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How To Dispute a Credit Card Charge & Win
I’ve blogged about this topic more than once over the past few months. Why? Because I’m so disappointed at the number of posts I get on my forum about people who have been ripped off in a credit card or dispute credit report… not because their dispute wasn’t valid, but because they didn’t handle it the right way.
I remember the first credit card dispute I ever filed was when I was only 18. I had ordered what was supposed to be a new exercise device online, only to receive something in the mail that wasn’t as advertised. I filed the dispute with my credit card company but almost lost, because of a technicality in what I said when I filed. Fortunately, everything worked out in the end, but it taught me this lesson at a very early age: understand the credit card dispute rules!
Before you ever file a dispute on your credit card, you’re going to need to do a lot of homework first. If it’s your first time, I’ve created this 5 step template of what you will need to research:
Step One: Get your story straight
When we’re angry, it’s easy to blow our lid and act on impulse. This is bad to do in all areas of life, including these disputes. Why? Because you need to calm down and get your story straight. If you call up your credit card company rambling in rage, things may be misinterpreted and hence your dispute may be filed incorrectly, which I’ll talk about next…
Step Two: Categorize your complaint properly
There are two kinds of disputes; (1) billing errors, which cover a number of different things, and (2) disputes about the quality of the goods or services you received from the merchant. For each there are completely different rules and rights, so you need to thoroughly understand both and know where your dispute fits in. If it can be categorized as a type of billing error, all the better because you will be entitled to greater protections set forth by law.
Step Three: Gather your evidence
If a prosecutor goes to court with weak evidence he may lose his case. In the same way, if you go into the dispute without good evidence to support your side of the story, you may lose. Now there are some credit card disputes that are pretty clear cut, like those where your credit card was stolen, but for most others, you may be required to produce evidence (receipts, pictures, emails sent to the merchant, etc. depending on the circumstances). This is most important with disputes about the quality of goods or services received, since those have the weakest laws behind them (basically you will be at the mercy of your credit card company, so make a strong case!).
Step Four: File your complaint
By having the above figured out beforehand, filing your complaint will be much more orderly and concise (and therefore, less chance of error). Many people including myself have filed our complaints about the phone without any problems. But I should warn you that the FTC website does say complaints need to be filed in writing. Therefore you should consider doing so if you anticipate this battle possibly turning ugly with the merchant.
Step Five: Stay on top of it
How fast (or slow) your dispute is handled varies, depending on the circumstances. Under most circumstances, 60 days from the date of filing is the longest the credit card company can take, but I have had disputes be wrapped up in less than half that time.
Whatever the case, be on the lookout for mailings from your creditor: If they don’t rule in your favor, they will send a letter and typically you have only a matter of days to file a response, otherwise the dispute will automatically be closed.
Again, I want to reiterate that this is just a summary, and you have a lot of research to do, but hopefully, these five steps act as sort of road map to get you started.
How about you all? Have you ever had to dispute a credit card charge? Did you win or lose? Could you have used one of these tips to strengthen your argument?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
Jacob’s Thoughts – This is a very complete post in my mind on how to handle disputing credit card charges the right way! The only thing I would add is to remember one thing – the credit card companies are facing extreme competition right now.
If you feel that the credit card company is being unreasonable in handling your dispute, I would threaten to take my business elsewhere because I would want to work with a company that is more understanding.
Earn An Automatic 25% Return – $50 Free Money When You Open And Fund an ING Direct IRA By February 7, 2011
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Morning frugal friends! Boy, do I have a nifty little free money promotion for you today! If there’s one thing I love, it’s finding out about free money!
But, you have to act quickly (before February 7th in fact), to take advantage of this one!
ING Direct, one of my favorite online high-yield money market savings account providers (I currently have my Dream Basket savings account with them), is currently offering a $50 bonus when you open a new IRA with them by February 7th, 2011 and fund it with $200.
Simply follow the instructions below to take advantage of this offer. I just processed mine last night!
- Go to retiremyway.com/50
- Open either a Roth or Traditional IRA and fund it with at least $200 by February 7th.
- You can choose either a CD or a adjustable rate savings account option. Personally, I would recommend the savings account because the interest rate will change depending on current interest rate.
- Since the current interest rates are so low, it doesn’t make much sense to lock in such a low interest rate in a CD.
- That’s it! ING Direct will then send you your $50 by February 28th.
- Typically, I would not be a fan of opening up a bank IRA because I would not be able to invest it in equities and other mutual funds. However, since they are offering $50 free money, I can simply treat this as the 5% cash portion of my overall asset allocation/investment strategy. That’s an automatic 25% return for doing nothing!
- Most likely, I will never touch this money again until I retire. But, I’m all right with that since it is such a small amount of money
- ING Direct IRA’s are 1) FDIC insured up to $250k, and 2) Have no fees or minimum balance requirements.
