Bank of America charged Roger $39.23 in interest on his credit card, even though he had a zero balance. How could that be?

Chicago Tribune reports that when Roger asked Bank of America for an explanation, he got one. But it didn’t make sense. He had run up a $5,734.13 balance, got $1,450 in credit from two of the merchants, and paid off the remaining balance. So how can you get charged interest where there’s nothing due on the account?

Bank of America told Roger that those credits “are not considered payments,” therefore, “the interest charges were applied correctly.” He contacted a 2nd Bank of America rep to verify, and got the same response.

When Chicago Tribunes “Problem Solver” columnist Jon Yates stepped in, the bank changed their tune. They agreed to waive the fees as a “courtesy” but said the interest charges were valid. They claimed the interest was from a $600 balance Roger had carried. Roger says that doesn’t make sense either because he carried that balance during a 0% promotional interest rate period.

“They never gave me a real good explanation,” Roger told the Chicago Tribune. “I’m not sure that they understand it.”

Word to the wise, if you got a large amount of credit back on your Bank of America credit card, better check your next statement to make sure you they’re not erroneously charging you interest.

Problem Solver: Numbers don’t add up on credit card charge [Chicago Tribune] (Thanks to aJoy3!)

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