Delinquent Dogs aka Never Be Willing to Pay Fees for ANYTHING

Yesterday I had to call one of my credit card companies, and I learned a very valuable lesson.

First, a little background on how I got to that point.

On May 2, Bailey was outside at my parents' house when the neighbor's 3 dogs (one of them being their delinquent son's delinquent dog) came out and started fence fighting with him.  Normally he doesn't get very upset, but this time they set him off and he ran up to the fence and started barking back.  I yelled at him, but his hearing isn't what it once was and I don't think he heard me.  The delinquent hound dog actually pushed his way under the chain link fence and attacked Bailey.  He bit him in the face.  It was a pretty serious gash.  A $300 trip to the Emergency Vet resulted in 2 layers of subcutaneous sutures and 7 staples in his face.  Despite the fact that I did not allow the vet to anesthetize Bailey (much to her irritation, I'm sure), she did a pretty awesome job of closing it up.

While at the vet clinic, even thought my parents were willing to help me out, I decided to apply for Care Credit.  I was approved.  Ultimately, the neighbors paid for half the cost.  I now think that was a mistake to accept only half, but at the time we thought the injury might be a result of the fence rather than the dog.

What's done is done.

So, that brings us to yesterday.  I had sent a payment for the Care Credit card the other day and it came back to me RTS because there was no stamp on it.  I don't know how it ended up with no stamp on it, but it did.  I decided to call the company and see if I could make a payment using my debit card over the phone.  The conversation went something like this:

Me:  Is it possible for me to make a payment using my debit card?

CC Lady:  Oh, yes, you can do that.

Me:  Is there a fee for doing so?

CC Lady:  (I think Indian accents are cool, but a combo of road noise and a soft spoken Indian woman rendered me deaf)

Me:  How many dollars?

CC Lady:  Fifteen, One-Five, maam

Me:  Oh, well, then forget it.  I guess you'll have to wait for a check.

CC Lady:  Let me see if I can waive the fee.  (2 second pause)  Ok, how much would you like to pay?

Me:  So... you're NOT charging me ANY fees at all, right?

CC Lady:  No, you don't have to pay the fee, I can waive it.

Me:  Ok, I would like to pay...

The moral of the story...

Naughty hounds who never get any exercise or training are not evil, but the owners who allow them to get that way are.

Never be willing to pay for fees, delivery charges, or anything of the like - the charge will magically disappear because they want your money, and they want it NOW.