Credit card disputes

[TechnoLoGs]

Has anyone had to dispute charges on a credit card?
Has anyone won?

What was the outcome?

I am presently faxing my police report to my Citi card. Lost card, someone ran up like $500+ worth of items. Still fighting it.

You?

 

[hattaresguy]

Never had an issue, just called up and they took off the charges.

Someone got my Discover card last year and ran up about $1,300 worth of computer part charges before I checked my account.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Yup. Got some unauthorized charges on my Discover card last year. All it took was a single phone call and the charges were removed.

 

[TWG1572]

I have Citi and the process has been quick and painless. No issues whatsoever. My last experience was this spring, when someone used my card to buy a $1,000 TV from Walmart.com. One call and it was done. If you having to fight, something is wrong. I'd ask for a manager.

The reality is Citi just turns around and charges the amount back to the vendor. It's not like they are eating the charge anyway.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: TWG1572
The reality is Citi just turns around and charges the amount back to the vendor. It's not like they are eating the charge anyway.


Oh? I've been curious how this works, as in, who eats the charge. The store just treats it like shoplifting then?

 

[dparm]

Depends on the issuer. In general the dispute process is pretty straightforward and you shouldn't have to "fight" it unless the charges were like $20,000.

I'd bet that stuff under $1k they just write off and don't even investigate.

 

[loyd]

One more little tidbit, the charges will still show on your credit report!

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: TechnoLoGs
Has anyone had to dispute charges on a credit card?
Has anyone won?

What was the outcome?

I am presently faxing my police report to my Citi card. Lost card, someone ran up like $500+ worth of items. Still fighting it.

You?


If a credit card was stolen then it should be easy to get charges removed. if the dispute is you are unhappy with a TV bought on a credit card and store will not refund the money, then harder. If your 4 yr old charged stuff who knows.

 

[TechnoLoGs]

Originally Posted By: dparm

I'd bet that stuff under $1k they just write off and don't even investigate.


Well...

1. I started this dispute when Best Buy Reward Zone Mastercard was under Capital One.
2. C1 did everything possible to fight/demand proof.
3. They ended up NOT CREDITING ANYTHING.
4. My credit has been $500 overlimit ever since ,and, therefore, credit ruined. Two months late now. (Not paying until resolved in my favor.)

5. Fast-forward to more than two MONTHS later. Last week, on Day 1 of Citi ownership, September 9th, I RE-dispute ALL unauthorized charges, even more than originally. I call them today.. Sure enough, they never received my faxed police report.

I faced it four times. To two different numbers, possibly three.

The Citi lady thanked me for faxing it in, saying "It helps but it is not required." I also typed a 1-page letter explaining situation.

She said it could take up to 30 days and "Is in final stages," then said "A couple of weeks," then said "An investigator is looking at it now."

The last time was in 2008, I had $344 refunded to RushCard. Took a full 90 days. On Day 91, the money came back. I thought I would never see it again.

So, of course.. I spend my time with the cars. Next Volvo will not be killed by me. A promise.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: loyd
One more little tidbit, the charges will still show on your credit report!


This is way misleading. Once a month the credit card company reports a current balance to the credit bureau. In most cases it seems a few days after your next statement is prepared.

If charges are on your card as of that date, the balance will show that.

Credit card companies are required to remove the charges while an investigation is pending.

A matter of timing.

 

[Artem]

Never had anything unauthorized activity on any of my credit cards like you guys are report (stolen card numbers / cards, etc)

The only time I had to dispute a charge was when I did a free 14 day trail for something I saw on TV. The product was bogus, so I called within like 5-7 days and canceled the "subscription" before I was to get charged on the 14th day. Well, they charged my card anyway on the next statement. I called and complained, so the company credited the $14.99 back and canceled whatever subscription I had (did it not get canceled the first time I called???)

Well, next month, I see a second $14.99 charge from the same company, called them up and was told that nothing should have been charged since my subscription is canceled.

I then filed a dispute with AMEX online regarding the unauthorized charge. 60 days later, it got credited back to my account and I haven't heard from them since.

Keep your credit cards secure and report any activity immediately! Oh and check your credit report as well on a monthly basis. I get credit report statements from my bank every month for a $5 fee. Last month I caught an "over credit limit" error that Sears posted on a credit card I have with them. I'm still trying to get this issue corrected and report from my report...

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: TWG1572
The reality is Citi just turns around and charges the amount back to the vendor. It's not like they are eating the charge anyway.


Oh? I've been curious how this works, as in, who eats the charge. The store just treats it like shoplifting then?


Yes because the clerk is supposed to check signatures between customer and card.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Yes because the clerk is supposed to check signatures between customer and card.

What if it's an online transaction and no signature?

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Yes because the clerk is supposed to check signatures between customer and card.

What if it's an online transaction and no signature?



The credit card transaction fee is typically higher for this since fraud is a bit easier. Either way, it's almost always the merchant that eats it unless they're out of business.


For the record, Amex's dispute process is the best by a mile. They almost always side with the cardholder.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Really? I thought It was all automated if you sign on the pad - though recently I could put a squiggly line as a sig and it was accepted. I had my account stolen when i went out of town to the Ford Stealership in Nashua. The CC co called me and emailed me. They reviewed my typicall charges, then, CAP1 issued me a new cc (in a week!) and not on the hook for any charges (someone buying Apple macs, etc in CA(!)

