As a credit card holder, it is your duty and responsibility to pay your bills on time. You do this not only to maintain your credit rating, but also to avoid paying late or finance charges on your succeeding bill. When you receive your bill, however, make sure that you go through all the itemized purchases and double check these with the receipts you have on hand – everything should match. If your credit card statement reflects purchases that you don’t recall making, you have every right to dispute these charges.

The right time for you to dispute erroneous charges is immediately after you notice it on your statement. You should call your credit card company and report that there are unauthorized charges reflected on your account. The customer service representative will get more details from you and advice you what your next move should be. Normally, you will be asked to write a formal letter of complaint which they should receive within 60 days of delivery of the bill. When you write your letter, you should include your personal details (name and address), your account and/or credit card number, the error and briefly explain why you are disputing this charge. You may attach a photocopy of the billing statement as a supporting document.

The credit card company must acknowledge receipt of your complaint, and the dispute should be resolved before the 3^rd billing statement is released. Since credit card companies seldom issue refunds, the disputed amount will probably be deducted from your succeeding billing statement. You, however, may be charge a small fee covering unauthorized charges.

Disputing a credit card charge, though quite easy, is still a hassle. To avoid this, you should take good care of your card and use it wisely. Some things you may do include crossing out any blank spaces on charge slips (or encircle the total bill) and keeping your card away from the view of others. In case your card is stolen, you should report the loss immediately so the card company can block your card number thus rendering the card useless.

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