Chances are you’re doing a lot of spending this holiday season, but there’s a smaller chance you’re giving much thought to how you’re paying — a local consumers’ group suggest you might want to take that detail into consideration.
Chances are you’re doing a lot of spending this holiday season, but there’s a smaller chance you’re giving much thought to how you’re paying — a consumers’ group suggests you might want to take that detail into consideration.
“I often advise people, if they can, to pay with a credit card, especially if they’re ordering merchandise online or dealing with a company they haven’t dealt with before, like a new auto repair shop or a new home repair business,” said Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Washington Consumers’ Checkbook.
As opposed to paying with a debit card or cash, Brasler said “credit cards have baked-in protections,” based on the Fair Credit Billing Act.
“If the product doesn’t arrive, or what you ordered wasn’t what was described, or if you get your car repaired and find out later they didn’t do a good job, you can dispute that charge with your credit company,” Brasler said. “And that credit card company has to freeze that amount on your credit card, investigate and decide whether or not you get your money back.”
Brasler said in most cases, credit card companies side with consumers rather than businesses in these disputes. “I think the main reason is that most credit card companies are interested in keeping their cardholders happy,” so they’ll continue to use the card for future purchases.
Consumers’ Checkbook suggests before disputing a charge, allow the offending company a reasonable chance to resolve the problem.
To contest a charge, ask the bank or company that issued your credit card for its chargeback procedures. Often it can be accomplished on the company’s website by going to your list of purchases, selecting the transaction, and using a link to report the problem.
At that point, the credit card company will investigate with the vendor you paid. “They’re going to go back to that business and say, ‘Hey, there’s a problem here. They’re saying that they want their money back, and we’re going to do a chargeback unless we hear from you,’” Brasler said.
Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, the company must send you a written acknowledgment within 30 days of receiving your dispute, and resolve the issue within two billing cycles, but no more than 90 days. The credit card company cannot try to collect the disputed amount or report it as delinquent.
“It’s often easy to prove on the consumer’s side that, ‘This wasn’t my fault, the merchandise didn’t arrive, fraud occurred on my card, or the repair that was done on my car didn’t take or wasn’t done properly and my car is not working,’” Brasler said. “It’s usually easier for consumers to prove they’re in the right than it is for businesses.”
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