When Credit Card Statements Go Wrong

Have you ever had the unfortunate experience of opening your credit card statement only to find out that there are several purchases listed that you know you didn’t make? Maybe you only use your card for a specific store, or for gas at the local gas station- and you find purchases from a variety of department stores. Whatever the purchases are that you didn’t make, do you know what your rights are regarding unauthorized use of your credit card? If you’ve never had this problem, you are lucky as identity theft and credit card theft is becoming very common. Another common situation faced by credit card users is when they actually do make a purchase using the card online or over the phone- and the item never arrives, or the service gained from the credit card purchase is not what it should have been. It can help to know what rights you have as a credit card holder in these situations before they occur, and the best way of handling them.

Charges Made By Someone Else

There is a federal law that helps limit the amount of responsibility a credit card holder has for charges made by someone else. The Fair Credit Billing Act protects you against fraudulent charges and limits your own responsibility for charges you didn’t make to just $50, provided you report the situation immediately. When you open your statement and see a charge that you did not incur, follow the steps to getting it corrected immediately: Step 1: call the creditor’s customer service line and explain that there are charges that were not made by you. They will ask you a few questions and instruct you as to what you need to do next to remedy the situation. Step 2: Review all of your other credit card statements carefully to make sure there are no other charges that you may have overlooked. You may even want to look at the last few months again to be sure you didn’t skip over any from previous statements. You will probably be required to sign a form by the credit card company that indicates that you were not the person to make the charges that are in dispute. Be sure not to use your credit card while you are disputing the fraudulent charges. When you get a resolution (it may take a few weeks!) call and order a copy of your credit report from each of the major credit bureaus so that you can be sure that each of the error records have been updated there as well (if there are any). What might happen is while the card is in dispute for the fraudulent charges, late payments may occur and they should not be reported to the bureaus as they are caused by the dispute process. You can find out more about the credit card dispute process from the Fair Trade Commission, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fcb.pdf.

When You Do Not Receive What You Expect

There are many people who choose to purchase items with a credit card because of the extra level of protection received by doing so. Lets say you used your credit card to pay the roofing company who is supposed to repair the leak in your roof, but after they leave the roof still leaks. When you paid the company, you expected they fix the problem for that money, and if the roof is still leaking, you are not satisfied with your purchase. If you had paid cash you would have a difficult time getting your money back once the transaction took place, but when you purchase a service with a credit card, you have some options available to you. Step 1: Call the contractor or service provider first. Most of the time, the company is honest and will return to finish the work or will work out other arrangements with you to keep you satisfied. Document the contact with a letter to help you in the event that the work is still not completed as expected. Step 2: If the company turns out to be dishonest and does not take the necessary steps to correct the problem, call your credit card company immediately to report the situation. Do this immediately, as many companies have deadlines on reporting such problems. They will be able to help you get a refund.