Credit
Card Responsibility
Credit card laws such as the recently signed Credit Card Act of 2009 are very helpful to consumers but they can
only do so much.
What you need to remember as a cardholder, first and foremost, is that using a credit card is a responsibility. You
signed a contract with the credit card company and you agreed to their terms and conditions. Hence, you need to
keep your end of the bargain. Credit card responsibility is not only for card issuers, it is
primarily given to cardholders, and it is under the federal law. It is, therefore, your duty to be aware of your
credit card responsibility as a consumer.
Your first credit card responsibility is to provide prompt payment to your credit card bills. Lest you want late
fees and other finance charges to be added to your next bill, you have to pay on time and follow the requirements
given by the credit card company. Otherwise, you’ll end up paying for more and there will be nothing you can do
about it.
Your second credit card responsibility is to formally inform your card issuer of refunds they need to give or of
errors on your bill. Let us say charges for an item you returned are included in your bill. If the amount is more
than one dollar, you have to write your issuer immediately for a refund. It is then the company’s responsibility to
send you that refund within seven business days of getting your letter.
If you want billing errors corrected and want to avoid paying for something you did not purchase or receive, the
credit card responsibility of correcting these errors is yours. Any errors should be corrected promptly. Credit
card companies usually have rules and guidelines for billing error correction. These rules should be given to you
when you get approved for a credit card. So, it is your responsibility to follow them. Otherwise, the card issuer
will just ignore you. The typical guideline is usually to write a dispute letter. To whom the letter should be
addressed and what it should contain is usually stated at the back of your credit card statement. Write a clear and
precise letter that contains all the necessary information including a description of the billing error. Also, make
sure that the letter reaches the issuer within 60 days after you receive your billing statement. While this is
being investigated, you can choose to withhold payment on that amount. However, you still have to pay for the
undisputed amounts promptly.
From using your credit card to keeping a record of all bills and receipts, your credit card responsibility
does not stop with paying the bills.
Source: Credit Cards For People With Bad Credit Rating
 Print this
page |  Bookmark this page
| 