Sometimes it DOES pay to be responsible

Online banking has one disadvantage: you could click on the wrong payee and get yourself in whole heap load of trouble. Instead of paying $2,000 to our credit card company, I accidentally paid that to our car insurance company by the click of a button. I only found this out after my credit card was declined because I was overdue. I called my insurance company for a refund and they said it had already been mailed out 3 days ago (less $300 that they applied to the remaining premium). Then I called our credit card company and they were very accommodating. Since I'd never been late in the last 7 years we've had the card, they obligingly credited back the late fee and the interest accrued (remember how our rate increased due to the economy?) and noted in their file that I would be paying it as soon as my refund from the other payee is back in my bank. (However, I had to pay a $15 over-the-phone-fee to pay the late fee, which would later be credited back, just so the penalty could be released and my credit card would no longer be declined.) They also put in the request for my now sky-rocketed interest rate be brought back down to the lower (although still high) interest rate. They also assured me that the late payment would not be reported to the credit bureau.

Because of our good credit history, we were forgiven a $100-mistake. So I guess it DOES pay to be responsible because your creditors will have mercy on you.