How to Exercise Your Credit Card Rights

Even though it’s clear that credit card companies tend to have the upper hand when it comes to matters related to using your credit cards, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives you a number of rights that you can exercise whenever you need to.  For more information about your credit card rights, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov).  This is the most reliable resource for learning about credit card fraud, how to deal with lost or stolen credit cards, fair billing rights, and unfair or deceptive business practices.  You can also submit consumer complaints if you feel your credit card rights have been violated.

Disputing Credit Card Charges

Disputing a charge on your card is likely to be the most common reason you’ll need to exercise your credit card rights.  Sometimes a merchant accidentally double charges your credit card, you may get billed for items that never arrive, or that are received defective.  You can dispute these charges by following the following procedures:

1) Contact the credit card company within 60 days of the statement listing the item you want to dispute.  There is an address on the back of your credit card statement to use for “billing inquiries”.  Write to them and be sure to include your account number, your name, and the details of what happened and what you want the credit card company to do to remedy the situation (refund the charge).

2) Sign the letter and make a copy for your own records.  If possible, make copies of your dated receipts for the item you are disputing the charge for.  When you mail the letter and supporting documents, be sure to send with a method that gives proof of delivery – certified mail is a good option and will not cost you much more.

3) The credit card company will open an investigation, during which time you are not required to pay for the item being disputed, or finance charges accumulating during that time (on that item’s price).  If you win the dispute, you will not have to pay for the item or the finance charges.  If you do not win the billing dispute, you will have to make the payment.

Handling Unauthorized Charges

The second most common situation that requires credit card users to exercise their rights is when unauthorized charges appear on their statements.  Most credit cards have a $0 liability policy for charges you didn’t authorize; and some will require you pay $50 (which isn’t bad considering unauthorized charges are typically a result of a thief getting your card and going on a shopping spree that could run up hundreds or thousands of dollars!)

The moment you see an unauthorized charge on your credit card statement, you must get on the phone and contact the customer service department to report the charge(s).  They will put a hold on the account so that no further charges can occur while the matter is investigated.

When Your Debt Is More Than You Can Pay

If you spend more on your credit card than you can afford to pay back, or your circumstances changed after you charged the purchases – you have a right to be treated fairly during the debt collection process.  The Fair Debt Collection Practice Act requires that all debt collection methods are done using fair methods, and are prohibited from contacting you during certain hours, or make false statements designed to bully you into paying the debt.  If your credit card company or debt collectors working on their behalf goes outside the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act regulations, you can report them to the proper authorities.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 7:44 am and is filed under Card Security, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.