As a strong believer in credit card use without interest charges, I prefer to make payments electronically to be sure they arrive by the due date. I pay all of my cards this way, and have never had a problem, UNTIL NOW!
This morning I needed to make a payment of $11.44 on my Chase Platinum Mastercard, since it was due tomorrow. I logged on to the Chase site, and proceeded to the page for paying online. To my surprise, there were two options:
1) Make a payment online - Takes 2 - 5 days to clear.
2) Make a payment online today - $14.95 will be charged to your account!
Needless to say I was flabbergasted. To make matters worse, the second option would automatically enroll you in one of their screwy "programs" for some monthly fee!
I decided to try making the payment by phone, and found that the charge is the same. Since they had over the proverbial barrel, I had to accept the charge. Any other choice would have resulted in a late payment, and that is unacceptable.
I spoke to a customer service rep. Who said he was "sorry" for the charge, whatever that means. I told him I would never use the account again, nor would I do business with Chase or any affiliate in the future.
Bottom line, folks is this. Citibank; Bank of America; Bank One;
Capital One and Discover Card do not do this. They all (including Chase!) constantly e-mail you about the advantages of paying online. It's time to chop up your Chase cards! I did and it felt right!
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