The Worst That Can Happen Is They Say No
And really, in the grand scheme of things, that just leaves you exactly where you started - and just maybe even a little better.
This week, Watch My Money Maker is heading the Credit Card Rate Reduction Rally. His mission is to use this week to educate consumers about credit card interest rate reduction and how they can benefit. My part in that is to simply say - you never know until you ask, and the worst they can say is no.
For a long time, I thought that there was no point in calling my credit card company to ask for a rate reduction, because they would never do it and it was wasted effort. And, I charged things knowing what the interest rate was, so why would they reduce it? There was no incentive (that I could think of in my head) for the credit card company to do anything for me.
But my thinking was shortsighted on several levels. First, my credit card company does not exist in a vaccuum. I may not have been thinking outside the box and realizing I could find another credit card who’d give me a better rate, but the credit card company can’t count on that. There is fierce competition for customers among credit card companies, and in many cases they’d rather I paid them a little less interest and kept paying them, versus going to a completely different company. This is especially true if you have a decent credit score and the credit card company knows you have options.
The other aspect I didn’t consider has little to do with the credit card company and everything to do with the domino effect being assertive in this manner could have on my life. Once I finally did call to ask for a lower interest rate, I felt empowered. Even though my actual rate reduction was small (1%), it was a rate reduction and it did save me some money every month. And the offshoot of that was, I became increasingly more proactive about other aspects of my life as well as my credit card debt. I applied for a credit card with a 0% interest (with no fee) balance transfer offer, was approved, and moved all my credit card debt there. I am now $175.17 away from paying that off entirely, and my 0% interest does not end until this September. I also became much more of a comparison shopper for big purchases (for some reason, I already was with small purchases but took most major purchases at face value) and everything from new tires to a new engine for my car, I shopped around for the best deal and then my spouse and I used that as a bargaining chip to negotiate discounts. Even things as seemingly unrelated as asking a store clerk to give me a discount on slightly damaged merchandise I can directly attribute to the mindset change I underwent going through the process of talking to my credit card company and requesting an interest rate change. It really was a very empowering experience in my life.
I just got off the phone with Saturn, whom I emailed yesterday to file a complaint about my car’s engine dying, and they are looking into my complaint about the performance of my car and the death of the engine. I have a claim established, and by 6pm tonight, I will be notified if Saturn will be providing financial assistance in paying for the repairs. They may do nothing, or they may pay for the entire repair, or anything in between. I don’t know if a year ago I would have had the nerve to contact them and complain about my car, I probably would have just chalked the whole ordeal up to bad luck and moved on. Even if they decide to pay nothing, at least I gave it my best effort.
My becoming more assertive, starting with that call to my credit card, has really served me well. Let it serve you well too. If you are paying interest on a credit card that you carry a balance on - call them today and ask for a reduction. You have nothing to lose and a potentially incredible amount to gain.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
You can also: Stumble It! Bookmark Submit to Reddit Submit to Tip'd
January 10th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Good luck with Saturn, I’m very impressed with your assertiveness, I still can’t seem to bring myself to ask for discounts on things. Although I am better about standing my ground if something doesn’t get rung up at sale price, and not feeling embarrassed about saying I don’t want it if they won’t honour the price, one step at a time I guess.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I applaud your effort contacting Saturn. I hope Saturn does something for you.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
My old boss taught me to ALWAYS ask for a break - it’s not part of our culture, but once i got over my discomfort, I now ALWAYS ask. Why not try?
January 10th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Have my fingers and toes crossed for you that Saturn comes through with some sort of assistance. Wow, how cool would it be to not increase your debt after all? All the good thinking and processing that you’ve done over the days will serve you well in the long run and it would be so great to actually not wind up paying for all of it.
I have really appreciated your sharing this process because we preach to people all the time to get $1000 together but we rarely warn them they need to contemplate/understand the possibilities they will need to consider if their emergency outran that $1k.
Peg
January 10th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I’m very patiently waiting to hear the Saturn’s decision. I’ve crossed my fingers and I’d cross my toes, but I’m just not that agile.
January 10th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
“The worst that can happen is they say no.”
This applies to so many different situations! Sometimes at work it’s better to put off asking to an ideal time, but still the worst is normally saying no.
January 10th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Ah nuts! I gotta wait until tomorrow to find out?!?!?
January 10th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
I have to wait until tomorrow too - one of the people the case manager had to talk to was out for the day. I’ll post when I find something out
January 11th, 2008 at 7:35 am
I’ve got my fingers crossed for you!
January 11th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Very interesting! It sounds like you’ve really mastered the art of bargaining! I think you are right that it’s a skill many of us underutilize when it comes to dealing with businesses. I actually wrote a blip about how I managed to get our credit card company to reduce our interest rate to 4.99% for the life of the balance a week or so ago, and I was so pleased that they were willing to do it! It was one of many small successes I had in dealing with our debt that week, and I learned that it’s definitely worth asking for it, and other things!
January 11th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
I have a credit card that I have had since 1991 and it had a 0 balance. This past summer we put a large purchase on it. It had an interest rate of 5.99% which we thought would be okay until DH’s bonus came. 2 months later my int rate jumpd to 19.99% for no reason. I made my payments on time etc. I called and asked them to lower it, grudgingly they agreed to lower it to 16%. I told them it still wasn’t low enough. I even told the lady, “you do realized that because you won’t lower my interest rate when I hang up I am going to call another credit card company, get 0% interst, transfer my balance and then you will get “NOTHING!!” She told me to do what I had to do. So, I hung up, called, transferred, etc… The next month I got a letter from my old credit card company offering me a 3% interest rate… Too Late!!
June 27th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
You’re right. The worst thing they can say is no. A lot of people don’t realize credit card interest is negotiable. I agree - everyone should ask and try and get reductions on APRs if they carry a balance.