Guy is scared of calling companies, calls them, negotiates fees successfully
Another one from Ramit’s Inbox on negotiating a fee away…
Here’s a good example of how you can get many fees waived in 2 minutes with a phone call. (It’s kind of curious that people email me instead of the company directly, but…)
From: Stephen T.
To: RamitHey Ramit, enjoyed your book and it’s been a great help.
I signed up at myfico.com to get my credit information, and this morning (a month later) got a happy note from them telling me they’d billed me $89 for the next year. I’d rather not use their service for the next year.
Perfectly reasonable request. So what should he do?
From: Ramit
To: Stephen T.Call them
Sent from my iPhone
Let’s see what happens…
From: Stephen T.
To: RamitHey, just an update on the MyFICO billing. I called them per your suggestion and they immediately offered a refund, and processed the refund while I was on the line. Impressive customer service.
Thanks!
Since you’ll be setting up an automatic monthly review of your finances (as I illustrate in extreme detail in my personal finance book), charges like this will never, ever slip past you.
Also, CALL COMPANIES — it saves you a LOT of money. No need to be scared. In fact, when I call companies, they get scared. Once you realize that you have the skills and leverage to get most fees reversed, your interactions with companies will be a lot more pleasant (since you’ll dominate them). Read more about negotiating fees.
