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My brother might be appalled to learn that I don’t check my credit card statement every month. I’d just look at the balance due and, if it was somewhere in the ballpark of what I expected, I’d pay it.

The most recent statement for my wife’s credit card came recently. Well, it didn’t really arrive here because everything is electronic now. But I got an email saying that the bill was ready. I thought the balance was slightly more than it should have been, so I clicked on the View Statement button.

This credit card never had an annual fee. But I saw a line in the statement that said $60 for the annual fee.

Where did that come from?

Apparently they weren’t making much money off that card, so they added a fee. Since the fee was brand new, I had a chance to appeal the terms of the card. The note thingy said that we had 30 days from receipt of the bill to dispute the fee.

We disputed it. Or rather, my wife did. It’s her card so she has to be the one to officially talk to the credit card people.

Who are in India.

And are not authorized to remove that fee.

So she said “Fine, cancel the card then.” And lo, the card was cancelled.

The timing of all that was interesting because she had been eyeing a new credit card just a week earlier – a card with a fancy-schmancy rewards program. I didn’t want to add yet another credit card to the mix, but it turns out that now we can.

And I have learned my lesson and will be reviewing credit card statements more thoroughly, at least for a little while.