About Me

A Woman of Dignity & Grace

Monday, August 18, 2008

Negotiate Your Money Back



Do you negotiate anything? Well I will negotiate just about any and everything. Sometimes it only takes a matter of moments other times it can take a day, two or even 30- I believe it is always worth it. This morning I called my loyal banker- well he’s not really my banker but he is the supervisor who works at my bank’s branch near my home. A few weeks ago I called him once I realized I had a bank charge for non-sufficient funds (I thought those days were over), but really this time it was not my fault- maybe it was. I made an electronic payment on my credit card and the funds did not clear yet (#$%@). So I called John and explained to him I don’t know what happened and if he would explain where I went wrong. He began going over my account and wondered aloud why I didn’t I have free checking. I said, I thought I did. He began with something about I was grandfathered into this account and he will change it for me. That was when a light bulb went on and said, “I was under the impression that my account was free for all these years, blah blah blah. Long story short I was credited $84.00 into my account since I was not too much of my time and I don’t feel that it was wasted. That may not seem like much money but for me every penny counts.

I then called my credit card company and explained the huge mix-up and was told to call back in a few days after the account updates. This took less than 3 minutes. I was lucky this was not a late fee but the $39 return check fee hurt just the same. I marked my calendar and called back and spoke to a customer representative who immediately told me there was nothing that could be done to credit my account. I politely requested to speak with a supervisor. The representative sternly reminded me that a supervisor’s response would be the same. I said ok, but insisted that I would still like to speak with a supervisor. I briefly explained to the supervisor that this was not a due payment but an extra payment to the account, not to mention (but I did) that my bank account is with the same bank as the credit card company. The supervisor explained as a courtesy this $39.00 fee will be waived this time. The call was 5 minutes or less.


Some may feel time is of the essence and it is so precious that it can’t be wasted trying to make a few dollars or save a few dollars. I received a total credit of $123.00. If you think about all the extra fees and charges that can be lowered, credited or saved at the end you can save for something or splurge on the much wanted item, after all it only takes a few moments.

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