How to dispute a credit card purchase

Make the law work for you

To get the Fair Credit Billing Act to work for you, here's what you need to do:

Try to resolve the problem with the merchant. "Give them the chance to fix it. Sometimes they do," says Cary L. Flitter, a consumer attorney in Narberth, Pa.

"If you use common sense and courtesy, it usually gets the problem solved before it becomes a Fair Credit Billing problem."

If possible, take the defective merchandise back to the store. Otherwise, call the store and ask for a manager or supervisor. Keep records of each conversation.

"You always want to have a paper trail," says Deborah McNaughton, author of "The Insider's Guide to Managing Your Credit." "Make notes of dates and times and who you talked to."

If the merchant won't budge, put your complaint in writing. Outline the dispute in a short, detailed letter to the merchant and send it certified mail.

Be sure to make copies of the complaint letter sent to the merchant. One copy will be sent to your credit card company as proof that you tried to resolve the dispute with the merchant and one copy will be kept in your records.

The next step is contacting your credit card company and alerting them of the disputed purchase amount. To be protected under the Fair Credit Billing Act you'll need to do this in writing and within 60 days after the bill with the disputed charge was sent to you.

Fully document your case. In your letter, be sure to include your credit card account number, the closing date of the bill on which the disputed charge appears, a description of the disputed item and why you're withholding payment. Enclose a copy of your complaint letter to the merchant and any other documentation you may have supporting your position.

Make sure it gets there. Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the credit card company at the address for "billing inquiries" and not the address for payments.

A credit card company cannot charge you finance charges on a disputed charge. But you will still be charged interest on any other purchases you may have made. Be sure to include a payment for these purchases with your letter.

Don't delay in the mailing of your dispute letter, especially if it includes a payment. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, an issuer can take as many as five days to credit a payment not sent to the payment address.

Your issuer will then contact the merchant and hear its side of the story. Two things can happen. If the card company sides with the merchant, you'll have to pay for the disputed item, plus any finance charges. If the card company sides with you, you don't have to pay a penny.

To dispute a bill, it's best to move quickly. You'll want to inform your card issuer of the disputed charge before it's due for payment. You can't withhold a payment once a bill is paid.

ok heres an intrumental guitar epic solo i think even Sir Joe would love,something to relax to while on those long flights or bus trips Joe, I would really love some feedback on this , be warned, its a 30 minute song so those who are on high speed cable or adsl broaband can down load it and listen to it... it sort of reflects my life the last year or so with my mum and her dimentia and alzimers etc, Ive had a lot of issues to deal with , been tempted many times to end it, but still alive and fighting the fight each day at a time, the guitar is what keeps me free......

Good Morning Satchland.....

Sugarbaby......Angelina.....Your welcome.

Master Yoda..... Thanks so much. I'd be honored. Can you add a link to my site on your site? It's all about networking. If you don't want to that's fine. Here's my link. http://www.thebluesmavericks.com Let me know what you think. Thanks again.

Cheese...... I'm happy for you and your P's. 60+ years of marrage. That's fantastic. This Oct. will be 26 yrs. for Cindy and I.... and I thought that was long .... Whew ! ! ! Sorry about Chromie not workin' out for you. If I had the money I'd buy one. I want to get a JS1000 or 1200 but a little tight on money or at least no extra cash now for toys. ( sad face )

LucySorets..... Welcome back. Sounds like you had a good time. Glad you're back safe.

Logged in at the chat last night at 1 am. Everyone was sleeping and that's where I went after I logged off.

SOTD....." I like the rain ".... It rained last night in Chicago and it's raining as I write this. It sounds so peaceful and Rain is something we haven't seen to often this Summer. It's nice.

Have A Great Day Everybody ! ! !

OCPS470...yes...the price tag is restrictive...I love the sound of the old Echoplex's & Roland units...but the tape replacement & head cleaning is for the birds....lol

Hi everyone at Satchland!

Keniko, thanks for the welcome back :-) Yeah I had a great time but I'm still happy to be back home too. And "I Like The Rain" for song of the day too, it's so warm here right now...

Regarding what GARTRIANI is saying...Joe's Premium tickets have still not been offered in Europe...but I like Steve Vai's EVO Premium Experience, specially because includes a bag of goodies with guitar pick, tour programme, CD with interview and bonus track...,I really love this type of thingies so I have to say that I agree with these collector's edition tickets

aussieRGman, here's a good site for posters http://www.pushposters.co.uk/ currently three different posters of Joe available.

By the way...I hope things get better for you...

Has anyone received an email with songs attached from pino danilo prestinenzi or victoryolove ??

I have not opened it - afraid of viruses

hello Jackpiazza............. from one italian to another.

Dakook........... LOVE YOU HUNNY

Hello everyone else hope everyone is having a good Monday!

LucySorets thanks for the site, thats cool..

keniko, thanks for your kind words, and to others, Its been very difficult this year, maybe next year will be better?

(HEAD PEAVEY JSX)

.....HI TO EVERYONE, AND HI JOE I'M AN ITALIAN MAN, EXCUSE MY BAD ENGLISH.... .....SO I'VE PURCHASE, 4 MONTH LATER, THE HEAD PEAVEY JSX AND WITH MY PAINFUL I HAVE SEE THE HEAD IS NOT A GOOD PRODUCT....IT HAVE BAD QUALITY SOUND.... THE SOUND IS DARK, CLOSED, WITH HIGH FREQUENCY MODORATE, RATHER WITH HIGH FREQUENCY IN HIGH LEVEL THE SOUND IS LIKE A MOSQUITO, WITH A WHISH IN BACKGROUND.