Month after month Janice was billed for a necklace she never ordered and never got. Finally, she tore up her bill and mailed back the pieces just to try to explain things to a person instead of a computer.There's an easier, more effective way to straighten out these errors. The Fair Credit Billing Act requires creditors to correct errors promptly and without damage to your credit rating.
The law defines a billing error as any charge for something you didn't buy or for a purchase made by someone not authorized to use your account · that is not properly identified on your bill or is for an amount different from the actual purchase price or that was entered on a date different from the purchase date · for something that you did not accept on delivery or that was not delivered according to agreement.
Billing errors also include:
- Mistakes in arithmetic.
- Failure to reflect a payment or other credit to your account.
- Failure to mail the statement to your current address, provided you notified the creditor of an address change at least twenty days before the end of the billing period.
- A questionable item, or one for which you need additional information.
If you think your bill is wrong or want more information about it, follow these steps:
- 1. Notify the creditor in writing within sixty days after the bill was mailed. Be sure to write to the address the creditor lists for billing inquiries and to tell the creditor:
A. your name and account number B. that you believe the bill contains an error and why you believe it is wrong C. the date and amount of the suspected error or the item you want explained
- 2. Pay all parts of the bill that are not in dispute. While waiting for an answer, you do not have to pay the amount in question (the "disputed amount") or any minimum payments or finance charges that apply to it.
The creditor must acknowledge your letter within thirty days, unless the problem can be resolved within that time. Within two billing periods, but in no case longer than ninety days, either your account must be corrected or you must be told why the creditor believes the bill is correct. If the creditor made a mistake, you do not have to pay any finance charges on the disputed amount. Your account must be corrected, and you must be sent an explanation of any amount you still owe. If no error is found, the creditor must send you an explanation of the reasons for that determination and promptly send a statement of what you owe, which may include any finance charges that have accumulated and any minimum payments you missed while you were questioning the bill. You then have the time usually given on your type of account to pay any balance.
- 3. If you still are not satisfied, you should notify the creditor in writing within the time allowed to pay your bill.
