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Archives for August 2013

Write The Perfect Credit Card Cancellation Letter

By Frugaling 2 Comments

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After traveling to Costa Rica, some fraudulent amounts were charged to my credit card. Unfortunately, after much coaxing, questioning, and negotiating, my card company refused to refund the charges. I decided to write a cancellation letter.

After traveling to Costa Rica, some fraudulent amounts were charged to my credit card. Unfortunately, after much coaxing, questioning, and negotiating, my card company refused to refund the charges. I decided to write a cancellation letter.

At times, I find my words to more potent than my voice. It connotes an ability to publish, share elsewhere and on grander scales. A cancellation letter makes your message clear: You’re unhappy with the status quo and willing to leave.

Below is my cancellation letter that I sent to a credit card company. After mailing it and having multiple, lengthy phone calls with billing dispute representatives, customer service agents, and managers, a solution was found. I’ve decided to leave the company name removed for privacy reasons and because they responded fairly to my complaints.

Before reading on, here are five quick writing tips:

1. Be Polite

2. Be Direct

3. Be Honest

4. Be Concise

5. Be Hard To Get

This letter made all the difference.

Dear Company A,

In my second year of college (2008), I researched and scoured the web for a credit card. Eventually, I settled on Company A credit card with some sort of cash bonus. I slowly worked up my credit line and built a healthy credit score from there.

I never churned Company A credit cards or participated in strange cash back behaviors (read: buying coins through the U.S. Mint). The company benefited from some of my poor financial decisions when I transferred a few balance transfers to the Company A card.

Over the years I’ve had minor issues and billing concerns, but never any problem with Company A‘s customer service or basic functions. The card always worked, had no fraudulent behavior, and if there were ever issues, Company A‘s staff was professional and courteous.

Because of my sizable history with Company A, I decided to apply for another: the Company A credit card. The attractive bonus miles and a statement credit were a powerful value. I was flying a fair amount last spring, and Company A’s airline partner was the best airline to fly from the Midwest to West Coast. Receiving the extra miles and features seemed like a perfect fit.

Then, I did my first serious travel with the card. At the beginning of summer and the rainy season, I traveled with my girlfriend to Costa Rica. Prior to flying down, we booked a rental car. The prices were staggeringly inexpensive and we knew the card offered rental insurance. We entered in the Company A-branded card’s digits and were assured that a rental would be available for our four days of travel. The price was a little less than $60.

We arrived to a beautiful day in the Central American country. The rental service picked us up and took us to their off-airport office. We received a map, talked about insurance, advice about travel, and were about to embark on a wonderful five-day adventure when the employee gave us an ultimatum: provide documentation of rental insurance or receive an added charge.

All of a sudden, the price shot up to $187.52. There was nothing we could do, but I trusted Company A would stand by their customers – by me. I was a loyal customer and believed they would credit me and investigate this strange business practice.

When I landed back in the States, I called Company A for help. I was issued a conditional credit and a dispute case was initiated. The customer service agents assured me that they would figure this out, but that I needed to send documentation.

While I still had the Orbitz receipt and sent that in, the Economy Rent A Car receipt was impossible to find – a consequence of international travel. Nonetheless, the incorrect (possibly fraudulent) charge was on my credit card and the merchant was listed.

A few days went by and then I received a letter riddled with computer-generated errors asking for more information. I sent in everything and said that this extra charge should be considered fraudulent. The case continued.

In future letters, I was asked if I was still interested in calling this a fraud claim. This confused me, as I started the case under this assumption. Orbitz, Economy, and the employees in Costa Rica had misappropriated pricing and I was the sucker suffering from it. I believed this to be dishonest and fraudulent business practices.

Company A’s dispute representatives continued to guide me in the case, and believed that I would receive the refund permanently. Then I received a disturbing letter on July 18, 2013. The important points:

This merchant is involved in the following type of business: AUTOMOBILE RENTAL AGENCY and their telephone number is unavailable.

We previously issued a conditional credit to your account for the amount in question pending the outcome of our investigation. Now that the investigation is complete, we have rebilled your account for this charge along with any related fees and interest charges.

Time and time again, I’d heard from others and in searches online that if a credit company couldn’t reach the company for comment, they’d give the purchaser the benefit of the doubt. If a company is unreachable that seems strange to me. How could a company not be reached, but the bill still be considered valid? Woudn’t this be like the defendant not showing up to a court case?

The crazy part is that other companies stand by the customers concerns and problems. For instance, here’s Discover’s dispute agreement:

How does the dispute process work?

After gathering information and any documentation you may have, we issue a credit to your account while we investigate the transaction. We notify the merchant of your dispute. If the merchant responds, we evaluate the information they provide and then either a credit is issued from the merchant’s account or the credit we issued during investigation is reversed. If the merchant doesn’t respond, a credit is issued from their account. (Discover FAQs)

Unfortunately, Company A, you’ve decided to reverse the charge and bill me for the full amount. The merchant’s failure to respond to communication hasn’t been enough to credit me. After much arguing, frustration, and mixed messages by your staff, you decided to credit me $50 for my troubles. That still leaves an $80 gap, and I don’t believe that charge is legal, right, or fair.

The next step is easy:

A card that successfully advocates for you deserves your business and recommendation. (NBC)

Today, I’m saying goodbye. After 5 years and 1 month of time, I’m canceling both my credit cards with Company A. I have a feeling Company B, Company C, and Company D will stand behind their customers and work with them to offer a reasonable due process. In fact, I know they will from previous experiences.