 

[Donald]

I went to Key West a few years ago used my credit card, a few days latter the credit card was cancelled by the bank for fraudulent charges. I never made one call except to get a new card.

 

[JHZR2]

Only one time. Stupid company in KS sold something to someone in the Ukraine with my CC #. Disputed it and it was gone.

 

[Donald]

Also if I go some place away from home I carry a credit card with a 1000 limit and use that for charges where you never know who might grab your card. So at a major hotel then normal credit card, but in some small shop or restaurant, then the $1000 limit card.

Its a real pain to be away from home and have your only credit card cancelled by the bank for fraud.

 

[EricF]

We had a customer a long while ago (1993) pay their repair bill with am-ex. A week later, amex sends a letter to dispute the charges stating the parts & labor charges were to high for the work that was done.
The customer went to the library, got a hold of the Mitchell labor/estimator guide and did some math. Then called 2 autoparts stores (kragen & Grand Auto at the time) and got their over counter prices for the parts that we sold to them.
Our invoices were always detailed with parts and labor.
However the owner was known to hike up the prices depending on his mood.
So he hands me the letter and says deal with it. So I did. amex wanted proof of charges and markups. So I dug in the mitchell book, make a photocopy of the page where the work was done, (the job was an alternator, forgot the car). highlighted each subitem that's allowed to be billed in conjunction with the original time estimate.
So the whole job is 2hrs. If there's a/c you add .2, if there's p/s, add .3, etc.. So I asked the tech to verify the items I photocopied and he said he did remove each of those items.
So she was billed for I think 2.8hours, not 2.
The labor rate was $78/hr (which was considered high for a shop back then).
Then the parts, I got the exact Carquest invoices from the storage, copied that, and my boss never used list pricing, he always doubled or even worse the cost price. This time he doubled the cost.
So I submitted the cost & sold prices, and noted that the parts were sold either below list price, or above list price if they were premium parts. Fortunately only p/s fluid and belt were slightly above list, the alternator was sold at list. (cuz doubling net would've been less).
Fortunately, Mitchell had a price estimator section for "their" version of what the parts should be sold at. I included this too with the highlighted recommended pricing.
I wrote a note saying how we came to the charges and that also the customer signed the estimate form and approved the extra charges for the new belt and that we didn't charge extra labor for belt installation, although we could have.
I mailed everything to am-ex. a few days later the owner says to stop wasting my time and just let it go. I said I am sure we can win. the owners wife tells him to just let me try, I wasn't wasting much time, I did the research when i was clocked out to keep him at bay.
am-ex calls us 2 weeks later and they were ready for battle.
the guy throws at me the parts cost from kragen & grand auto, and asked if I thought that was high. I said it isn't if the customer was doing the work on their own. I said we have a right to make a profit to pay the tech and keep the lights on. The markup is fair and the proof is right there on the Mitchell estimated price guide. The guy didn't understand the parts stuff, markups or anything about a work order invoice.
So I said, according to Mitchell, which is the defacto standard of how every shop is supposed abide by their labor rates, the prices estimator is optional. We followed the labor guide exactly and the tech verified to me he did have to remove other items which took more labor, which I have highlighted on the sheet I sent. The guy admitted he didn't know what all the .2 and .5, etc.. meant. So I explained it all to him.
the owner billed right exactly to the number. thankfully! He ususally tried to stretch more, and usually got it. this job however went faster than the estimate, and I guess he was in a good mood.
So the amex guy looked at everything and said he'll send his findings to the investigator and I'd have to wait.
a week later we got a letter from am-ex stating we had prevailed in the case and the full amount that was taken away from us would be credited back!
So I won! I'm glad for that invoice,the owner didn't go overboard because it would've been probably a loss.
the owner's wife gave me $50 for my troubles and the owner didn't stop getting creative with the invoices.
But fighting amex wasn't easy. they had already basically indicated the customer was right, I had to fight with fact to get them change their minds.

Oh.. another one.. this girl comes in with a vw rabbit, needed a clutch. her car stopped at the corner. so a tech got in and got the car into the bay.
I wrote up the estimate, 3hours book time to do the clutch, $250 for the clutch set.
the owner was fine with me following the mitchell book.
someone brought her home. the job took 45min and didn't even need to be racked. She pays the bill, which was high and IMHO, unfair. the tech that did the work was not commission based, just hourly.
So we waited 4hours, called her, she came down, paid the bill.
The next day she comes back with a friend and throws a photocopy of the mitchell estimator guide in front of the owner and a price for the clutch kit from carquest (counter price).
She said she wanted a refund for the difference of how long it took, which was an hour and the difference for the clutch kit. She had a friend who lived across the street and her friend was watching us do the work and an hour after she left, her car was parked outside driving.
the owner blew up & said we don't take people for rides, give her all her money back! The girl said she just wanted what was fair and she got all her money back.
All the owner had to do was explain the mitchell labor guide and that if the tech beats the estimate you still get billed for the book time and the clutch kit had the list price which the shop bills.
But he just blew up at her and she got all her money back.

 

[SatinSilver]

^ True Story guys.