It’s a shame he’s a banker, not a baker. If he were the latter, you could go and meet him wearing a Baker Infuriating Hat.
IANAL but there are laws about this sort of thing. You may want to consult a lawyer.
First, read your loan agreement and see if there are fees for late payments. (I don’t know how you can say there were no payment arrears when you were 30, 60 and 90 days late with three consecutive payments.)
Second, there is such a thing as a statute of limitations for collections, which varies from state to state (I looked into this recently in Virginia). It sounds like you were never even contacted by a collections agency. In the best of circumstances it will turn out that they have no right to impose collections fees that were assessed two years ago and which they never notified you of, if they are not part of the loan agreement. Personally I think the bank is on shaky ground, but then again, IANAL, and I don’t have a copy of your loan agreement.
I don’t suppose you have any of their responses in writing, do you?
Rather than argue the banker by calling him names, I’d suggest you file a complaint with agency that regulates the bank. As far as I can tell, several agencies do this depending on the type of bank. These agencies include the Comptroller of the Currency and State regulators. I’m sure there are others, but a call to the bank should reveal the regulating agency for that bank.
If you can document that you took care of the late payments quickly, and that the bank never informed you of fees at the time, you might be in a pretty good position to get the fees removed.
Oh, and like CookingWithGas said, read the loan papers first.
Edited to add: List of regulators.
Or even a Bakker, they really like they really don’t like being called on when it comes to accounting practices.
Wait, they told you in writing that you didn’t owe anything else? IANAL, but that seems like if nothing else a pretty good bargaining chip for you. I’d call them up again, trying to be polite, and ask them for a detailed explanation. Mention (politely) that you’d hate to go to court over this, but, what with this statement in writing from them saying you don’t owe anything, you might have no choice. Remember, any court case, even if they win, will cost them more than $500.
In the US, correspondence like this is sent certified, return-receipt requested letter in the mail. Usually it has to be signed for? They will have records of this if they aren’t lying. It’s worth pursuing (politely.) Still, perception is often reality, at least insofar as your credit rating and the like. Regardless of who is at fault, you are the one that is impacted and they don’t care.
Well…being born within the sound of Bow Bells, I’d call him (ironically) a ‘merchant banker’.
So that’s where the financial center i…ohhhhh. nevermind 