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Advantages of Credit
Cards
Considering the number of people who own credit
cards these days, I would say that most people agree that there
is a great advantage in owning at least one card. And there is
an advantage to owning a few different kinds, as not all shops
and services accept American Express, for example.
The Advantages of Credit Cards
by: Christine Breen
There are many evils associated with credit
cards, but there are benefits that are hard to ignore. One
benefit is having the credit card company act in your behalf to
recover funds from a disputed transaction. Under the Fair
Credit Billing Act the credit card company has to investigate
the dispute and either take the charge off your bill or explain
why it is correct. Even better, you don't have to pay the
portion of the credit-card bill or related interest charges
while the dispute is being investigated.
The types of billing disputes/errors
covered by the Fair Credit Billing Act are:
-
Charges that list the wrong date or
amount.
-
Charges for goods and services you didn't accept or
weren't delivered as agreed.
-
Math errors.
-
Failure to post payments and other credits, such as
returns.
-
Unauthorized charges.
I think that these days there
are many fewer mathematical errors, not
because we are any better at adding and
subtracting, but because the tools are readily
available. At most stores, you will see a
calculator right by the cash register, in case
the cashier needs to total anything before
using the cash registry. Typically, we do not
use our brains for these calculations, and I
suspect that there are many of the younger
generation who are incapable of working these
things out without the use of a
calculator, a sad state of affairs.
~Site Editor |
Before you dispute any of issues you must
first contact the retailer and try to settle the dispute. If
they ignore you, or the dispute is not settled then contact the
credit card company. Usually you need to have your dispute in
writing to the credit card company. The address for billing
disputes is different then the address to send payments. The
billing dispute address can be found on the back of your
monthly statement. If it cannot be found, call the credit card
company's customer service for the billing dispute address. You
usually only have a certain number of days to dispute the
billing error so make sure you mail in your dispute before the
deadline.
If contacting the credit card company doesn't
resolve the dispute, you may contact the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency's Customer Assistance Group. Their
website is www.occ.treas.gov/customer.htm and phone number is
800-613-6743.
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