Thank you for reading,

Sam

Filed Under: Make Money

Three Months of Frugaling: A Reflection

By Frugaling 11 Comments

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 Three months later and over 70 articles published, the website is attracting surprisingly large audiences and helping me stay frugal.

Related:  Two Months of Frugaling: A Reflection

I looked at a pile of debt and wondered if there was a way to get back to square one: zero. Out of this came a website based on self-reflection, education, and growth. Frugaling.org came to fruition out of these desires. Three months later and over 70 articles published, the website is attracting surprisingly large audiences and helping me stay frugal.

The site was founded on May 4th, 2013, as the spring semester of graduate school was just wrapping up. I wanted to write about my efforts and find an audience. Since then, nearly 40,000 people have visited the site.

While I continue to make budgetary mistakes, I’m committed to righting my course and getting rid of debt. All summer, I’ve hustled to create money out of nothing and it’s beginning to work. I’m excited to report that the month of July was an incredible period for the site.

Major highlights this month:

  • Affiliate Revenue started at $125
    • I wrote my first affiliate article regarding the Barclaycard Arrival World Mastercard
      Becoming a member of an affiliate network helped increase profits and meet new companies
  • AdSense Revenue increased from $13.68 to $40
    • Solidified advertising locations and wrote consistently – these factors seemed to work together to pad budget
  • Over 30 Published Articles
    • The reason is simple: I wrote a lot
    • I published about one article per day and often had articles lined up for publication
  • A Week Long Challenge Attracted New Audiences
    • I engaged my audience in a frugal challenge for one week
    • This 7-day writing experiment caused people to revisit the site for updates and click through the entire series
    • It inspired me to seek other challenges and opportunities to cultivate lasting audiences
  • Support From The Personal Finance Community
    • Continued support from the Yakezie financial community was priceless
    • If you haven’t heard of the personal finance group, check them out here: Yakezie.com
  • Recorded 6,645 visitors in one day
    • Strong traffic caused an incredible spike in revenue and subscriptions
    • This was largely credited to a couple popular Reddit articles that reached the top of “frugal”

Filed Under: Make Money Tagged With: reflection

Bitcoin: The Truest Altruism?

By Frugaling 2 Comments

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A few years ago, I founded a scholarship in suicide prevention. For the efforts, a permanent endowment awards undergraduates that are looking to prevent suicides and dedicate their lives to helping others. But I always wondered what would happen if it was anonymous, privatized, and fee-less. Would people give?

A few years ago, I founded a scholarship in suicide prevention. For the efforts, a permanent endowment awards undergraduates that are looking to prevent suicides and dedicate their lives to helping others. But I always wondered what would happen if it was anonymous, privatized, and fee-less. Would people give?

That’s My Name

My name will forever be attached to the endowment. Part of me is proud, and the other part is embarrassed. The scholarship has opened doors for me that I never thought I’d walk through. I’ve followed dreams and seen my life open up before my eyes.

But my name is irrelevant. It’s not about me; rather, for everyone that could benefit from funds. Part of me wonders how the scholarship could’ve benefited from a nameless founder and private, inspired donations. Suicide prevention and fundraising is bigger than me. Now, there’s a way.

A $1 Tip

A couple weeks ago I wrote a story about Bitcoin. I included a link to support me via this burgeoning cryptocurrency (read more about how it works). In the first couple hours of the story’s publication, I received a $1 (0.01 BTC) donation.

The first thing I wanted to do was learn about the person. How could I thank them? How could I ask them why they decided to support me?

As I looked at the receipt, I only saw a series of numbers and letters. Like the code above this story, it was nameless. There wasn’t somebody to thank, ask, or inquire about the tip. Likewise, that person wasn’t asking for acknowledgement, either. I had stumbled upon something truly altruistic.

Altruism’s Existence

There’s a hearty debate over the existence of altruism. Some say it’s impossible, and that you inherently benefit by giving. When ExxonMobil plasters its name over the side of a research building at a university, they’re benefiting from that money. When I raised that money and started the scholarship, I benefited (in more ways than I could ever expect). Likely, it was the single greatest reason for my entrance to graduate school.

Suddenly, as I looked at that nameless, private, obscure code, I reveled in the altruism. Here was somebody that consciously gave without expectation or assumption of something, anything in return. Literally, I had no recourse to thank them.

While they could have felt a sense of pride in giving, this may be the most benign benefit to the giver. Could Bitcoin actually be the most altruistic form of giving?

Bitcoin’s Private Start

Bitcoin was founded by a pseudonymous group/individual entitled, “Satoshi Nakamoto.” Since the beginning, the cryptocurrency’s founder(s) stayed entirely private and unknown. Lengthy investigations by respectable news outlets have come up dry (article 1, article 2, article 3). All they have is speculation.

People continue to question, “Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?”

In the truest, most genuine, and altruistic creation, the founder of this $1.1 billion currency remains unknown and its users are nameless. Everything about Bitcoin has been designed to match the privacy of a cash-based transaction and surpass the security of a credit card.

A Private Future

From a highly-secured beginning to a powerful currency that can buy nearly anything, Bitcoin is catching on. We have long lived in a world where giving was associated with tax deductions, names, and credit.

With Bitcoin, there’s a brighter, better future. This is one where true altruism exists. Where somebody can surprise another, give generously, donate to a special non-profit, or change someone’s life – all while remaining a quiet, nameless figure.

Filed Under: Make Money Tagged With: Bitcoin

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