ATLANTA — How do you turn 34 cents into 35 bucks?
One credit card company did it to an Atlanta man. He called Consumer Advisor Clark Howard's radio show to complain.
Brian Olliff doesn't like to get paper bills. He signs up for paperless billing every chance he gets.
But with his Credit One credit card, he can't go paperless.
"They send a paper statement, but still you have the option of doing everything online, as far as paying your bill and checking your status or whatever," Brian said.
This month, Brian checked his status online. He said his minimum payment was $9 even. In fact, the "standard payment" was already filled in, so Brian says all he had to do was click "pay". Just one problem: His real minimum payment was $9.34.
Brian was hit with a $35 late fee. Brian said, "I asked them why that was so, and they said online they round it to the nearest dollar. So even though it said I had to pay $9 online, I actually had to pay $9.34."
We checked with Credit One and found out it is company policy to round the online information to the nearest dollar.
If you've got a beef with your credit card company or your bank, Clark says don't just take it lying down. Fight back. Go to OCC.Gov, and look for the link for consumers to file a complaint and file away.
WSBTV
