My Dog Ate My Visa Bill and other excuses for not paying

Which of these reasons for not paying a bill will a credit card company be likely to accept?

1. My dog destroyed all my bills and I lost my Visa bill, so I couldn’t pay.
   
2. I got married and the wedding costs were more than what I’d budgeted for, so I didn’t have the funds last month.
   
3. I was traveling out of the country and my accountant was supposed to pay my bills, but he missed this one.
   
4. I have auto-pay set up, so I assumed the bill would be paid like always, but I changed banks and forgot to reset the account.
   
5. I was laid off work with no advance notice, so I couldn’t pay for a few months.

Do you see a good reason or two from the list above? If so, which ones are likely to be accepted by Visa or Capital One or MasterCard?

Answer: None of them. Here’s why:

1. If your bill is destroyed, you are supposed to contact them before the due date and make payment arrangements.
   
2. Overspending on a wedding or anything else is not an acceptable excuse for not paying as agreed.
   
3. It is not their fault that your accountant failed to pay the bill; they do not give grace for traveeling reasons.
   
4. Changing banks or being overdrawn is not an excusable reason for being late. You are supposed to pay better attention to your finances.
   
5. If you are laid off work, you should have money in reserves to cover your bills while you’re looking for a new job. At the very least, you should contact the creditor immediately to inquire about making other arrangements — which you must get in writing to be sure they don’t report you as late for making a partial payment, even if they agreed to do so on the phone.

Now let’s look at how a different type of reason may work for getting grace from a creditor:

1. Dear Creditor:
   On 9/12/2025, I was in a terrible car accident that put me in the hospital. I was in intensive care for several weeks and required emergency surgery to save my life. Naturally, I was focused on survival and was unable to take care of my Visa bill during that time. I have enclosed copies of my hospital bill to show the date corresponds with the date of the crash and so you can see this was a major life-threatening event.
   I have been a customer of Visa for five years and have never been late. I am now recovered and at home and am paying the full balance on my Visa bill. This late payment on my credit report is not accurate nor reflective of my pristine finance management. Therefore, I ask that you instruct your team to remove the late notation from my credit report so that I can continue being a loyal customer of Visa.

2. Dear Creditor:
Yesterday, I checked my credit report to make sure everything was accurate, and I was surprised to find an inaccuracy regarding my student loan #xxxx12345. It shows a missed payment last month, which is false. How could I be late when I have auto-pay set up? I have paid on time for the past three years! It appears that your system did not record my payment. I have enclosed a copy of my bank statement that shows the $255.36 monthly bill was withdrawn from my account on 11/15. I don’t know why your system failed to withdraw it on the normal set-up date, but this is not my fault, and I was not late, and reporting it as a late payment is erroneous and a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Reporting Act.
DELETE the late payment at once and confirm deletion to me.

You can see the difference between the five excuses at the beginning and the two reasons after. Both of the two reasons after also include documentation.

While there is never a guarantee for what the creditor’s response will be, you will have a greater chance of success if your reason makes sense, does not sound like you’re being irresponsible or sloppy, and includes documentation to support what you’re saying.

And remember this: If your first attempt fails, don’t give up. The pros don’t quit on their clients if they get a rejection letter. They proceed to “round two” and then to “round three” if necessary.

And now I have a question for you: If I put together a short book on Best Tips for Credit and Finance Success, would that be something you would purchase? If enough people comment saying yes, then I will get to work on that right away. Either way, thank you for reading my books and my posts.

Carolyn Warren