Show 'iTirMU'i imt 1 E The Salt Lake Tribune Friday March 6 1987 Bank’s turned 74 cents into major economic deal to par with some of my CPA friends but I can deduct $7 from any amount and usually have it come out right I told him I thought the error was more likely on their end of the stick After thinking it over the agent could not help but agree As a new year approaches perhaps I will live to see the end of this credit Editor's Not The Lifestyle department ol The Soil Lake Tribune welcomes Iree lance moteriol from Utah writers Each Friday one column will be selected based on scope of interest of subiect matter and writing obil-itMoteriol should not exceed 750 words The Tribune will pay regular space rates for those articles selected tor publication If work has been published m Free-Lanc- e Corner do not submit new work for six months The views expressed m selected columns are not necessarily those of The Solt Lake Tribune Please include address and telephone number on your story and moil Corner The Solt Loke Tribune Box 807 Solt Loke City Uloh 84110 card nightmare Who knows what lurks on the next neatly printed statement from the bank As for now my credit line has been restored and my perpetual case of heartburn has slowly subsided The only time I steam is when I think of the time and expense involved in trying to straighten out this mess I must hand it to the bank however To the totally forgettable amount of 74 cents has been added $28 in late fees $8 31 in telephone charges and 44 cents in postage for a return on investment of $34 75 Quite a fortune to any 5 year old Christine Miller recently graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in geography and an — AUTHORIZED DEALER — SEE US AT THE SALT PALACE MARCH 7 (9 am to 6 pm) Christine Miller cents Two quarters two dimes four pennies Unless you happen to be a 5 year old 74 cents is not mw a great deal of money I've blown more than that on one trip to the vending machine And most men at one time or another have proba- bly lost that much from their pants pocket while just sitting on a sofa Apparently howtever 74 cents means an awful lot to the bank that owns my credit card And believe it or not they have figured out a way to turn 74 cents into $34 75 Quite a return on investment I must say The whole sordid mess begins in the dripping hot month of July when I charged several tickets to the Mode concert along with various other summer sundries In August I waited with the usual tremor for the bill to arrive When it finally did much to my surprise a $7 late charge had been tacked on to the rest of the bill When I made out a check for the amount I owed I subtracted the $7 in late fees and wrapped it up in a nice letter explaining why I had not included payment of their late fee along with the payment of the charges (Excuse me if I’m wrong but how can they charge me a late fee before I even fail to pay the bill? 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'QiU'&a Seventy-fou- r NECCHI SIMPLICITY NEW HOME ‘PALMER-PLETSC- By She's worked on a cruise ship loves the ocean and the beach emphasis on travel and tourism Her favorite travel adventure is to Tahiti $299°o NOW: Rotary Quality AND UP by NEW HOME Mfr List $529 SEWING MACHINES FREE 5369UU Modei 5 SEWING MACHINE TABLES 4900 ARM and up THREAD De-pec- 6000 YD CONES (Selected Colors) NOW Also available 16” deep $4 Holds a TV or Stereo A ILfioSimg So 1100 Cast MnCAR” 2174 Just South of Clark Financial Corp a Mon-S- 487-328- at am-- 8 pm Shop weekdays test) The remainder of August and all of September melted away in a warm blur and much to my own amazement I failed to “master the possibilities” even once I hadn't finished patting myself on the back for this feat when I received a new bill from the bank for $1474 This was in the blustery month of October nearly three full months after I had written to them (And during that time I had not received so much as a thank you card from them!) I foolishly thought I had fulfilled my financial obligation to them And then this little gem One look at their neatly printed bill told mq they had added another late fee to the original one of August thus bringing the damage to $14 At this point I didn’t take much notice of the $74 J SHOP 10 9 10-- 9 F i FABRICii SEWING MUIHNE $ $049 Ui and up CENTERS il M C Saturday 10-- 7 r4 i ' Well fearing that with every passing moment another late charge was accumulating I decided to throw caution to the wind and call them to find out exactly what was going on One minor phone call right? No big deal Except that the bank happens to be in California We’re talking about rates here long distance prime-tim- e to and succinct I be brave Trying somehow managed to get my point across that it didn't seem quite fair to charge me for a late fee when in fact the payment was not late and then to add another late fee to the original was down right silly I could hear the computer keys clicking away in the background and after a long pause profuse apologies were offered with “We’re sorry for the inconvenience Ms Miller’’ As relief swept over me I forgot to ask about the origin of the 74 cents I guess I should have At last came the preholiday specials and the yearly clearance sales Both my card and I look forward to these events every year This year was no exception There was however one dull spot that cast a shadow over my holiday shopping spree A phone call from a collection agent He said my "delinquent" account had been referred to his office for immediate action (I’m too much of a lady to admit what my immediate action was') Apparently my early bird charges had arrived at the bank and they had not received payment on them And there was also this little matter of $14 74 that I needed to take care of With steam rising from every word 1 managed to tell this servant of big business that I had not received a bill and that's why the bank had not received any payment Concealing his shock he told me he would send one out from his office right away When it arrived I checked over the charges and then checked to make sure they had given me credit for the $14 74 in late fees They had deducted it all right only to turn around and add it back into the total at the bottom of the statement listing it as past due To make matters worse they had added another $12 late charge on top of the $14 74 By this time my smile of mild toleration had given way to a snarl of disgust and I was again forced to pick up the phone to reach out and touch someone I called my friendly neighborhood collection agent to try and get right to the heart of the matter During the course of the conversation he told me that if 1 Save 50 at the Warners Buy Two Sale at regular price and get the second at 50 off for a limited time only Buy the first item Select from a feminine collection fashions from Warners including of captivating lingerie Shine-O- n in pastels 1550 1750 Camisole li Petti A $16 C t rout undenvire bra And these other styles by Warners: D Body Shine front close undenvire bra ” 15-5- 0 E Hidden Powers' soft cup bra The Warner’s $16 Buy Two Sale on now through April 18 in Fashion Dayuear ‘Of lyutil nr less mint had paid the original 74 cents due in September I could have avoided the unfortunate late fees I said “What 74 cents” ' And he informed me that failed to pay 74 cents somehow when 1 paid off the balance way back 1 in August Now my math skills may not be up FaKsSmMQt '1 Hr |