Although it is common knowledge that you can dispute billing errors and fraudulent transactions with your credit card issuer, many people do not know that they can dispute charges for damaged goods paid with credit cards. Let’s say you get home after buying a vase and you realize it has a crack in it. You call the merchant, but they refuse to give you a refund. Luckily, you may be protected by your credit card issuer under the Fair Credit Billing Act.
The law requires that consumers must “make a good faith attempt to obtain satisfactory resolution of a disagreement or problem relative to the transaction” from the merchants. But if you do this and the merchant does not budge, call your credit card issuer. As long as the purchase exceeds $50 and was made in the same state as the your address, or within 100 miles of the your address, you are protected under federal law.
So, if you are dissatisfied with the quality of your purchase, don’t just automatically pay it. You have the right to dispute the charge and stop payment on that portion of the bill until the matter is resolved by the issuer!
