Errors on credit card bills happen from time to time.  If you’re smart, you always review your statements when they come in each month.

So what do you do when you find an unauthorized charge on your credit card bill?

Contesting errors on your credit card bill can seem a little bit scary, but there are guidelines in place to help you get things back in order.

First off, you’ll want to double-check the charge in question to make sure that it really is unauthorized, and not just a mistake on your part; you’ll also need to check with any other users on your account to make sure that the charge isn’t theirs.

After you’ve identified the erroneous charge, your next step is to contact the merchant to whom the charge was made. Many charge disputes can be resolved at this level, as the merchant will usually be willing to either reverse the charge, or provide you with a copy of the signed credit card  receipt. At this point, you may find that the purchase was your own, and that you simply forgot about it.

If this is not the case, and if the merchant isn’t able to help you, your next step is to contact your credit card company directly. You must:

• write to the creditor at the address given for “billing inquiries,” not the address for sending your payments, and include your name, address, account number and a description of the billing error.
• send your letter so that it reaches the creditor within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was mailed to you.

Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you have proof of what the creditor received. Include copies of sales slips or other documents that support your position. Keep a copy of your dispute letter.  Remember, credit card companies receive thousands of pieces of mail from cardholders every day - if yours gets lost in the shuffle you want to be able to prove that you followed proper procedure.

The creditor must acknowledge your complaint in writing within 30 days after receiving it, unless the problem has been resolved. The creditor must resolve the dispute within two billing cycles (but not more than 90 days) after receiving your letter.

After you have contested the incorrect information with your credit card company, your job is to sit back and wait. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act the credit card company must get back to you with a response within 30 days. During this time, it’s a very good idea to check your statements for any further questionable charges, just in case someone has been using your card information illegally. Hopefully you will never need to contest a credit card charge, but if the situation arises, you’ll know what to do.

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Your credit history is many things to many people. To potential lenders, your credit score is a snapshot of your financial history; one which shows whether or not you’ll be able to repay credit in a timely manner. As you can see, your credit is, in effect, the same as your “good name”, and should be protected accordingly.

One of the easiest ways to protect your credit is to use your credit cards wisely. This seems very simple. If you make your payments on time and make sure not to go over your limits, you should be good, right?

These are absolute musts when it comes to establishing good credit, but you also need to go one step further by reconciling your monthly statements.

Many people look at the minimum amount due, or perhaps their total balance, but then throw their statements  in a filing cabinet, or even worse, in the trash. If you’re one of these people, odds are good that one of these days, you’re going to overlook something important: a discrepancy on your credit card bill.

When you get your credit card statements each month, it’s a good idea to go over them, line by line, making sure that you know where all of the charges came from. If you can’t remember a particular charge, check with any other authorized user on your account (such as your spouse) to see if they made the purchase. If you are unable to verify the purchase, you’ll need to contact your credit card issuer, and they will help you by investigating the charges, and letting you know which steps you need to take to correct the situation.
So, as you can see, watching out for mistakes on your credit card statements may take some work on your part, but in the end can save you time, money, and perhaps your credit rating.

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