Hey there!

Did you know that the average American household carries about $15,654 in Credit card debt?

That number is astonishing given that the average household income in the United States is about $59,039!

That’s over 26% of our average income just in credit card debt!

If you’ve all been following along with me on my journey so far, you’ll know that I racked up a lot of credit card debt in my late teens and early twenties.  Way more than the household average.  If you haven’t been following along, feel free to see how my financial mistakes cost me over $300,000 and get a feel for why I want to help all of you avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made along the way.

Naturally, with this amount of credit card debt, you are bound to come up late on a credit card Payment or two.

Whether you don’t have the funds or you simply forget to pay, whatever the case, we’ve got you covered because I’ve been there and I’ve been in your shoes.

Today, I’m going to provide you with exactly what you need to say to negotiate yourself out of paying a credit card late fee.

Once you realize your credit card payment is late, call up your credit card company and be prepared for this interaction to make it go as smoothly as possible.

Of course, you’ll need to navigate through the auto menus to chat with a real person, but I have faith you can get that far on your own!

Get Your Credit Card Late Fee Waived

Call up your credit card company and follow this narrative:

Credit Card Representative:  Hello, this is so and so, how may I help you today?

You:  Hello, I just realized that I missed my last credit card payment.  I’d like to confirm with you that this will not impact on my credit score.

Credit Card Representative:  I’ll be happy to assist.  As long as you are able to make the payment, it will not impact your credit score, however, since the payment is late, you’ll be assessed a $XX late fee.

You:  Thank you, I’m glad to hear that this won’t affect my credit.  I can make a payment today, and I understand that I was late, but I regularly make on-time payments and I’d like the late fee to be waived.  (Make sure you speak with authority!)

Credit Card Representative:  I’m sorry, but we will not be able to waive the late fee since your contract indicates you are responsible for any late fees due to not making a payment by your due date.

You:  That is very unfortunate.  I’ve been a customer with your bank for XX years and I’d hate to have to take my business elsewhere simply because of this one little fee.  What are you going to do to waive this fee from my account?

Credit Card Representative:  Let me see…  Yes, we are able to waive the late fee as long as you are able to make a payment today over the phone.  May I have your payment information, please?

You:  Yes, thank you.  (Give payment info.)

Credit Card Representative:  Thank you.  your payment has been received and your late fee has been removed from your account.  Have a nice day.

You:  Thanks, you as well.

BOOM!  It’s that easy!

Tips For Your Credit Card Late Payment

Now that you know this information, store this away and save it in case you ever need it!

Hopefully, you won’t but I like to be real and honest here, and it’s likely to happen at some point.  Life happens people.  I get it.

Keep in mind that you can’t continually do this and expect results.

The key to this method working is to maintain good account standings with your credit card accounts and make regular on-time payments.  That is your negotiating chip when something comes up and you are late on a credit card payment to ensure that you are able to get the credit card late fee removed!

This phone call is much easier than paying the late fee and it will work every time to save you money.  The representatives are trained to do exactly as I’ve listed above when they are prompted with a potential customer leaving.  A small late fee is pennies to them as a trade-off to keep the customer utilizing their services.

Pro Tip:  You can use this for many other bills, not just credit card companies.  Use the skills that you’ve learned today to start saving yourself some money that would otherwise be unnecessarily spent!

Cheers,

Robert Gale

P.S. Story Time!  I want to hear about the biggest fee you’ve had waived.  Drop a comment below!

The post How To Negotiate A Credit Card Late Fee appeared first on Real Money Robert.