The Frugal Bostonian

Somehow I forgot to send this month’s payment to the credit cards folks.  I looked at the statement and realized it was due on Monday.  I quickly logged into my online banking and put through a payment.  But - that payment was not going to arrive until Tuesday.

I called the credit card people and asked if they could change the due date by one day.  The person was quite nice, but said that she could not.  I asked what I could do, she said I could express mail the payment, or make a payment through their web site.  I ended up making the minimum payment through their web site, and it should post on Sunday, so all is well.  The person with whom I spoke said that it would be ridiculous for me to incur the $39 late fee.  She was not being sarcastic, I interpreted her as agreeing that my request for one day was not unreasonable.

I don’t like that the credit card folks have my bank information (although all of this information could have been gathered from a check sent with a payment).  I have a separate checking account that I use for auto withdrawals and things like this, I am going to make sure to keep only a minimal amount of money in that account.  I’ve also been hunting around for deals when banks give you money for opening an account, and might open an account to use for electronic transactions.

I’m going to be more careful about reviewing my bills to avoid this sort of issue.   If I had not been able to pay electronically, I would have ended up using express mail, because it would have been cheaper than the late fee.