As a child of the 80s I love the Beastie Boys- Sabotage, Brass Monkey, and of course the classic You Gotta Fight for Your Right (to party) are anthems for me.
With apologies to the Beastie Boys, a situation the other day reminded me that you also gotta fight to protect your money. My family works hard to earn our money- I assume you do too- and so we need to watch it doesn’t get nibbled away by companies looking to pad their bottom line.
I was surprised at a recent bill from Rogers. We’re on a promo for $70/month internet, but our bill came in at $140. I checked our paperwork, the promo was supposed to run until next year so clearly something had gone wrong. I called to find out what had happened- it turns out that they ran the payment on an old credit card and unsurprisingly the payment was declined. We had updated the card info and ensured a payment was made before the due date and had figured everything was ok.
Wrong! Rogers decided to charge us a $70 NSF fee even though the payment was made on-time and it was their choice to run a card payment well in advance of the due date. I was shocked that a company would charge such a high NSF fee, especially as they don’t incur any actual costs for a non-payment.
While I didn’t want to take it out on the lovely lady helping me on the phone, there was also no way I was going to accept this- time to fight for my money. I pointed out we had made the payment before the due date, that we were a client in good standing, and then asked them to reverse the charge. No drama, it took 30 seconds for Rogers to agree to credit the amount against our next bill.
Rogers isn’t alone in playing these kinds of games. Hidden fees, billing errors, and charges that only get resolved when you push back — it’s more common than it should be. One area I see often: bank fees. Over the course of a year, these can quietly add up to $200 or more. Keeping that money in your pocket is as simple as switching to no-fee banking. We use Cambrian here in Manitoba, but many credit unions offer fee-free accounts, and some banks will also waive fees if you hold a few products with them.
If you want to protect your money, with a view to building your savings rather than hand it over to a large company, here’s what I’d suggest:
- Review your statements monthly. Are bills processing at the right amount, or have extras snuck in? Fee increases can slide by with barely a notice and quietly turn a good deal into a bad one. Make sure refunds have come through, and for the right amount.If you see anything that is wrong, contact the company in question.
- If something looks wrong, contact the company. Sometimes it’s a simple mistake that gets fixed in minutes. Sometimes the error is on our side, we’re all human. If the amount is incorrect, ask for it to be corrected- ideally refunded or at least credited to your account.
- Escalate calmly if needed. Ask to speak with a manager, but stay composed. The people in call centres are doing their jobs within a script — they’re not the enemy. I like to ask them to explain things clearly, then repeat my understanding back in my own words. I’ll point out where their explanation doesn’t quite add up and ask them to walk me through it again. More often than not, this gets things resolved.
- Go to your bank or credit card if you hit a wall. I’ve had situations where a company dragged its feet on a refund — until I started a dispute with my credit card. Things moved quickly after that. Disputing a charge with your credit card is fairly straightforward; going through your bank can be trickier. And if you’re confident in your position and haven’t had luck either way, small claims court is always an option. Many companies won’t even show up, since the legal costs typically exceed the claim. Just make sure you’ve kept any correspondence and can present a clear, logical case for why you’re owed the money.
Most of the time, it really is fairly simple- just a matter of spotting an error and pointing it out. I prefer calling, since I can get resolution quickly and it’s easier to work through the nuances in real time. That said, email works well for many situations, and for anything substantial you’ll want written confirmation anyway.
Whether it’s an unjustified fee or something that hasn’t been billed correctly, keep an eye on your accounts and push back when you need to. If you wanna party, you gotta fight for your money!
-James
About James
James is the Managing Director of Creditaid, a credit counselling firm based in Winnipeg. He serves clients across western Canada, providing debt management plans and budgeting and money management advice. He enjoys going to bat for his clients against banks and lawyers alike. Growing up, money was tight so he understands the challenges many of his clients face and is passionate about helping people understand their options.