30 Day Late for $4 service fee

[Elijah123]

I paid the balance of may card in February and thought I was done paying off the card.  Apparently there was a $4 service charge that I didn't realize I had.  Because I didn't realize there was a charge and I thought I was at 0 I didn't pay the fee on time and now a 30 day late has shown up on my credit.  Is there anything I can do? Card Company is US Bank 

[hdporter]

First, lets get facts complete:  The billing of that fee showed up on at least two successive bills (one where it was first assessed and a second where it was reflected as a past due charge of approx 10 days), without being paid upon receipt of either statement, in order for a 30-day late to report.  This is why it's critical to open EVERY account communication ... problems like this can easily be thwarted before they become serious.

 

Enough of a lecture ...

 

First, if you haven't paid the full balance outstanding on the account yet (including posted late charges), do so immediately.  Once that payment clears and you have a "0" balance, call and ask to speak with an account manager.  Explain your circumstances that gave rise to the delinquency in concise details that warrant empathy (Something stronger than "I forgot", without resorting to pitiful statements.)  And ask that the delinquency be removed from your account history with the credit reporting agencies. 

 

If you're otherwise maintained your account in pristine condition, your request stands a reasonable shot of success, although some creditors routinely refuse to reverse reported delinquencies.

 

Whatever the outcome of that request, you might follow with a request to remove and refund the late fees.

 

I don't have any recent experience with a request to remove a delinquency.  On the other hand, it's not that unusual that I temporarily overlook a payment and am assessed a late fee (well, lets say 1-3 times a year ... suffice it to say "life is complicated").  In such instances, I have a near 100% success in having such fees reversed because I never go 30 days late on an account and creditors are willing to treat such an incident as an innocent slip, provided my account is free of delinquency for the prior 6mo - 1 year.

 

 

[hegemony]

On 9/10/2022 at 8:54 AM, Elijah123 said:

I paid the balance of may card in February and thought I was done paying off the card.  Apparently there was a $4 service charge that I didn't realize I had.  Because I didn't realize there was a charge and I thought I was at 0 I didn't pay the fee on time and now a 30 day late has shown up on my credit.  Is there anything I can do? Card Company is US Bank 

what happened when you sent a cogent goodwill letter to the exec office?

[dredee0]

Credit One got me with annual fees. I paid them off, but missed that payment. I was only late ONCE, but it didnt get to 30 days. Hope the best for you.  Now, I'm going to check into upgrading both or combining both.

[pwd847]

One time I had a 30 day late on a CAP1 card.  It was an AF on their secured card.  I paid it, and called to talk to someone.  They said that since it was the AF, and not something that I bought, they would remove the 30 day late.

 

They were telling the truth.

[legaleagle2012]

US Bank has arbitration in their CC agreements as I recall. I bet they wouldn't like to spend 4-5K over a $4.00 beef, especially when you can show a payment that matches the balance.

Edited September 15, 2022 by legaleagle2012

[centex]

5 hours ago, legaleagle2012 said:

US Bank has arbitration in their CC agreements as I recall. I bet they wouldn't like to spend 4-5K over a $4.00 beef, especially when you can show a payment that matches the balance.

And that, of course, will also very likely contribute to the loss of the account and a US Skank blacklisting. 

 

This should have been a simple 'open the envelope, see the charge, call customer service who likely would have waived the fee had everything else been in good standing on the account.' The NEXT option is what Hege suggests...goodwill to the appropriate member of the executive office who can easily be identified through public filings.