How to Handle Unauthorized Charges on Your Credit Card
May 27, 2007
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In this day and age of identity theft and fraud, it is important to check credit card bills. If someone has stolen your credit card number or unauthorized charges from a vendor appear on your statement, you have rights. Learn how to dispute an unauthorized charge on your credit card statement.
If you find an unauthorized charge on your credit card statement, report it immediately. Contact one of the major three whose reporting is used most often by merchants and banks: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. This will alert them that there may be discrepancies on your credit card report from that credit card issuer while you work to straighten out the problem.
According to the law, you do not have to report an error within sixty days. Credit card companies would have you to believe that sixty days is all you have to begin the process on a billing discrepancy pertaining to unauthorized charges. You do not have to notify them in writing. You may begin a credit card dispute over the phone.
If a person steals your credit card number and runs up a number of charges, you are not liable for any of them. The company may charge you fifty dollars. This is the most that they can assess you for the damage done by someone else.
The credit card company has to investigate the allegations of an unauthorized charge. They have ninety days to investigate and get back to you with their decision. You may withhold your payments pertaining to the charge in question until the issue of the unauthorized charge is resolved.
If you do not receive satisfaction within that time, you may move further up the chain to settle the dispute. The Office of the Comptroller of Currency is the federal agency that regulates credit card companies. File a complaint with them if the credit card company does not respond to your complaint. Most charges of this nature will be resolved in a timely fashion with the credit card company without need for further action on your part.
If the unauthorized charge was due to a lost wallet containing your credit cards, have them cancelled. Once the issue of theft has been cleared up, the credit card company can re-issue a new card. Cancel all cards, regardless of whether they had been used or not, if you suspect identity theft.
Handle unauthorized credit card charges immediately. Waiting could only compound the problem. The sooner the matter is brought to the attention of the credit card company, the easier it will be to dispute the charges and get them cancelled.
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Posted by admin | Filed Under Money & Finance
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