Credit Card Secret Guarantee

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Credit Card Secret Guarantee ... continued from above

The credit card chargeback is probably one of the best hidden secrets of the credit card industry.

Although most consumers are familiar with reporting duplicate charges on their credit cards, not many are familiar with the term identifying the process.

That seems quite strange when you consider the fact that credit card charge backs have been in use since the inception of credit cards.

Anytime a cardholder notices an unauthorized transaction on his credit card, the first thing to do is contact the provider so that the charge can be reversed. In most cases, this will be done immediately without confirmation from the merchant.

The card issuer is not obligated, however, to reverse the charge until he completes an investigation, but this is a courtesy to the customer.

Do keep in mind that if you dispute a charge that is later found to be valid, the charge will be returned to your card.

In addition to unauthorized transactions, a charge back may also be generated for items that were never received, items received in poor conditions, or wrong items received.

In most cases, the merchant does not dispute the charge back amount.

Although the credit card charge back process is a guarantee to the cardholder that he doesn’t have to pay for unauthorized transactions or inferior merchandise, it’s important that a cardholder understand the importance of filing disputes in a timely fashion.

Many financial institutions have a time frame for filing disputes, and unless you have justifiable cause for filing a claim late, it will not be honored after that date.

This rule does not generally apply to transactions that do not occur in person, however.

Credit card tips

In spite of all of the safeguards that the credit card issuer allows so that you don’t have to pay for unauthorized transactions, it is still your responsibility to follow good credit card tips for safety.

The most important of these credit card tips is to follow your account closely so that you know the transactions that appear.

Doing this allows you to file a dispute in a timely fashion, and avoid the potential for missing a deadline for filing the dispute. Some issuers offer an immediate reversal of the charge, but this is not a requirement.

You also must remember that if a refund is issued and the merchant disputes the charge back, it may mean that you will be charged for the merchandise later.

For this reason, it’s good practice not to file a dispute unless you are certain that you have a valid case.

The dispute process has been effective since credit cards were first issued, and it hasn’t changed much over the years.

Many people do not understand the term charge back as it pertains to credit card disputes, but it remains as part of the credit card guarantee nonetheless.

The process prevents cardholders from being charged fraudulently and from having to pay for inferior merchandise or merchandise that never arrived.

Knowing when a charge appears on your statement is an important credit card tip because you cannot file a dispute for a transaction that is not yet on your credit card, even if you see it under your pending transactions.

It must physically post to your account before the credit card issuer can reverse the charge.

If you follow your account closely, you will find that it’s much easier to file a dispute when a problem occurs, mostly because it will be much easier to provide the transaction date.

Without the transaction date, it becomes a little more difficult for the card issuer to research the validity of your dispute, so another important credit card tip is to have all of the information necessary when you file a dispute.

Things will proceed much smoother if you are prepared with all of the information.

You can compare credit card offers on our credit card comparison page for free!

Reader comments about this article
By Renai
It's a good reminder to stay vigilant and to check statements properly instead of assuming these things will not happen as i often do!
By Esther Andrews
Last year I was charged $1350 for an item that was $135. Whilst the merchant was very helpful and quick at processing his part of the transaction, my credit card provider WAS NOT. It took more than a week to get the money back into my account. I found this interesting as the money is not available to me as soon as I pay for something by credit card even though it may not appear in my transactions for a few days. Why then does it take so long to get a refund???
By tony higginson
very useful information, used this service on two occasions, both successful
By steve
You make it sound very easy! It is not! We were charged $7000 instead of $700, the credit card company picked up the mistake but it took about 4 weeks to resolve and get our money back.
By allison
I had a dispute with a petrol station where apparently I filled my car full twice in the one day within 3c of the same amout. Was never refunded and my credit card told me to go back to the service station. This issue was never resolved.
By Jennifer Phillips
Agree that title didn't match story. Have used charge back successfully several times
By craig toole
i wish i had known this in early 2006 as there was a double charge on my card from internet purchase and went down the online account to be refunded and was never given the money back and did not know that it could oo been got back from my bank . thanks for letting me know.
By Louise
This article highlights another reason why it is important to keep all receipts and regularly check them against your statements. However - the article title confused me somewhat in relation to the content!
By Tammy
What you see on your stament isn't always what you would expect. Some Merchant names are different to the name of their store so be aware a good trick is to always keep your receipts and double check the transactions against your statement.
By Emma
I must admit I had not heard of the credit card charge back until now. It is true you learn something new everyday, fortunately with this site this is still a possibility.
By Dora
If only i had this information before getting my credit card!!
By Shirley Buchanan
I wish I had known about this earlier as I am now in the middle of one of these disputes a charge on my card I knew nothing about take heed please people.
By Jan Dale
Great site. I have been looking for a credit card and your site gave me heaps of great information
By Glenn Glover
As a credit card merchant, I can tell you from personal experience that it's usually more trouble than it's worth to defend a credit card chargeback dispute - so it's no surprise that most merchants don't.
By Daryl Stevenson
I guess we all know that if an item is faulty etc that we take it back to the store for exchange or refund, and if an item appears on our credit card that is unknown to contact our card provider, so this article is useful in alerting that if an item is not as described or faulty and the retailer/seller won't do anything then there is still an avenue for dispute.
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Disclaimer: The information contained above has been provided as a general service. Any references to specific financial, legal, accounting, or taxation issues are done so in the context of general information and should not be relied upon as fact or construed as advice by the us in any of these areas. You should consult a relevant financial, legal, tax or accounting professional to assist in your particular circumstance.