Consumer and Merchant fraud review!
Welcome to this weeks lesson on how to protect yourself from consumer and merchant fraud!
Have you ever been billed for merchandise you either returned or never received? Has your credit card company ever charged you twice for the same item or failed to credit a payment to your account? While frustrating, these errors can be corrected. It takes a little patience and knowledge of the dispute settlement procedures provided by the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA).
Step 1. Fill in this quick and easy sample letter to be sent to the merchant in question, This gets the ball rolling and shows that you have made a attempt to settle the dispute directly with the parties in question without the assistance of the Federal Trade Commission,The bank that issued the credit card.
[Date]
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Your City, State, Zip Code]
[Your Account Number]
[Name of Creditor]
[Billing Inquiries]
[Address]
[City, State, Zip Code]
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to dispute a billing error in the amount of [ $______] on my account. The amount is inaccurate because [describe the problem]. I am requesting that the error be corrected, that any finance and other charges related to the disputed amount be credited as well, and that I receive an accurate statement.
Enclosed are copies of [use this sentence to describe any information you are enclosing, like sales slips or payment records] supporting my position. Please investigate this matter and correct the billing error as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Enclosures: [List the enclosures]
Step 2. Give it a little time before you proceed to the next step, Allow the Merchant to contact you about the complaint you have against them, Rule of thumb for me is 7 days from the date of the letter.
Stay tuned for the next installment of "Better call Saul" where we discuss what to do if the merchant refuses to reply back to your letter or make any attempts to solve the complaint made against him!!
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