How To Deal With Credit Card Bill Errors?

Although all kinds of accounts must be checked, it is easiest to check credit card accounts because you receive the bill every month. You can review the bill and verify your expenses. It is easy to compare the bill with the receipts and find the errors.

How To Review You Credit Card Bill?

It would be a wise thing to keep a separate file for each credit card company from which you receive bill. Most companies include a leaflet along with the bill that tells you how to read it. When you are going through the bill look out for the following.

• A recurring charge that may have been authorized some time back and you have forgotten to stop it.
• A duplicate charge.
• A purchase that has not been made by you.
• Or, an incorrect amount charged to you.

The errors may have been made by mistake and you must get it fixed immediately.

Analyze The Reason For The Error

But before you take any action, analyze the situation and try to remember if there are any missing receipts. If so, the billing may be right and you have just forgotten an expense. Some of the reasons for the errors may be: -

• A family member may have used the card online.
• Or, another reason may be that the purchase has been made by you but has been charged incorrectly. This is a situation that may pose a problem, as you have to dispute it within 60 days and the bill is received later.
• In case you have not made the purchase, you have to determine if it indicates a fraud.
• It may also be due to the merchant’s mistake.

Dealing With Mistakes On Your Credit Card

When you have ascertained the reason for the dispute and know that it is genuine, take the following steps to deal with it.

• Write a letter to the card company within 60 days of date of erroneous credit card bill. If the complaint is later that the date of the bill, then you should have genuine reasons for the delay in lodging the complaint.
• Your letter should contain details like your name, credit card number, the amount charged and the date of erroneous charge. It should also contain reasons for disputing the charge along with documentary proof, if possible. The documents or receipts help to resolve the problem at the earliest.
• The Credit card issuer must resolve it within 2 cycles of billing. He has to assist you in the resolution of the problem.

If the error has been determined as a fraud, then write to the credit card company and cancel your card.

At the time that the dispute is being resolved, the card company cannot collect payment from you or report it as delinquent to the credit bureau. You are completely protected under the Fair Credits Reporting Act if you act in accordance with the instructions.

The credit card company has many ways to pad your bill but it does not do so by adding fake expenses. It will do so by adding interest rates.