February 26,2009
-
News: Consumer Credit Card Rights.
When disputing disputes, credit cards are certainly the way to go. They're one of the best protections going. It's nice to have someone who cares, to mediate. That's what you get with credit cards and, it's hard to find elsewhere. Not without other concerns, when it comes to getting your fair clout, credit cards deliver.
It's very easy to dispute a credit card purchase (some say too easy). If the dispute is decided to be legitimate, like damaged goods, late deliveries, misrepresented goods or services or even, bogus charges, your charge will be conveniently removed from your credit card account with no fees attached. The merchant will, however, be subjected to chargeback fees, even if they manage to turn the decision back around at a later time. Just knowing this, usually makes merchants more negotiable at the onset.
Our protection comes from the federal Fair Credit Billing Act. When making a credit card purchase, you have the right to a refund when you don't get what you paid for. Even in tenuous circumstances like, when a merchant takes your money and runs, files for bankruptcy or simply refuses to work with you. Still, you are covered.
Generally, the place to start is with the merchant. If they won't help you or you can't ever reach them on the phone (by far, the most common), then call your credit card issuer. You can either file your dispute right then (recommended) or else file it on-line at your leisure. The reason it's better filed with a human is because, if you fill out the form incorrectly you probably won't know. You'll find out after your dispute is rejected for a mistake you made on the form. By then, it's often too late to fix and you've lost your case.
The credit card issuing bank will then investigate your charge and offer to get back with you on it. Don't wait past two weeks, however. If there's a technical problem that you could fix, your bank may not get back with you in time to fix it (even if they say they will). Find out, ahead, when the expiration date is. The closer you approach that, the more phone calls you should make.