How about you all? Have you taken advantage of any free money bank or credit card promotions lately?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://marketbeast.com/images/ad_column_ing_direct.jpg
Yakezie Challenge Completed!
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Good Wednesday evening everyone! Even though I am about a week late on this post, I figured that it would be acceptable to employ the “better-late-than-never” approach.
On July 20th, 2010, My Personal Finance Journey joined the Yakezie Challenge when my Alexa traffic ranking was 1.3 million. The objective of the Challenge is to increase the readership of my site to within 200k within a 6 month time frame.
Note: You can take a peek at my post announcing this at the following link – Announcement of MPFJ Joining The Yakezie Challenge.
From July 2010 until the middle of December, my days were pretty much consumed by my first semester of classes in my Chemical Engineering PhD program. As a result, my Alexa ranking fell but then leveled off at 500k. This was not quite as quick of progress as I would have liked!
However, during the semester break from classes, I was able to commit more time to my blog, and I am pleased to announce that the site dropped below an Alexa ranking of 200k during the last week of January, 2011. Coincidentally, this was almost exactly 6 months after joining the Challenge!
Currently, my Alexa traffic ranking is ~175k, and hopefully, we can keep up the momentum. But, we’ll see how the semester goes!
The Consequences of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
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Today’s guest post comes to us from Wystan North. He has made his mark by writing on legal issues especially on filing bankruptcy procedures in different states.
One of the strong points of choosing Chapter 13 bankruptcy over Chapter 7 is that it doesn’t reflect as badly on one’s credit. Since your creditors are still being paid and less debt is being discharged, your credit score doesn’t take as big a hit.
But, that’s not to say Chapter 13 is free of implications. Bankruptcy has a negative impact on your credit score; it’s just a matter of minimizing the damage. Here are some of the effects you can expect from a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing and how you can control them.
FICO Score Changes
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing can take 80 to 250 points off your credit score, depending on how much debt you have and how much of it is discharged. This is mild compared to the 300 to 400 points often lost in a Chapter 7 filing. Generally, the more debt you can cover through the repayment plan, the less drastic the credit score change will be.
Bankruptcy Records
The bankruptcy itself will be visible on your credit report for seven years after the filing, whether it’s for a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. But, since a Chapter 13 repayment plan lasts three to five years, there will only be two to four years left after your discharge. The bankruptcy will still be there while you’re on the plan, but it won’t count for much because your credit options will be limited anyway.
Loan Rates
Any type of bankruptcy will have an effect on the types of loans you can take out. With a bankruptcy on your record, banks may not be as willing to grant large loans, or at least give you prime rates on them. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy tells them that while you’re not as deep in debt as one who filed a Chapter 7, your paying capacity is still limited by your repayment plan. You may not be able to get the best car loan or mortgage while you’re still making payments, but small personal loans are usually easier to get.
Credit Limits
You may be able to get a credit card after filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but don’t expect a high credit limit. Most commercial banks will only give you a credit limit proportional to what you can afford considering the added expense of your payment plan. Some companies offer credit cards specifically for people with tarnished credit histories, but the rates are much higher and you risk falling back into default.
How about you all? Have you or any one you know had to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy? How did it affect him/her?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.cwdebtrelief.com/shr/wys/71/i/bankruptcy.jpg
Free Android Apps For All – My Personal Finance Journey Apps Customized To Fit Your Smart Phone!
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Good Tuesday afternoon everyone!
I am very excited to announce that today, with the irreplaceable and amazing help of Jesse Michelsen (one of my Yakezie friends) of Blog2Android, My Personal Finance Journey now has an app for Android phones to make it even easier to stay up to date on the postings and community discussions here on the site!
You can download, install, and/or find the QR code for this app at any one of the links below for FREE! Have fun and let me know if you have any questions.
Android Pit.com – My Personal Finance Journey (MPFJ) Blog App
AndroidLib.com – MPFJ Blog App
AndroidZoom.com – MPFJ Blog App
AppBrain.com – MPFJ Blog App
Below is a little preview/screenshot you can take a look at to get a feel for how the app will appear on your phone.
Carnival of Passive Investing # 2 – Jim Cramer Rants Edition – January 31, 2011
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As discussed in my introductory post for this carnival, the purpose of this carnival is two-fold:
- To provide a forum to showcase articles and research in passive investing strategies (i.e. investing in ETFs, index mutual funds, etc. in such a way that one avoids employing active stock picking). By investing with the market, we are able to beat 70-80% of investment “professionals.”
- To create a community of passive investment bloggers to connect and share expertise.
Please enjoy and stop by my blog on my non-carnival days as well.
ETFs
Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents Want An Investment That Can Manage Itself? posted at The Canadian Finance Blog, saying, “ETFs are investments that manage themselves. Some investors are moving to Exchange Traded Funds as more reliable and more dynamic investment options.”
