Comments on: Be Financially Proactive

By: Niki

Niki — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:11:10 +0000

If I purchased something under $20- $30 that didn’t work, didn’t fit just right or broke right away I would never return it. I would just give it away, replace it or donate it because the few dollars didn’t seem worth the hassle of returning it. When my husband was laid off we were in a tight spot. I noticed I had several small items that were new/unused that could be returned. Everything still had tags on it and I had to hunt for receipts, but I had about $125 in small item returns just sitting around the house.

I was pretty shocked at how much money I was wasting by not returning things. $10 here, $5 there, $15, $20…. it really only took a few items to get to $100… and I wouldn’t have just left $100 on the table.

Now I am more organized. I keep my receipts in a special wallet and if something needs to be returned, I take it back right away. Most stores have very reasonable return policies. I am a fair and honest customer and never intentionally buy something with the intention of returning it, but if something legitimately needs to be returned I am not embarrassed to do this anymore.

By: Kristen from FiLife

Kristen from FiLife — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:59:48 +0000

I’ve had success negotiating credit card rates down and getting phone bills reduced. In all of these cases, I treated the person with respect.

But I’ve had a lot less luck when I let my frustration get the best of me.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:06:40 +0000

I went all the way to the CEO of Wachovia Securities when they started introducing a $50 inactivity fee. No luck, they said I was notified of the fee and would not reverse it. I moved my money out (paying another fee to do so, though I was reimbursed by the new brokerage) and have not looked back.

I have had much more success with Wachovia Bank (different than Wachovia Securities) in reversing fees. They introduced a fee a few years ago for using “Direct Web Connect” for downloading transaction data into Money/Quicken, and I had some kind of marker on my account to prevent that fee from being charged to me in the future.

By: Don

Don — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:50:36 +0000

Dinner in a restaurant with the family, I had soup and chicken/rib combo. The table was a little full so I put my side plate under the soup bowl and plate. When I had finished the ribs I put the bones in the soup bowl. These were BIG bones, hanging over the side of the bowl. The Hostess is a friend of mine from years back and she stopped by the table to say hello and see how the meal was. Everyone said it was good and then I said in a low voice “BUT I have a small complaint”. She was surprised and worried asking me what was wrong. I replied while pointing to my bowl “there were BONES in my SOUP!” She was instantly relieved and laughed as she took away our dishes. As she was going back to the kitchen she said to the bartender “Customer complaint! There was bones in da soup!” as she showed the bartender the bowl with the rib bones in it. They both laughed, the manager overheard the complaint/response and became very concerned. She rushed out to the bar to find out what had happened, why the customer was mad and as she came out she said to the hostess “Comp the meal!” My friend, the hostess said “no no it’s a joke, I know the Guy. look at the bones!” The manager looked, laughed and said “comp the meal”. Sometimes it pays to be an idiot! ;)

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:12:41 +0000

We went to a restaurant and they charged another table’s bill to our card. It took a bit of explaining (it wasn’t until the manager listed the items on the bill and I denied eating/drinking any of them) but eventually we figured it out. I felt bad, since I assume the restaurant would never be able to collect on that dinner they served to someone, but in the end that’s not my responsibility. It was a big difference, since all my table had were a few appetizers, and the other table had a bunch of steaks etc. as well as drinks.

Another time, I had to debate with a manger in person. I tried to exchange a something, and the clerk didn’t tell me what I was getting for my return until after the transaction was complete. I was unhappy with the amount so I had her reverse the transaction. However, she didn’t do it right, so I walked in and out with the same item but $4 less. I had to go back and explain it to the manager for a good 20 minutes. We both got quite frustrated, but eventually we figured out that he thought I had left with both the old and the new item. Even so, before we realized that he was willing to give me my 4 bucks back just because he was sick of arguing about it!

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:22:55 +0000

Definitely.

1) “Lower my credit card interest rate or else I quite.” That got me a 5% lower fee.

2) “Match me the interest savings at this other bank.” They did.

We just have to ask.