Why I appreciate the movie "Idiocracy" more and more every day: A brief rant

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Let me preface this with the fact that I am not one to be an a-hole. I'm the type of guy who is polite to telemarketers who call during dinner. If the waiter doesn't bring me exactly the right order, I usually suck it up and eat it anyways--it's food, you know? But my patience was severely tested yesterday.

So here's the background: My credit card statement for the month of August never arrived on the mail. Not sure if it was never sent, or it got lost in the mail, or was sent to the wrong address, but whatever it was, I never got it. Therefore, I had absolutely no idea what my balance was for the month of August, until I received a phone call from the credit card company telling me my payment for August was overdue. (Keep in mind I pride myself on meticulously paying the entire monthly balance on time every month.)

So I call up the credit card company, explain the situation about the fact I never recieved the bill in the mail, note that I am never delinquent with the payment and that I will be sending in my payment accordingly. I am told there is a $39.00 "service charge", of which I assume is the interest for the apparently late payment. I ask for that amount to be credited towards my next statement due to the fact that I was not late for any fault of my own. I am told they cannot do that. I am persistent, ask for the manager, who says the same thing. I hang up, call again and the next service representative tells me, sure, they can credit the service charge to my next statement.

So I get my September statement, which was apparently printed before the August statement got worked out. So naturally, it shows a balance of $XYXY, which includes the $XXXX for August and the $YYYY for September. It shows the $39.00 "service charge", which I have assumed was credited towards my October statement, but it also shows a $38.05 "finance charge" which I was never told about. Knowing the difficulty it took just to get the service charge credited, I call up again to inquire about the "Finance Charge"

I speak to Customer Service Representative A. Ms. A is about as dumb as the day is long. I first ask about the "Finance Charge" and in a roundabout way, she first tells me it is an annual fee. So I ask her if it is in any way related to the mixup about the August bill. She tells me yes. I ask her why the annual fee would reflect a monthly error. She then tells me it isn't an annual fee, it is the interest charge for the late August bill. I then tell her that you already assessed me for a "service charge", which was to be credited back to me, so why am I now being hit with a finance charge? I figured the service charge was for the interest. She tells me they are two different charges, but as much as I try to ask, she can't tell me why there are two different charges. I then ask her that because the late August payment was not my fault, and that you agreed to credit my service charge, you should also credit my finance charge. She says she cannot do it. Fine, I say, and I ask for her supervisor.

A: "The supervisor cannot credit your finance charge either."
Me: "Why not? They credited my service charge."
A: "Sir, the terms and conditions of your credit card agreement state that you are subject to the finance charge for any late payment. Would you like a copy of the terms and conditions?"
Me: "No, I would like for you to credit my finance charge like you did for my service charge."
A: "No one here can credit your finance charge. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Me: "Yes, I would like for you to credit my finance charge. I always pay on time and I don't want your mix up negatively affecting my credit."
A: "I'm sorry, I cannot do that. But if you like I can send you a copy of the terms and conditions."
Me: "I told you, I don't want a copy of the terms and conditions. I would like for you to credit my finance charge."
A: "(Pause) Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Me: "Yes--credit my finance charge. Can I please speak to your supervisor?"
A: "My supervisors are....in a meeting."
Me: "All of them?"
A: "Yes."
Me: "When will they be out of the meeting?"
A" I don't know. But they will tell you the same thing. They cannot credit your finance charge."
Me: "And you are so certain of this? They credited my service charge, so they should credit my finance charge."
A: "If you like, I can send you a copy of the terms and conditions."
Me: "I'm telling you again, I don't want a copy of the terms and conditions. I'd like to speak to a supervisor."
A: "The supervisor will tell you the same thing I am telling you. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

Frustrated, I punt on the service charge issue.

Me: "Actually, there is. My September bill is for $XYXY. I have since paid $XXXX for the August bill. Because I've had such difficulty with the company, I'd like for you to confirm that the amount for only the September bill is $YYYY so I can pay it in full and not have any amount outstanding."
A: (Long Pause)
Me: "Hello?"
A: "Your current balance on your account is $ZZZZ."
Me: "Yes, I know that. But my October bill has not been sent out yet, so that's not a final number. I'm talking just for the September bill, minus the August bill."
A: (Another long pause)
Me: "Hello?"
A: "Our records have your current balance on the account as being $ZZZZ. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Me: "You didn't answer my question. I wanted you to confirm that if I pay $YYYY, my September bill is paid in full."
A: "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Me: "Okay, let me make this simple. The amount on my September bill was for $XYXY, but that also reflected the $XXXX I already paid for the August bill. So if I subtract $XXXX from $XYXY, I get $YYYY. If I pay $YYYY, will in fact my September bill be paid in full, or are you going to hit me with another service charge or finance charge?"
A: (Yet another long pause) "Your current balance on your account is $ZZZZ."
Me: "You know, this is just about some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced in my life. I'm this close to cancelling my account with your company."
A: "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Me: "Yes, I want you to confirm the remainder of what I owe for the September bill, since I've already paid the August bill."
A: "According to what we have recieved, the remainder of what you owe for the September billing amount is....$YYYY."
Me: "Thank you."
A: "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Me: "NO!"

And I hang up. I then redial the customer service line in a vain attempt to speak to another representative who might have a little better understanding on the finance charge issue. As the phone rings, I pray I don't get stuck with Ms. A again. Finally, Customer Service Representative B picks up. The following is my conversation with Ms. B in its entirety.

B: "Hello, how may I help you today?"
Me: "Yes, I had a situation where my August bill was never sent to me in the mail. After I paid it, your company agreed to credit me the service charge. But I was never told about the finance charge, and since my late payment was as the result of a mix-up and not my own fault, and because I don't want this negatively affecting my credit, I was hoping to have the finance charge credited as well."
B: "Have you since paid the outstanding amount for the August bill?"
Me: "Yes I have."
B: "Certainly, I can go ahead and credit you the $38.05 for the finance charge for the October billing cycle. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Me: "No, that's it. Thank you."
B: "You have a nice day."

Good lord, I just needed to get that all off my chest.

:mad:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. bump n/t

[unpossibles]

2. I am convinced this is how they make money off of people who pay off their cards

I've had things like this happen before too. I had them once lower my limit to what my balance was because they claimed I paid late when I didn't, and then because the interest went over the (new) limit - despite it being far lower than the original limit - they charged me an additional $100 plus some other BS charge.

I cancelled my account and paid them off, but it ended up costing me the $100+ because I got sick of trying to fight it.

Credit card companies are such a scam.

[Yavin4]

3. You Should Use The CC's Website To Track Your Charges

and keep records of all of your credit card charges. I track all of my charges and compare them to the CC's website. I then pay them through the website.

[trackfan]

4. I feel for you.

About a year ago, I left my credit card bill, on which I generally carry no balance, under a big stack of papers; so, by the time I found it, it was the due date. I immediately sent the bill in, but I got the next bill with the late charge. Imagining a scenario like yours, I decided not to even bother calling, but just paid the full amount, plus about $100 dollars just to cover any odd carry-forward finance charges. I was told by friends that they would waive all fees if I dickered long enough, but I just couldn't face dealing with it.