I ordered dishes with a no payment for five months option. I received the bill about Jan. 20, the day before it was due. I phoned and said it would be late, since I just got the bill. It took 3 weeks to get to me. They said there would be a charge ($35) for being overdue.
Should I be held responsible when I only had one day's notice? I made 3 phone calls trying to find a solution, offering to pay it immediately with a credit card, which was not allowed. I have a very good credit rating.
Is there a way out?

So the company does not take credit cards?

"didn't get the bill" is not a legal reason to get out of it... although if you sweet talk them they might remove it.

Basically you're stuck - unless you want to spend time and heartache disputing it... and in the meantime suffering potential credit damage.

Just my view on it.

I ordered dishes with a no payment for five months option. I received the bill about Jan. 20, the day before it was due. I phoned and said it would be late, since I just got the bill. It took 3 weeks to get to me. They said there would be a charge ($35) for being overdue.
Should I be held responsible when I only had one day's notice? I made 3 phone calls trying to find a solution, offering to pay it immediately with a credit card, which was not allowed. I have a very good credit rating.
Is there a way out?

A bill is not required to establish a debt. When you ordered the merchandise you agreed to make a payment. Their sending you a bill was a courtesy to remind you, but even the date the bill was sent doesn't establish when it was due. You knew when you put in the order.

So I'm afraid you are stuck. However, a company that would insist on such a charge given the circumstances is not one I would do business with again.

Ok, I guess it is really not needed but yes you will have to pay the late fee and honestly I would be wary of this company if they would not take a credit card over the phone, some companies make a lot of extra money by posting payments late and other methods to have additional charges.

You need to call them and try and talk to a customer service manager to see if you can get a credit for this.