Friday, May 29, 2009

Score 1 For The Little People

Damn I'm good!

Some years ago I took out a credit card with AmEx - their BLUE from American Express. The deal was great in that I had nearly a year at 0% interest on a balance transfer, then the fee went up to 7.9% fixed. Good for the time. Plus I got points.

So off I went, paying down the original debt and then charging and paying, charging and paying, blah blah blah. Then in December they sent around a notice telling everybody the rate was going up to 10.9% as of January 1. They pulled the same double whammy all the other banks pulled on all of us. And of course they give you the choice: accept the new rate or don't, but if you don't your card will be cancelled and you will lose all the points you've been gathering the way squirrels gather nuts. So I dealt with it. Didn't have much choice. UNTIL . . .

Chase offered me a balance transfer deal I couldn't refuse: the typical 3% transfer fee and then 1.9% for something close to 8 months. B'uh-bye Amex Blue! I transferred the full amount and figured that was the end of it.

Well of course it wasn't. I got a bill today from Amex for $27.94 in finance charges. Now technically, they had every right to assess me since I did accumulate interest from the prior payment in April until Chase made the transfer. But I saw red and decided to give them a call and lay somebody out. So I called and politely (yes I can manage politeness at times) but VERY firmly told Jackie I was cheesed beyond anything she could imagine and that Amex owed it to me, based on my outstanding credit rating and the fact that I always paid my bills on time, to "86" the finance charges and if she couldn't do it, then I wanted to speak to a supervisor. I told her that had Amex not pulled the bone-headed move of putting the screw to responsible, reliable cardholders like me, that I would have gone on my merry way paying 7.9% interest. But they decided to do me dirty and they lost a shit-load of interest funds as a result. (No, I didn't use the term shit-load to Jackie. My mom would be mortified if I did!)

Poor woman! She put me on hold for a supervisor then came back to the phone less than a minute later to tell me the finance charge was dropped. Guess her supervisor forget to wear his/her asbestos shorts today and didn't feel like getting an ass-frying from me.

My late friend Minny Rose used to say "Nothing beats a trial like a failure" and I've used that little pearl of wisdom to motivate me many times over the years. Props Minny!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN!!!!