thing to do regardless of the laws. Your reasoning sounds more like a business owner trying to protect your assets or a Republican rather than a compassionate Democrat who understands life is not fair and can put people into difficult situations and sometimes laws should be changed.

[FlaGranny]

97. Re: the cop

If you were caught speeding your kid to the hospital and got stopped, the cop could legally give you a ticket. Would you expect him to issue the ticket once he learned the situation?

Laws and contracts aside, there should be a place in the world for common sense and humanity.

[MercutioATC]

99. Was the late payment due to the hospitalization of a child?

That aside, the cop would STILL be justified in writing the ticket. It could be argued that you have no right to endanger others' lives (by speeding) even if your child was in the hospital.

[Quixote1818]

102. She is the Credit Card company's customer not a crook

They are making money off of her regardless of late fees. They should be thanking her for supporting their fucked up business. Late fees are only the icing on the cake for these huge corporations.

[MercutioATC]

105. She's not a crook, she just paid a bill a little late.

She agreed to pay an additional fee of $30 if she paid late.

"Their business" isn't "fucked up". Credit companies provide a service. People are free to enjoy that service if they choose. They're also free to choose NOT to. If they do choose to use the service, they're bound to complying with the agreement they signed.

What's the problem with this?

[FlaGranny]

115. He would be justified in writing the ticket

but the parent driving the kid to the hospital would be justified in believing that cop was an "asshole."

Some things are just not right - even if they are legal.

[Quixote1818]

118. Thank you

nt

[Quixote1818]

101. I believe they absolutely are under and ethical obligation to help her

Loaning people money who at the time are in a position to handle payment but then run into hard times demands sensitivity from the lender. Sure if she never made payments and was a loser that's one thing but from all appearances this lady was responsible and a good person who fell into bad times and had a hard time making a payment.

For Christ sake, the Credit Card companies make more money than almost any other industry and she is their customer who they ultimately made money from. LOTS OF MONEY!!!! The least they can fucking do is help her out during a rough period. This is clearly and ethical issue.

[MercutioATC]

106. Who said she fell on hard times?

I didn't see any mention of that in the original post.

[Quixote1818]

116. Read it again

From the original post:

"If you don't have $11 for a payment, where the hell are you going to get $29 for being late for not having the $11?"

The whole point of the original post was about someone not having the money to make a monthly payment. I would suspect becasue she fell on hard times.

[LSdemocrat]

77. Lesson: do research and don't use credit card companies that screw you

[Quixote1818]

80. Which ones dont? nt

[Media_Lies_Daily]

90. Well, you don't say. Got any clues as to which CC companies won't....

..screw you very every last penny?

[Liberal In Texas]

93. I have an .88 balance credit on my MBNA account, and do you

think I'll EVER let it go to zero?

NEVER!

Fuck these people...now they get to send me a statement every month with .88 on it.

I like it.

[iconoclastNYC]

110. I hope credit reform

Is big on the 2006 agenda......what a wedge issue that would be for us.

[Darth_Kitten]

114. I like it when they okay a charge that takes you over the limit....

and then give you that 20 dollar charge. :eyes:

Glad I'm not using credit cards right now (I've filed a proposal to my creditors) :( That's in the works and none too soon, just got a notice that on one of my cards the interest rate will have gone up to 20 percent come the new year.

:( I officially don't feel guilty anymore.