By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-01-05 21:18:17 | Word Count: 664
Gone are the days of waiting for your credit card statement to come in the mail. Nowadays most people have access to their banking accounts online and check in daily. Therefore an error can be spotted that day, making it easier to resolve and reverse unnecessary charges. If you find a mistake, follow these simple steps to dispute a credit charge.
1. Locate any incorrect charges and compile as much information as you can about them.
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2. Contact the merchant where the charge occurred directly, especially if the mistake is a wrong amount. Perhaps you were supposed to be charged $2.78 at Dunkin Donuts and you were actually charged $27.80. The merchant may be able to issue you a refund without getting your bank involved.
3. If the merchant can’t or won’t help you, then you should contact your credit card company. Simply explain to them that you need to dispute a charge on your account.
4. Work with your credit card company to provide all the required information so they can help you. This process has a major you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours feel. The easier you make things for your bank by providing them with all the possible detailed information about your claim, the more likely they are to resolve the issue in your favor rapidly.
5. Sometimes, though, it takes time to resolve a dispute, especially if the merchant isn’t helpful. Make sure you allow your bank ample time to remove the charge.
Tips and Tricks for Disputing a Credit Card Charge Successfully
* Be sure to collect all the relevant statements and receipts prior to beginning the disputing process. That way you will be able to readily answer questions accurately and speed the resolution process.
* Always work to resolve the incorrect charge with the merchant first. If you skip this step, your bank will probably make you go back and do it, so you might as well start here. Sometimes the merchant’s phone number appears on your statement, and contact information for the store is always on the receipt, so contacting them shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.
* If your creditor ends up denying your dispute, don’t despair. Try to collect additional information that would prove the error and ask your company what else you can do to have the charge removed or reversed.
* Some companies, especially online vendors, bill you under a different name. So, before you file a dispute make sure the charge is in fact wrong. Verify dollar amounts against the things you’ve purchased to try and piece together who’s who.
* If there happen to be multiple outstanding charges you did not make on your account, you may be the victim of credit card fraud. Contact your bank immediately so they can cancel the account and issue you a new credit card. It’s important to monitor your account closely so you can catch something like this before the thief racks up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges.
By following these simple steps and taking the tips into account you should have no trouble at all disputing an incorrect credit card charge.
