It pays to stay organized
One of my great pet peeves in life is late fees. Whether they're at the video store, the library or on my credit card bill — it drives me crazy to have to pay extra just because I'm disorganized.
Recently my Gap 
credit card bill arrived with a $20 late fee attached. Oops, I forgot to tell my husband that I applied for the card — he thought the first bill was junk mail and tossed it.
Fortunately, I was able to explain the circumstances to the nice people at the Gap, and they reversed the charge. But that only works once in a great while!
Then my stepdaughter found a $20 late fee on her credit card bill. Her bill comes to our house, and she ended up paying it a few days late. This was the first time she wasn't able to pay off her credit card without carrying a balance, so seeing the late fee in addition to the accrued interest is not something that she's likely to forget soon!
It seems like I'm always paying late fees on silly things like movies we rent or books I check out from the library. While these aren't much, they do add up over time. My new system to avoid these fees involves leaving myself a Post-It note on our back door to remind me when things are due.
Hey, whatever works!
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Comments (7)
Found in Credit cards, Fees, Money management, Paying, Wells Fargo Bank
Comments
I know what you mean about the library. I don't so much borrow books from the library as rent them. In fact, I have half a dozen or so at home that need to go back, now that I think about it...
Posted by: Rob | May 2, 2008 09:41 AM
which is the best student loan option available for US students
Posted by: ritz | May 6, 2008 05:02 AM
Why would Wells Fargo want to loose 3 accounts that have been open for 10+ years over a $3.50 credit? I patiently explained the situation behind a $7.00 return item charge and the rep only offered to credit $3.50. This account has never had a returned item before. The supervisor, Kimber, from the South Dakota call center also refused to credit more than $3.50 stating that she was not allowed to reverse fees. Our business and our 3 accounts aren't worth more than $3.50 to Wells Fargo so I guess it's time to find another bank.
Posted by: Thirachai | May 6, 2008 02:00 PM
Hi Ritz -- We always encourage students to look at their federal student loan options first (after pursuing all your options for scholarships and grants first, since those don't have to be repaid).
The Federal Stafford Loan is the most widely available federal loan. For undergraduate students, the subsidized Stafford loan offers a fixed interest rate of 6.0%, and the unsubsidized Stafford loan offers a fixed interest rate of 6.8%. Your school determines whether you're eligible for a subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford loan (or both). (For graduate students both the subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans offer a rate of 6.8%.)
There are limits to how much you can borrow with a Stafford loan, however, depending on what year you are in school and how much your school says you're eligible for.
If you find that the Stafford loan isn't enough to cover your costs, there are other federal loans available: the Federal PLUS Loan for parents of dependent undergraduate students or the Federal PLUS Loan for graduate and professional students.
I hope this helps get you started. To learn more about your loan options, check out our Web site at wellsfargo.com/student, or call to talk to one of our student loan representatives at 1-800-658-3567.
Thanks for your question.
Posted by: Caroline Hanson | May 9, 2008 12:18 PM
Hi Thirachai -- I'm sorry you had a bad experience, and we'd like to help address the problem. If you would like, please email us with a little more background on your situation including your name and account number and we can look into it further.
Thanks for writing in and I hope we're able to help.
Posted by: Caroline Hanson | May 9, 2008 12:32 PM
hmm.. usefull info :)
Posted by: Lindsay-Lohan | July 30, 2008 01:35 PM
hmm.. thank you very much. usefull information
Posted by: Miley-Cyrus-Fan | August 1, 2008 09:45 AM