How to dispute credit card charge : Bad Credit Advisor

How to dispute credit card charge

How to dispute a credit card charge, depends on what is involved. I would break it on three categories - small charge credit card dispute, outright fraud and large purchase dispute. I personally have to dispute credit card charges several times. Five to be exact and I have been quite successful so far. Three disputes involved small amounts, under $70 or so, the others were large but were too obviously fraudulent. All were filed under Unauthorized Transaction category which is explained a bit more in the end. I will start with how to dispute a small credit card charge because this is what the majority of our readers are dealing with.

Credit card dispute of small charges
When it comes to a credit card dispute, the most important is to keep your receipt from every transaction. Do not leave them and do not discard them. I normally keep mine until I receive the bill and go one by one verifying each charge with the corresponding receipt. Only then I shred them or tear tiny pieces. Couple times, I was billed twice for the gas purchases on American Express and Capital One at the same gas stations within two days on separate occasions, and the third time, someone tried to charge my business Chase credit card with € 40 worth of some Skype related business in Brussels.

How did I dispute? With charges on gas purchases, both American Express and Capital One ask to fill a small form after I called the number on the back of the credit card (it is on the back of your statement also) and to furnish relevant receipt copies. It was quite obvious that I couldn't waste 14 gallons in two days while being in the vicinity of the very same gas station. In both cases, it was likely the cashiers who did something by mistake or what have you.

To dispute credit charge with Chase, I had to furnish a proof that I weren't in Brussels around that time. The situation was quite funny because I was away for a week but not in Europe and left that card at home so no transactions were made. I did fax the copies of the hotel bill and few other credit card receipts showing that I was few thousand miles away from Belgium. In general this is how to dispute credit card charge - a small it is,

- go through all the charges and identify an incorrect one
- call the merchant to try resolving it first
- if the merchant refuses, contact your credit card company and initiate a dispute
- follow the instruction given, in most cases you would complete some form
- check withing 2 or 3 business days, normally it all that takes for a small dispute

If your credit card dispute with the bank goes nowhere, you may want to consult with The Fair Credit Billing Act which gives you the right to dispute a credit card charge or, under certain conditions even withhold payment.

When it comes to larger sums, it well ... can get a bit more complicated. If the actual fraud was committed, the dispute is more or less straight forward.

How to dispute credit card charge in case of obvious fraud
It is more than often useless to call the merchant. In 9 out of 10 cases they would ask you to call credit card issuer. And that is what you have to do. Call and be ready to have some proof. If you are an old customer with established pattern of buying, it should not be difficult, but sometimes it could be.

It happened with me twice, years back while vacationing in Caribbean, I paid $12 USD phone bill while checking out from 5-star Iberostar resort with TDWaterhouse Visa. In the next two weeks I discovered someone charged close to $4,000 USD from all over the islands. The nice smiling clerk probably decided to go on a little shopping spree. So after I filled my gas tank (here we go again with gas station) my credit card was denied. TDWaterhouse fraud center noticed that while I was doing a little shopping here in States, someone was having it good all over the tropics. I did pay $50 and they send me a new credit card, only after I faxed them a copy of my ticket back and Iberostar bill showing the dates I stayed there. Just for their records as they put it, for an easy charge off.

The second was again, with my Chase business card, when $999 came from Craigslist of Seattle. Now that credit card charge dispute took a few days and I was lucky enough to get it while the transaction was still going through. And that leads me to another important point - proactive monitoring and alert setting, especially if you have large limit credit cards which you don't use too often. Monitor them manually by logging to the Internet and checking for any pending charges - not all credit cards let you do it by the way. And set email alerts for transactions larger than the amount you normally charge at once. Anyway, I had to send a written letter that I don't have to do anything with Craigslist and those are not my charges. It sufficed and I don't know if it would have, had I not caught it before the charge was fully posted.

How to dispute credit card charge in hard cases
The worst credit card dispute cases involve large amounts of money, purchases of expensive goods, late deliveries, unsatisfactory merchandise, buyers remorse and so on. When you have tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars involved things can get ugly in a hurry. Under the federal law, you the consumer have a right to an investigation of your dispute, but you have no right to expect a favourable result. Or something along those lines. So how would you dispute a credit card charge when you buy some paintings or gold coins for $50,000 and then, something happens. The answer is quite simple - always prepare for the worst. By keeping all the correspondence including dates, amounts, items purchased, their conditions, etc, you have a better chance in your dispute. So,
- get everything in writing and keep receipts
- anything over $500 you should keep receipt indefinitely
- keep all warranty information for as long as warranty is
- when buying expensive and/or heavy items or the ones that require installation, like gun safe, in-ground basketball system, jacuzzi, children playground or outdoor spa, always ask for written confirmation of when the item will be delivered and what services are included
- read The Fair Credit Billing Act to learn those certain conditions when you have a right to dispute a credit card purchase or withhold payment
- file the charge dispute as soon as possible, even though you must generally file in writing within 60 days after the bill is sent, don't wait
- be ready for arbitration - while most disputes are settled between you and the merchant with the help of your bank, arbitration is decided by Visa or MasterCard and those can go for up 270 days
- be prepared to file a complaint with your state attorney general, the Better Business Bureau or a consumer advocacy group
- be prepared to file a lawsuit

How to file a credit card charge dispute
This is rather important and can save you plenty of grief. While there are over twenty categories under which you can dispute credit card charge, the two most popular are Unauthorized Transaction and Billing Error. The former gives you more protection, since by law, liability for unauthorized credit card use is limited to only $50, and most banks don't even bother. Also, unlike Billing Error disputes, which generally must be filed in writing, Unauthorized Transaction can be reported over the phone. In addition, you do not have to do it within 60 days.

Fri Sep 4, 2009 04:09PM by Tony | More in Personal Finance | Comments (0)

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