The Fair Credit Billing Act And You

It has happened to us all, we open the mail only to see that there is an error on the credit card bill. As luck would have it that error is rarely on the side of the consumer so it stands to reason that action should be taken in an effort to correct the error.

Credit card billing errors happen and can happen for a number of reasons. Human errors, computing mistakes, and merchants who simply fail to report returns can all cause billing errors. The Fair Credit Billing Act was established to give consumers a tool to fight those errors with unfortunately, consumers are either unaware of the law or use it inappropriately.

With the housing market crisis forcing many from their homes and lenders tightening on the number of borrowers they issue credit too it is important to be vigilant about the credit cards you do have. Keep up to date with payments, charge only items that you absolutely must charge, and dispute mistakes.

A billing error includes any number of mistakes and instances. Below are just a few examples:

• Incorrect charges - This includes items that were never purchased by the consumer. Seeing these charges might actually mean that someone has stolen your credit card number and identity. It is important to dispute these charges no matter how small.
• Charged for items not received - This is especially a problem with online auction sites and online catalogs.
• Errors in math including failure to note returns and charge backs

There are, of course, several others so if you do see a problem not listed above it is crucial to dispute the charge.

Once a mistake is identified you have 60 days to send a written letter to the card company notifying them of the mistake. Experts in credit card counseling suggest using certified mail so your letter is not “lost in the mail”.

After you bring the mistake to your credit card company they are required to acknowledge the dispute in 30 days. Thanks to the Fair Credit Billing Act, card companies are now required to investigate the charge where as they were once able to ignore the claim.

This fact is one of the greatest assets to consumers through the bill. This shows that the law is really on the consumers’ side. With the proper steps many of these billing errors are resolved in favor of the consumer.

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