I champion the act of donating to charities, scholarship funds, and girl scouts (I love thin mints), but one thing I will not do is give away my money to large corporations that don’t deserve it.  They already receive donations in the form of bailouts, surely they can survive without my money as well.  Unfortunately, we all make mistakes and sometimes they come in the form of being late on credit card payments.  Do not fret.  Having a late fee reversed is a lot simpler than what most people make it out to be.  All it takes is a little admittance, patience, and scripting.

Admittance.  There’s no one to blame but yourself that you were late.  If you really did send your payment 7-10 days in advance, then maybe blame the post office.  But if you were late because you forgot, were on your honeymoon, or paid the wrong account, please look in the mirror.

Patience.  I hate waiting through the automated system for the right option to speak to an operator.  I suffer from FFS, Fat Finger Syndrome.  It’s a disorder that causes you to push every button on your cell phone other than the one you intended.  Sometimes I resort to just hitting zero every five seconds until I hear a human on the other end.  I also hate getting reps that do not have that smile in their voice.  Reminds me of Bon Qui Qui from MAD TV.  That’s my cue to end the conversation and call back.

Scripting.  Now this is where it all goes wrong for most people.  Here’s why: Customers do not know what they are up against.  So it will be my goal in this 3 PART series to give you a better idea on how to successfully request a late fee reversal.  I will tell you what to say, what not to say, and how to rebut.

Things you need to understand as a credit card customer:

1. Fee reversals are courtesies, not rights. That’s right, you have no rights when you break the terms of your agreement.  Customer Service Reps (CSRs) only waive fees out of courtesy, not obligation.  Customers are entitled to prompt, courteous service.  They are entitled to the benefits spelled out in the account agreement.  However, they are not entitled to special treatment, even on a one-time basis.

2. Customer Service Representatives are all different. They come in all shapes, forms, backgrounds, and walks of life.  Each will react to your situation differently.  Yes, it’s true, there are scripts for basically every situation.  However, these scripts only act as a mere guideline to be followed.  Outside of law and science, all rules can be broken without having to be unethical.  You want to get a feel for your CSR.  Are they treating you as an account number or are they treating you as an individual?  If you don’t like the CSR that is helping you, politely hang up and call back.

3. A sympathetic story is key. Take a walk in the CSRs shoes.  More than half of the people they speak to demand financial adjustments and handouts while screaming bloody murder.  They believe they deserve late fee reversals because it’s their right.  It’s a fine line between profit making and customer retention, and CSRs often walk across it.   So just know that CSRs have grown accustom to saying “NO” to everything.  Be that shining light and win over that fee reversal with a compelling story.  And this goes into my next point…

4. Delivery matters. CSRs have emotions too.  They are more inclined to help a customer that is calm, collective, crying, or worried.  If you feel like you can have your way by yelling or playing the “I am much better than you” card, think again.  Would you help someone that is being prick, shouting expletives, or being racist towards you?  Probably not.  I know I wouldn’t.   In fact, I would probably talk back.

5. If you fail, try again. If you don’t get anywhere with your CSR, call back and hope that you get someone else.  I can’t stress how important it is to not pay any unnecessary fees, so don’t give up.  That’s $39 you can put towards a day planner or calendar so you won’t be late in the future!

6. Don’t lie. I condone lying because it’s unethical.  Exaggerating a point is okay in my books.  Let your CSR know that the fee is making your financial hardship that much more unbearable.  If you’ve been with the company for less than a year, feel free to say that you are a long time customer.  Time and emotions are all relative.  Your goal is to make your CSR understand where you are coming from.  I have no sympathy for liars.

If you lie about your account, then you don’t deserve a fee reversal.  CSRs have your entire record in front of them.  They know when you have called, who you spoke to, and the last time you went to Walmart.

7. CSRs are up against performance statistics. These stats often guideline their phone behavior.  In the call center world, there are things called Call Quality, Handle Time, Hold Time, and Transfer Counts.  These performance statistics gauge productivity and phone trends.  To be an excellent CSR, the idea is to receive the incoming call, deescalate, educate, say “no”, instill fear, sell, and get them off within a short amount of time.  Generally the longer you have a CSR on the phone, the higher the likelihood you will be able to persuade them into adjusting that fee.

Here’s my reasoning why.  The performance statistic Handle Time is derived from Total Time on the phone with customers divided by number of calls taken.  The lower your handle time, the better off you are.  I believe some CSRs succumb to the pressures this stat places on them as a performing employee.

8. Get to know your Personal Financial Representative (PFR).  You know those agents that sit behind a desk at your local branch, they are called PFRs.  They are there to help with all of your financial needs regardless if you are a short or long-term customer.  Talk to them about your late fee, articulate your story, and have THEM call for you to have the fee reversed.  99% of the time it will be done without a hitch.  Note: it helps if your PFRs recognize you.  Even if they don’t, try nonetheless.

9. Seek out supervisors.  Supervisors have more leeway in making financial adjustments to your account.  Do not immediately assume that a regular rep knows what his/her supervisor can do.  Supervisors go through different training regimens and have different tools to assist their customers.  Their main purpose is to DEESCALATE and EDUCATE.  Provide them your compelling story.  This requires a little patience, but if you have a good story and are persistent, your fee will be reversed.

10. Learn to negotiate.  Instead of asking for the entire fee reversal, ask them to meet you halfway.  Take responsibility for your mistake.  Let them know that you learned your lesson and will not allow this to happen again.  I could imagine this would be easier to negotiate since both parties benefit.  You get at least half the fee back while semi-satisfied and the credit card company gets their share while they keep you happy.

11. Try writing in your request.  This is possibly the best option for you non-confrontational types.  All it requires is logging onto your credit card company site and sending a simple reversal email to the right audience.  All sympathetic rules still apply.

12. Do not let your emotions best you.  Face it, some of you don’t deserve late fee reversals.  You know who you are.  You’re usually chronically late or go over limit often.  If you truly are having a financial hardship, like you are down to the point where you have to make the decision between paying your credit card, placing food on your table, or making mortgage payments, then you need help.  I will touch up on that in future post.

If you have any other suggestions on things customers should understand about fee reversals, please post them to the comments below.  It’s always nice to get other perspectives or alternative methods in getting this accomplished.  Stay tuned for PART 2 of “HOW TO GET A CREDIT CARD LATE FEE REVERSED”.  I will go into what to say during your CSR conversation.

Hasta Luego!

Related posts:

1. How to Get a Credit Card Late Fee Reversed (Part 2)
2. How to Get a Credit Card Late Fee Reversed (Part 3)