Since I rambled here about how much I despise Sallie Mae, I feel the need to share my experience yesterday with CitiBank.
I have a credit card with Citi and, if you look back to see, I have a balance of over $7,000 on that card. It is one we are working to pay off. And the current interest rate was at 28.99%.
Well, yesterday I got two phone calls from them. I missed the first because I was in the shower, but got the second on my way home from work. The most pleasant person in the world answered the phone the make sure I was aware that I overlooked an extra $13 on my payment and to inform me that I was currently past due. I apologized and said I didn't realize my payment had gone up. We make an automatic payment of $250, so I didn't notice that the amount due had changed to $263. I inquired as to why it changed. He said something about "changes to the agreement" to which I replied, "oh, they upped the interest rate again, great."
He then informed me I could opt out if I wanted to, but I would have to cancel the card at the end of it's current cycle. I didn't have to pay it off, but I could no longer use it. This is a card I got myself and have had for a few years. It has a nice rewards plan and I'd like to keep it after I pay it off for emergencies and things like hotels and online payments, which I told him. I also said it would be nice to keep it without an interest rate of 30%.
To which he promptly said well, if you make your payment today to bring the account current I can give you an APR of 8.49%. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Of course! And I made a beeline for the computer as soon as I got home and paid another $50. Plus, today at work we got a $100 safety bonus (before taxes) for going three years without a lost-time injury, so it's paid for too!
I couldn't believe it. I barely even asked to lower it and he did, just like that. Just because I whined a little. There's a lesson here folks, just ask. I was especially surprised when I heard on the news this morning that Citi is being helped out by the government. They're in bad shape and they still slashed my interest rate. Thank you Citi for a very different customer service experience than what I am used to. I thanked the gentleman and explained that I was impressed and really appreciated his helpfulness. What a day.
We also installed a new toilet in our upstairs bathroom. No more pink toilet, now it's just the tub, sink and walls. We went from a 5 gallon ancient beast to a new 1.6 gal Cadet3 from American Standard. With and elongated bowl and 16.5" height, just for Hubby!
The evening wasn't all rosy though. I managed to drop one of the flange bolts down the drain and had to make an emergency run to get a new bolt and a water supply line (we knew that would have to happen but were prepared to wait until today). I can't believe I'm going to say this, but thank God for Walmart. The only place to get plumbing supplies at 10pm. I didn't get a picture, but I will soon. It makes the whole room look better.
Sometimes all we have to do is ask, that's for sure! Loved your very creative recipe holder!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I used to knock myself out on Fridays trying to get it all done (when the kids were little), now I try to space it all out during the week.