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Credit Cards > Consumer Protection
When does my credit card have to help me?
LISA SINGHANIA, AP Business Writer. Associated Press
Copyright Associated Press
Q. An unfamiliar charge appeared on my credit card bill recently, and I called my credit card company for help. They issued a temporary credit and, when it was determined I'd been billed erroneously, removed the charge. Do all all credit cards offer this service, and do they set any limits?
A. The "Fair Credit Billing" act provides certain protections to consumers in the case of billing errors, but the law is less clear when it comes to other disputes.
A billing error generally refers to a charge for something that wasn't purchased or that was billed incorrectly. But the term can be broadly defined to include charges for products or services that were declined on delivery or that were not delivered according to agreement.
If you believe you have been billed incorrectly, you have 60 days to notify the credit card company in writing of the mistake. In many cases, you can simply call the credit card company, tell them you plan to dispute a charge, and they will mail you paperwork to fill out.
Until the dispute is resolved, you do not have to pay for the charge in question. You are responsible, however, for the rest of your bill.
Your credit card company then has 90 days, or two billing periods, to resolve the issue, at which point they must either credit your account for the amount in question or notify you why they believe charge is correct.
If it turns out an error was made, you are not responsible for any related finance charges.
These basic protections are offered by all credit and charge cards, including MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. Some card issuers may offer additional consumer services, such as product warranties or car or travel insurance. But these are all at their discretion, and subject to change.
A credit card company's obligations are less rigorous when it comes to disputes outside of billing errors. The law does not require them to intervene in disputes involving negligence, malpractice or product liability. So, for example, if you go to the doctor and are unhappy with the service provided, your credit card company may not help you dispute the bill.
The redress for defective goods and services is also more constrained. In some cases, a consumer can withhold payment _ say for a dispute over repair of a car _ as long as he or she is making a real attempt to resolve the problem with the merchant.
And if 60 days have passed since the original bill was sent, a credit card is under no obligation to resolve a dispute, even in cases where, for example, an airline goes out of business leaving a consumer with unused plane tickets.
Still, it doesn't hurt to ask credit card companies for help. They want to keep your business.
Be sure to keep notes of each conversation you have, whether with the credit card company or with the vendor, including name, date and any action promised.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Dateline: Undated
Text Word Count 498
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• Credit Cards > Consumer Protection Archive
• Credit card payoff Use this calculator to see what it will take to payoff your credit card balance, and what you can change to meet your repayment goals.
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