getting even with Capone (ideas???)

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by bbauer, Jun 2, 2001.

  1. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Capitol One really got me ticked off.

    I've got 3 cards with Cap One and always paid off in full each month and always on time.

    I was one day late with one of the cards this month and they socked me with a $25.00 late fee.

    I got a good mind to buy something for a few cents, under a buck, put the card up for the rest of the month then pay off the balance on the website and keep it up for about 6 months just to get even with them.

    True, I won't see any of the "get even" money, but I figure it's going to cost them enough in employee wages and other costs to at least equal the $25 and hopefully more just to process those piddling amounts each month. Maybe they will get the hint that I'm pissed about that $25 charge.

    Does anybody know of any reason why that won't work. Can they hit me for additional charges or penalties because of the low amounts charged?
     
  2. sam

    sam Well-Known Member

    why don't you pay your bills on time? With online payment options, its pretty hard to not pay your bill on time.

    Call up retention there, they'll take the late fee off maybe once for you, but here's a tip:

    Pay twice a month, that way if you forgot, or run out of cash, you can feel safe that this won't occur again.

    Getting revenge on them? What did cap 1 do to you? They lived up to their part of the bargain, seems that you didn't follow their rules.

    btw, if you idle a cap 1 account for 6 months, they'll probably close it for you..
     
  3. breeze

    breeze Well-Known Member

    Any time I have ever screwed up with any card, I have called ASAP, and gotten help with the situation. I don't think getting mad solves problems. Being nice solves problems. :)

    It isn't their fault you paid it late. We're all human, though, and I haven't had a rep yet who wasn't absolutely great when I called and said "I screwed up, can you help me?"

    breeze
     
  4. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Only reason I was late was that the date window on my wrist watch was a day off and I hadn't noticed it.

    Other than that, I've never missed on any of the 10 cards I use personally, let alone all my business credit cards. Of course, I never even look at those. I just let the book keeping department handle all of those. I never worry about those.

    I'd probably do better by buying at least a few things, all of them under a buck. Cost them more that way. One always needs some little fool thing over the course of a month anyway. The normal use of the card is maybe 250 or so a month. And since I only use the card 1 week out of the month, So a whole bunch of piddly charges spread out over the entire month amounting to a total of maybe 10 or 20 bucks would also be an abrupt change in how the card is being used. I don't know if they notice things like that or not, but maybe they do.

    Maybe just buy the morning paper with it every day.
     
  5. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Good idea, breeze.
    Think I'll try it later today
     
  6. SEAN

    SEAN Well-Known Member

    CapOne is notorious for posting payments a day after the due date. The hard part is actually proving that this is done knowingly. CapOne really has some suspect policies outside of not reporting limits to the CRA's. While there are some die hard defenders of CapOne on this site, One could argue that some of CapOne's practices are right in line with Crooks Country or other crap companies. I still insist that CapOne only looks out for themselves and not the consumer.

    Sean
     
  7. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Well, in this instance, it was my fault, not theirs.

    I hadn't had any problems with them posting a day late, but with your post, I think I'd better start paying them a day early so that don't happen to me again.

    Thanks for your comment.
     
  8. breeze

    breeze Well-Known Member

    Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you. ;)

    breeze
     
  9. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Most especially my pocket book

    That was a cute post you just put up.

    I liked it a lot
     
  10. judyputy

    judyputy Well-Known Member

    Geez,

    I don't think that Cap one cares what you charge or if you charge small amounts. They want their payment when due as agreed. If you call and give some explantion they will remove the charge.

    I had a payment take 16 days to get there and she saw that I had that date on the check, had never paid late before and took it off. Done.

    By the way, most store won't let you charge under $5 or $10 dollars. It's not worth it to them to handle a $.65 cent charge.
     
  11. Marie

    Marie Well-Known Member

    Well, I charge a .99 Pepsi at Chevron all the time... :) They know me now and the clerks just laugh... but at least I make sure to get activity on each card.

    Bill, I've always had great customer service w/cap1.

    Why don't you just shrug off the chip for a while and get in a good mood.... then call them with a very nice tone and see what they can do.

    If it's your first time (point that out) and you have several cards (point that out too) they may just reverse it all.

    Also, ask if they'll reage the account by a day. they can change history in their computers so you won't be penalized... that might be a bit harder to get but it's also worth a try. that's likely a supervisor issue.

