When it comes to credit card charges, you don't have to
immediately assume that they are telltale signs that will enable you to
identify credit card fraud. Sometimes, these are just erroneous charges or
double billing that can and will be reversed. Here is how to differentiate, as
well as how to deal with errors in your credit card entries.
There is no doubt that consumers really have to be
vigilant with their credit card transactions. Not all credit card charges are
legitimate: some credit card transactions are erroneous, while some are even
telltale signs of an actual credit card fraud. A consumer should be wary once
there is a string of erroneous entries on his credit report. That may be an
indicator for him to investigate further to help prevent credit fraud. As with
all things in life, however, correcting
a credit card record would have to start with a
reasonable dialogue. Here is how to properly dispute credit card charges before
you identify a credit card fraud.
Before we go on, however, we have to give you the tell-tale
signs of how
to identify a credit card fraud, and differentiate it with credit card
charges that are legitimate, albeit erroneous:
-
It is credit card fraud
when you have NEVER ordered from the company, and neither had you set foot in
their store's premises.
-
It is a legitimate credit
card charge when you have ordered from the company, only, there are some
delivery aspects that are open for dispute.
-
It is credit card fraud
when you notice some out-of-state transactions, and transactions from places
you have NEVER been to in the past 6 months to a year.
-
It is a legitimate, albeit
erroneous transaction if you've placed an order for a subscription, cancelled
the same subscription, but are still being billed for the monthly or quarterly
payments.
That being said, we go on to discuss how to handle
credit card charges in dispute.
1. Initiate a dialogue.
As we mentioned, a dialogue is the first step to resolving any such
transactions. Whether the transactions are red flags for credit card fraud or
not, the first thing to do is to file a dispute directly with the shop owner,
operator, or online seller. If you've gone through a financial tool like
PayPal, then chances are, you can actually file a dispute from PayPal itself.
But the best thing to do really is to talk to the seller directly. For
double-billing incidences, or recurrent billing beyond the termination or act
of unsubscribing, still talk to the subscription provider directly or his
employees.
Ask politely if you can have the charges reversed. If it is a subscription, ask if you can get the subscription discontinued, and the charges reversed. This way, you would have tried to resolve things where they were manageable. Not only that, you also gave the seller/service provider a chance to explain and redeem himself.
Ask politely if you can have the charges reversed. If it is a subscription, ask if you can get the subscription discontinued, and the charges reversed. This way, you would have tried to resolve things where they were manageable. Not only that, you also gave the seller/service provider a chance to explain and redeem himself.
2. Call your credit card company. If
the seller/service provider/subscription publisher refuses to take action with
your questionable credit card entries, call your card company. That way, your
card company will be the one to take on the headache of getting your money
back. Ask if you need to fill out certain forms.
3. Send in the necessary documentation. Credit
card companies will be able to reverse credit card chargesmore effectively when
they have received the right documentation from the user. Usually, your credit
card dispute case will not move forward until the credit card company receives
your documents. Comply with these, in order to facilitate the process.
Usually, the credit card company will work on getting
the consumer's charges reversed. There is generally no need for litigation nor
the services of a lawyer. However, in the event that the credit card
transactions were actually part of a credit card fraud operation, there is
another process to follow:
1. Call your credit card company and have your card
frozen.
2. Go and file a police report for the incident,
so that if the credit card fraud is perpetuated beyond the first incident and
the first report filed, it will be easier to press charges and there would
already be a paper trail to help with the investigation on the credit card
fraud activity.
3. Call the three credit unions
in order to put a credit card fraud alert on your report. If you haven't yet,
order credit monitoringfor your accounts so that future instances of credit
card theft will be reported as it happens.
Here
are the numbers of the three credit unions:
Equifax:
(800) 685-1111
Experian:
(888) 397-3742
TransUnion:
(800) 888-4213
4. Change your SSN if you need to.
While this is tricky, you may be able to file for a new SSN if the identity
theft continues after already filing for different reports and freezing your
accounts.
Consumer credit is truly a target of identity theft and
similar crimes as of late. This is why a credit card user needs to be vigilant
about his account's activities. Not all erroneous or out-of-place entries are
symptoms for you to identify a credit card fraud, however. Sometimes, it may be
just simple absentmindedness on your part. Other times, it could be a computer
glitch. Yet other times, it may well be just an honest mistake. Either way, the
first step is always to open a dialogue with the other party.
***
Joy
Mali is an active blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance related
articles to encourage people to manage and protect their finances.
