Singletary

the theater if we could get a refund (long shot!). We got one. For all the tickets, it was well over $100.”

Ask and you might receive — such as in this story: “I did that with Verizon when my spouse traveled to Canada. We set up an international plan that only cost a pittance for his calls there, but I found out he had made a bunch of trip-planning calls in advance of the trip, which were charged at the regular (higher) rate. While I was chatting with the service rep to set up the plan for his trip, I said. ‘Gee, I wish I had known about those planning calls, I would have signed up for the international plan earlier.’ I honestly wasn’t expecting anything. The rep adjusted the charges on the spot.”

Ask when the unexpected happens: “One year we paid our taxes late because our second child came early. I paid as soon as I could, then wrote to the IRS (and included a photo of both cute kiddos) explaining what happened. They sent us a onetime refund of most of the penalty and interest! I sent a copy of their letter with a similar letter to my state tax authorities and they gave us a refund too! Never hurts to ask or include cute photos — maybe use cats if you don’t have kids!”

Another story about taxes: “My Fairfax County business tax is due March 1. One year I was late. I sent the full payment with the late fee. I wrote a note explaining that my mother had died the Friday before and I left town in a hurry. I wasn’t asking for a refund, just that I not be reported to a credit agency for a late payment. A couple months later, I received a check refunding the penalty amount with a yellow sticky note that said, ‘So sorry for your loss.’”

After this last testimony, I’d like to end with a caution from a reader who got asked a lot.

“I’ve worked retail and customer service positions for years, and people expecting compensation for their own mistakes is really difficult to deal with — not just because they are often rude, but oftentimes the employee they are dealing with doesn’t have the ability or authority to do so. So, yes, it never hurts to ask, but please stress that no company or employee is obligated to do so.”

If it’s the company’s mistake, definitely ask. But if it’s your fault, don’t demand. Be humble. And don’t grumble when the answer is no. Readers can write to Michelle Singletary c/o The Washington Post, 1301 K St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20071. Her email address is michelle. singletary@washpost. com. Follow her on Twitter (@SingletaryM) or Facebook (www.facebook. com/MichelleSingletary). Comments and questions are welcome, but due to the volume of mail, personal responses may not be possible. Please also note comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writer’s name, unless a specific request to do otherwise is indicated.