    By the way, I always pay a bit earlier than the due date and I always check online make sure the pmt posts... I give myself 4 days wiggle room in case of screwup. I want to make sure I have time to put through another payment if I have to... Just a thought.
     
  12. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Thanks for the comments.

    From what I have heard, it's against the agreement merchants have with both MC and Visa to refuse any charge no matter how small.

    Don't know how true that is, but that's what I read on this board somewhere quite a while ago.
     
  13. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    That's all good suggestions too.

    I've been going right up to the due day squeezing max interest out of the money before I pay, but a day or two sure isn't worth this.

    Thanks
     
  14. brad

    brad Well-Known Member

    BBAUER,you are right about merchants not being allowed to require a minimum purchase amount.There are some articles at bankrate.com on that very subject.
     
  15. danny

    danny Member

    Let me see if I have this straight:

    You have a Cap One card, most likely like most of us because you are rebuilding credit, or were at the time you got the card.

    With that in mind, you then wait until the last possible moment to pay your bill, in order to, in your words, squeeze "max interest out of the money before I pay".

    So, in order to gain a few extra pennies interest on your money, you wait until the absolute last possible moment to make your payment, without making provisions (for such things as an incorrectly set watch, cap one's web site crashes for a day, your ISP crashes, electric goes out, kid spills kool-aid on keyboard rendering computer inoperable) for any number of things that could delay you getting your bill paid by one day, and on time, thereby damaging your hard earned credit rating, and costing you a late fee.

    That is called "tripping over a dollar to pick up a dime".

    Then, on top of that, without even calling Cap One, and giving them some lame excuse, and giving them the chance to "make it right" by giving you back the 25 bucks you now owe them for paying late (of course THEY must be in the wrong) you now plan to get "even" with them?????

    All I have to say to that is "WOW", that is incredible.
     
  16. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Whoa there Danny! Just hold on there a cotton pickin minnit.

    I deeply resent your remark about "incredible"

    That's totally uncalled for! You ought to be ashamed of yorself!

    Incredible indeed! It aint incredible at all.

    Stupid is the right word and you remember that!

    LOL!!!!!
    *****************
    Actually, I just flew off the handle and got mad about it.
    I deserved it, and I probably won't even bother to ask them for it back. I had it coming for all the reasons you mentioned.
    ******************
    My experiences with Providian lately should have been enough to warn me that such could easily happen over there too.

    Providian can't seem to get my account numbers correctly entered into their system and I have to call them up about every 5 days all month long and keep asking them why they have not yet taken the money out of my account. They keep telling me they did get it and I have to ask them how it can be that they actually received their money when it's still sitting there in my bank account. So we go through the whole silly deal all over again and 5 days later again.
    This month, they still didn't get it right by the time the next payment was due and made, so my account looked like I was over limits and 30 days late. They knew better, so there was no real problem. They got both payments out at the same time this month.

    I don't have to worry about kids spilling coke in the keyboard, however. I have 10 comupters on line all the time all at the same time here here at the house and a whole lot more down at the office plus a pair of laptops here at home and more of those at the office. And I don't have any kids at home anymore who are under 18, so that's not likely.

    Thanks for your kind words. (incredible) (LOL)

    Have a nice one.
     
  17. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    USE PAY-AT-THE-PUMP...STOP AT $0.72

    WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO...RUN OUT AT YOU AND SAY YOU CAN'T CHARGE ONLY 72 CENTS????
    I THINK NOT!!!



    OR...PAY $25.01 AND YOU WILL HAVE A ONE CENT CREDIT...THEY MUST SEND YOU A STATEMENT....
     
  18. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    BUT PLEASE ASK FOR THE REFUND FIRST...
     
  19. amaineman

    amaineman Well-Known Member

    I messed up in February and paid three weeks late, charged $25 and the offense was reported to the credit bureaus.

    Cap One removed the fee as a one time courtesy and then transferred me to another department where they removed the late report.

    Just got my equifax file and the late pay was gone.

    In the mid 90's I had all kinds of great card deals. Today I only really have Cap One and they have been good to me.
     
  20. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    Did they LIE...(report 30 days late)???

    21 days late is NOT 30 days late.

    I wonder if they (the credit reporting agencies) may change reporting policies, so they can report all the ONE DAY LATES???
     

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