Credit card companies are very willing and quick to put a penalty charge on your account for every mistake, delay, or slip-up you make, without giving it a second thought. This is a sad fact of life. Millions of dollars can be taken from customers each month because of these fees. They are a necessary part of all credit card operations and are fair because they make sure that customers who do everything right and on time are not punished for the extra work and costs that other customers cause. You will want to make sure you are not one of the unlucky customers who has to pay for these extra costs.
The best way to avoid these fees is to look at the whole thing from the credit card company's point of view. Really, all they want from you is to keep your card safe, stay within your credit limit, and make at least your minimum payment on time every month. If you do these easy things, you will never have to pay a penalty on your account.
The problem is that these things are very easy to mess up. It's not easy at all to keep track of your outstanding balance, especially as we use credit cards for more and more things and companies start putting holds and other transactions on customers' accounts without them necessarily knowing or understanding about them. Then there's the fact that it's easy to forget to pay or pay late. Everyone has busy times in their lives, and sometimes paying the credit card bill on time isn't the most important thing on our minds. Some people are less organised than others, and it can be hard for them to make sure they pay off all their credit cards on time and in full.
If your card is lost or stolen through no fault of your own and you call your credit card company right away, you will only be responsible for up to $50. And if you tell the credit card company before your stolen card is used to buy anything, you won't have to pay anything. This is also the rule for identity theft and fraud, so you can use your credit card online without worrying. If you take a few simple steps, you can almost never have to pay credit card penalties.
