I got dinged with a late-payment fee.
It happens.
Last month, it happened to me. Twice.
I’m usually very thorough when it comes to paying our bills on time. However, last month, something happened, and not one, but two bills went unpaid. Once I realized that I had missed the payments, it was too late. They were past-due and we had been charged late fees.
So, two days ago, I paid both bills, in full. Then, today, once I checked that both payments had posted to the accounts, I called each company and asked to have the late-payment fees waived.
Both companies were super cool. In less than 10 minutes, both companies had credited the fees back to my accounts. That’s $50 in savings. Not bad.
The moral of the story – We all make mistakes and it never hurts to call. Both companies recognized that I was a long-time customer, acknowledged that I had a solid track record of paying my bills early, and were cool when handling the situation.
You’re very lucky your utility companies (I assume you were talking about utility bills) willingly waived your fees considering you were previously prompt in your payments. In our part of the world, these companies actually get thrilled at the thought of gaining extra income through late fees and we know that because the bill itself often arrives a couple of days before the due date. If you call them up to complain, you end up dialing lots of other numbers hunting for the ‘right’ person, who often just wishes you better luck next time….but you’re right, it can’t hurt to call…