Playing with Snakes & Got Bit

[myrdale]

I've got two credit cards. One is for The HomeDepot and the second is for Lowes. Any purchases from either of these stores go on the card. The balances are paid in full every month, and rarely is it more than $200.

I received my most recent statement. $300 there about, and I was left wondering what the heck!? On closer examination, it seems I didn't pay last month's bill. So now I've got $30 of interest and late fees on top of the past two month's purchases.

I looked back through my records and I never issued a check for it last month.

I'm pretty sure I never received the bill (which doesn't mean I'm not responsible for it). I've got two bank statements which are currently over a week late at the moment and I was missing a phone bill last month. I'm starting to think my local post office is having some serious issues.

I know, I know, do everything on line. I've switched my Roth IRA and bank statements to electronic. If the post office keeps it up they may have one less person to deliver for.

[disneysteve]

If you’ve been a long time customer it’s worth a phone call asking them to waive the fee.

But yes, depending on paper bills is always a risk. I still get paper CC bills but also have their app to check the balance any time. It doesn’t eliminate the chance of me missing a bill but it greatly reduces it. Pretty much everything else is on auto pay but I don’t like to auto pay the credit cards.

[ua_guy]

I have nothing nice to say about USPS so I'll just write that. Ditto on DS' recommendation to call and politely ask for the charge and interest to be reversed. Usually goes farther if you've also made/posted the late payment already. At least, it worked for me when I accidentally did the same with a credit card bill a few years ago.

[bjl584]

Something similar happened to me once as well.
I've paid online since.

I'll echo what others have already said.
Call them and ask to have the charges removed. s

[myrdale]

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/usps-mail-delays-postal-workers-speak-out-as-senators-demand-accountability

Well it ain't just me. On the radio this morning they were discussing problems Georgia was having with the mail service. I am seeing problems with incoming and outgoing mail myself.

[disneysteve]

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/usp...accountability

Well it ain't just me. On the radio this morning they were discussing problems Georgia was having with the mail service. I am seeing problems with incoming and outgoing mail myself.

There have been a number of serious mail disruptions in recent months. The topic comes up frequently in my eBay groups as it’s causing delay or loss of packages.

[ua_guy]

It's almost like it's all going according to plan. Imagine that. NoJoy doing a stellar job.

Ok, I have to gripe. Our USPS community box was damaged over 4 months ago - someone attempted to drill the master lock but failed. But now you can't get a key in it. The USPS still hasn't fixed it so 14 of us have been without mail service and we all have to drive to the PO to pick it up. We aren't the only ones asking for an ETA, and every time they tell us they don't know. Well, who knows? Someone at the regional hub, maybe. She gives us a number to call, which goes to a voicemail. Last we heard from a neighbor, they got a call back, and the lock was supposed to be installed by April. .....

[myrdale]

Ok, I have to gripe. Our USPS community box was damaged over 4 months ago - someone attempted to drill the master lock but failed. But now you can't get a key in it. The USPS still hasn't fixed it so 14 of us have been without mail service and we all have to drive to the PO to pick it up. We aren't the only ones asking for an ETA, and every time they tell us they don't know. Well, who knows? Someone at the regional hub, maybe. She gives us a number to call, which goes to a voicemail. Last we heard from a neighbor, they got a call back, and the lock was supposed to be installed by April. .....

All the local post master has to do is have a local lock smith replace the lock. Fifteen minutes of phone calls, an hour's worth of work, $250 bill and done.

[disneysteve]

All the local post master has to do is have a local lock smith replace the lock. Fifteen minutes of phone calls, an hour's worth of work, $250 bill and done.

Except you're assuming competence which doesn't exist at USPS. The lock on the door to my local post office has been broken for a few months. When it first broke, they couldn't even open the door. A customer got stuck in there at night and had to call the police. They got the lock pulled in a day and reopened. There have been at least 2 repair guys out that I know of and it could be more but the lock remains broken so they just can't lock it anymore.

[ua_guy]

All the local post master has to do is have a local lock smith replace the lock. Fifteen minutes of phone calls, an hour's worth of work, $250 bill and done.

Haha! Yep. But it's all on their timeline.

We've asked if we can buy the lock, deliver it to whomever needs to put it in, call a locksmith. Anything, or whatever we can do to help or pay to make this happen and the answer is no, it's the USPS' responsibility and they will handle it per their process. And then when I ask for answers on timeline or escalation, they tell me Ineed to call and do that myself. The USPS is broken, it's been broken, and there's likely no fix anytime soon.

It's so bad that I stand there and sort through my mail at the desk because they keep handing me things for other people on our street. Every time, I hand it back and say this isn't ours, and I really hope you didn't give any of our mail to our neighbors!

[myrdale]

The lock on the door to my local post office has been broken for a few months.

A car drove into the side of the local post office here. The hole in the wall was boarded up with plywood for about 6 months. That was finally repaired but is still janky. I'll grab a photo next time i am there.

[disneysteve]

A car drove into the side of the local post office here. The hole in the wall was boarded up with plywood for about 6 months. That was finally repaired but is still janky. I'll grab a photo next time i am there.

There are probably endless layers of bureaucracy that they need to get through in order to get anything done. The local staff likely has zero power to do anything but file a work order and wait for it to filter it's way through the system.

[Drake3287]

"I looked back through my records and I never issued a check for it last month:

Seriously, you write checks each month? I also question the wisdom of having these credit cards just for two stores. Less is usually better.

[disneysteve]

"I looked back through my records and I never issued a check for it last month:

Seriously, you write checks each month? I also question the wisdom of having these credit cards just for two stores. Less is usually better.

I don’t physically write checks but do use online bill pay so I’d also look back in my checkbook to see if I made a payment.

As for store cards, if you shop there regularly it makes sense. Lowe’s gives 5% off all purchases with their card. Home Depot probably does something similar.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I would check the checking account online personally. I do still write checks for all the kid activities. But yeah i have a excel spreadsheet of dates of when things are due and I log in the confirmation payments on there and i'm usually not late. Also I ask to move all CC to the same end of month close so they all hit due at the same time and I pay all cards first of the month. habit from when I use to get paid once a month