Late statement: can it be on purpose?
Dec 26, 2004 | 3:14 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2003
Programs: ZaeroPlan 0
Posts: 1,999
Late statement: can it be on purpose?
It’s a repeat occurrence that my spouse will receive her MasterCard statement very close to the due date. Assuming the statement is mailed one or two days after the billing date, it would remain in transit for about two weeks before arriving in our mailbox.
Inquiries at the underwriting bank (Bank of Montreal) have led nowhere: this is apparently MC’s problem. MC says it’s a problem with Canada Post. However, one bank clerk is a former Canada Post employee and claims that no piece of mail normally stays two weeks in the system.
Statements are sent in bulk with no date stamp, so it is difficult to find out where the problem is, but we are starting to believe that MC purposely mails their statement late, so they can charge late fees.
1) Has anyone else ever had this kind of problem?
2) Is there a recourse other than BMO or MC (superintendent of banks?)
Inquiries at the underwriting bank (Bank of Montreal) have led nowhere: this is apparently MC’s problem. MC says it’s a problem with Canada Post. However, one bank clerk is a former Canada Post employee and claims that no piece of mail normally stays two weeks in the system.
Statements are sent in bulk with no date stamp, so it is difficult to find out where the problem is, but we are starting to believe that MC purposely mails their statement late, so they can charge late fees.
1) Has anyone else ever had this kind of problem?
2) Is there a recourse other than BMO or MC (superintendent of banks?)
Dec 27, 2004 | 1:46 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Reston, Virginia, USA
Posts: 653
Yes, they do have little "acccidents" that somehow always generate fees and interest for the bank. I keep three no-fee VISA accounts for just such bank shennagins. Only one VISA gets used. The others are reserves, in a lock-box.
When VISA #1 pulls such a stunt as sitting on my payment check for three weeks before cashing it, they become my #3 VISA. Their card goes in the lock-box and VISA #2 gets the wallet space. They get back their #1 position only after all interest and fees they smacked me with have been refunded. To the penny.
In the last year:
1. Fradulent charges on my Fleet VISA. This correlated with their merger with Wachovia. Coincidence?
2. WF "sat" on my payment check. When I saw it overdue, I sent a replacement check. Then they cashed both at once!
3. C-Bank has been a major pain in the keister about correcting a disputed charge.
In each case, when a bank displeases me I stop using their card until I am pleased with their corrections. I pump $10K or more monthly through plastic. I have a perfect payment record. If I am displeased with their resolution of a problem, I write to the president of the bank. I am not a good customer to displease.
I also have a separate bank account in a bank that is separate from my real account and from my brokerage accounts. I use this isolated account to make on-line payments in case there is a rush to pay a certain bill. The isolation protects me from having my brokerage accounts siphoned off should there be yet another slip-up in online banking security.
When VISA #1 pulls such a stunt as sitting on my payment check for three weeks before cashing it, they become my #3 VISA. Their card goes in the lock-box and VISA #2 gets the wallet space. They get back their #1 position only after all interest and fees they smacked me with have been refunded. To the penny.
In the last year:
1. Fradulent charges on my Fleet VISA. This correlated with their merger with Wachovia. Coincidence?
2. WF "sat" on my payment check. When I saw it overdue, I sent a replacement check. Then they cashed both at once!
3. C-Bank has been a major pain in the keister about correcting a disputed charge.
In each case, when a bank displeases me I stop using their card until I am pleased with their corrections. I pump $10K or more monthly through plastic. I have a perfect payment record. If I am displeased with their resolution of a problem, I write to the president of the bank. I am not a good customer to displease.
I also have a separate bank account in a bank that is separate from my real account and from my brokerage accounts. I use this isolated account to make on-line payments in case there is a rush to pay a certain bill. The isolation protects me from having my brokerage accounts siphoned off should there be yet another slip-up in online banking security.