The first thing I noticed was the color of the new ink that highlighted the following: Minimum due. Due date. Hmm, I thought, an attention-getting device? I suppose the red ink should have been a tip-off. Then I saw that a payment had not been received last month.
I dashed to my iMac, opened up the folder, 2012 Payment Confirmations, and the subfolder labeled Capital One. Unbelievable! I did not make the June 19th payment. But I remember entering the amount.
Then the light dawned. I did indeed enter it in iBank but failed to make the payment on Capital One’s website. Ack!
All of this left me with a queasy stomach. I just don’t do these kinds of things. Am I losing my mind? Will I need a keeper soon?
The part of me that hates spending money needlessly eyed the $84.35 in interest and fees with gritted teeth.
I decide to throw myself on the mercy of customer service. Justin could not have been nicer. The twenty-something allowed as how he forgets things and how upset he gets.
I pointed out that we use the card for everything because we receive 2 miles per dollar. He asked me if I would be traveling again soon because we have 485,522 miles accrued. I said I was headed to Ocala, Florida next week. He said, “You’re coming my way.” When I asked, he said he was in Tampa. Then we spoke briefly about how Cleveland was hotter than Ocala yesterday and the effects of climate change.
Then I asked him if he could possibly waive the interest and fees. I could tell that he was reviewing our account. “I see that you pay off your balance every month.” Then with a note of surprise, “And you pay early. I can certainly credit those fees back to you.”
After thanking him for settling my stomach and making my day, he asked if there was anything else he could do for me.
How about a phone call to remind me to pay the bill and not just enter it into the check register?
I do not want to see this again:
