So DH didn't pay the Amex bill.

[daddyof2]

As the bill payer in this house, have the primary cardholder call and ask them to waive the fee - most of the time, they will, if a fee hasn't been waived in the past 6 months.

this is true if you arnt late a lot they usually allow 1 adjust per year

 

[Free4Life11]

Why not set up auto pay on your account, at least for the minimum amount due? I have auto pay set up on all my accounts (in my case to pay the full balance) - I don't have to remember a single due date anymore!

I don't do this because it's HELL to try to cancel them! I cancelled my auto pay FOUR WEEKS before my Sprint Bill was due and they still pulled the payment automatically. I was in the process of switching accounts and it caused a big hassle.

They said sorry but "it can take up to two bill cycles to cancel." Why?? I'm so over this CRAP. This is 2010 and all of these companies and financial places need to get with the times.

 

[crjack]

I'm actually not even sure there will be a fee. This is not a typical credit card. It's an old fashioned Amex charge card. Since I have never been late (and always paid off the entire bill) I have no idea what the procedure is for a late payment.

Punkin, since it's a standard Am Ex that you pay in full every month you should not see a late fee or any extra charges. For only 2 days, you will still see your payment posted before your next statement arrives.

(Speaking from experience as someone with a DH that travels and has taken his bill with him on long trips before.) I've had to call Am Ex several times to get his balance, etc and it wasn't a big deal like it would have been with a typical Visa or MC with an interest rate.

Good luck.

 

[punkin]

Punkin, since it's a standard Am Ex that you pay in full every month you should not see a late fee or any extra charges. For only 2 days, you will still see your payment posted before your next statement arrives.

(Speaking from experience as someone with a DH that travels and has taken his bill with him on long trips before.) I've had to call Am Ex several times to get his balance, etc and it wasn't a big deal like it would have been with a typical Visa or MC with an interest rate.

Good luck.

I forgot to post what happened when I called....no fee or late charges but I do forfeit the points we earned during the month. Oh well. could be worse.

 

[SandrA9810]

My credit union has a great feature. It actually gets the bill from the CC company and posts the amount due and the total balance and date, all next to the payment selection. It also allows for auto payment each month, or a one time payment.

The only auto pays I've done, are with the debit/credit card on the account, never actually giving my account number/routing number.

Since it's all electronic, I don't even use a check book.

 

[Swimalie]

Auto-bill debit is never a good idea! Just listen to an expert, Clark Howard:


Aug 02, 2010 -- Automatic account debits not good for paying monthly bills
Too often, Clark talks to people who have allowed a company to automatically deduct money from their checking or savings account each month. It could be a utility company, a health club, a mortgage lender, a cable provider, a cell provider or any other business.

That business may continue to make monthly Automated Clearing House (ACH) debits from your account once your contract with them ends. Giving authorization to regularly draft an account is an open-ended arrangement, regardless of your contract.

And getting that money back can be a grueling process. The problem with ACH payments is that there are no consumer protection statutes governing what happens if you're cheated on purpose or in error.

So what's the solution? Use electronic bill pay that you set up so you can shut it down anytime you want. That's the distinction between e-bill pay and traditional ACH payments. The former you control, the latter is out of your control.

There's a larger problem here, of course: The rules on drafting accounts are set up for the benefit of business with zero consumer protections.

If you sign up with a new company, be sure they only get your credit card account. That way you can dispute any bogus zombie transactions they may try to pull down the road. Look through your bank statements and discontinue any automatic drafts that come out of your savings or checking accounts.

There is, however, one time and one time only when putting your finances on auto-pilot makes sense: When you're contributing money to a retirement, investment or savings accounts each pay period. People don't miss the money because they never see it, so it's much easier to reach your financial goals this way.