Dan presents 7 Fresh ETF Launches for the New Year posted at ETF Base, saying, “There have been some great new ETF launches so far in 2011. Here’s a comprehensive review of 7 new ETFs across various asset classes and strategies.”
Financial Planning
Steve presents Finding the Best Retirement IRA Companies posted at 2008 Taxes, saying, “Moving money to a self-directed IRA can allow your investment funds to produce a better yield.”
Index Funds
Investor Junkie presents Vanguard Review posted at Investor Junkie.
FMF presents The Beauty of Index Funds posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “This post details why investors should love index funds.”
Investing
Mike Piper presents Does This Count as Market Timing? posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, “People often ask whether a strategy “counts as market timing.” The name doesn’t matter though. All that matters is whether it’s a good idea.”
Alexander presents Build Passive Income with Dividend Stocks posted at Dividend Stocks, saying, “The ability to maximize money – without having to do a great deal of additional active work – is a concept that most people can cherish.”
Arjun Rudra presents Blending Global Macro Economic Research and Technical Analysis With Jason Priest, CFA posted at Investing Thesis, saying, “Blending Global Macro Economic Research and Technical Analysis With Jason Priest, CFA”
Jim Yih presents Dividends, Interest and Capital Gains posted at Retire Happy Blog, saying, “Dividends, interest and capital gains are the three amigos of taxable income sources and the tax aspects can have a dramatic impact on your income when employing your passive investing strategy.”
Michael Pruser presents Minimize Risk With LendingClub’s 60-Month Notes posted at The Dough Roller, saying, “Lending club is now offering investors a way to earn a return and gain exposure to the fixed income asset class, with less risk involved.”
Michael presents CNN Money’s 8 Least-Evil Banks posted at Consumerism Commentary, saying, “CNN recently surveyed America and found while most banks charge ridiculous fees, these banks don’t. These can definitely help provide a place to store your cash funds in building your passive investing strategy.
Stocks
BIFS presents Our Stock Portfolio posted at Budgeting In the Fun Stuff, saying, “This is the full run down of our stock portfolio and the target date mutual funds our retirement accounts are squirreled away in.”
Well – that concludes this month’s edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Passive Investing using our handy carnival submission form.
***Photo courtesy of http://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2009/2/20/saupload_jim_cramer.png
Tax Carnival # 80 – Tax Horror Stories Edition
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Welcome everyone to the Carnival of Taxes! That’s right, the blog article festival where we party like it’s 1040…Form 1040 that is!
The purpose of the Carnival of Taxes is to serve as a continuing compendium of tax-related postings, ranging from tax news to commentary on taxes (and the politics and politicos who create them) to filing tips and tax-saving strategies.
I hope you enjoy the money stories and the tax horror stories spread throughout, and stop by to say “hi” again on my non-carnival days as well.
Editor’s Top 3 Picks
1. 39 year veteran tax professional, Robert D. Flach, presents What to Give Your Tax Preparer posted at THE WANDERING TAX PRO. In this very well-written, detailed piece, Robert explains what is necessary to give and not to give your tax professional when preparing your taxes. Read and learn!
2. MoneyNing presents Tax Time: Do I Have to Report that Income? posted at Money Ning. So, you’ve started a little home business, but the money is only dribbling in. When do you have to start putting that income on your tax forms for the IRS? Find out here!
3. Jeff Rose, CFP presents Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Changes for 2011 posted at Jeff Rose. In this post, Jeff takes us through the ins-and-outs of the changes for FSA accounts for this new year. I’ve read a lot of these “FSA Changes” posts this past month, but this one has some new details that I hadn’t read yet! Enjoy!
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Tax Horror Story # 1
Well it has been ten years since my father’s passing and we have still not seen any money. If and I do mean if we are lucky, then maybe at the end of this year after we pay the last $350,000 to federal and pay the state, my mother, sister and I may have all of $200,000 to split between us. Great.”
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Listed below are the rest of the great tax article submission for this edition (listed in order of 1st to last submitted):
Daniel presents Federal and State Estimated Quarterly Tax Payments are Due! posted at Sweating The Big Stuff.
Mike Piper presents Income Tax 101: Tax Brackets and Withholding posted at Oblivious Investor.
FreeFromBroke presents TurboTax Online Tax Software 2010 Review posted at Free From Broke.
Trent Green presents How Social Security and Medicare Payroll (or FICA) Taxes Work posted at Money for Regular People.
Miranda presents Tax Planning 2011: Things to Think About This Year posted at Personal Dividends.
Pinyo presents 2010 Tax Tables, IRS Federal Income Tax Rates And Tax Brackets posted at Moolanomy Personal Finance.
Andy presents 2010 Income Tax Brackets posted at moneywalks.
Money Thinker presents Watching for Common Tax Errors posted at Money Thinking.
Jim Yih presents Tax Smart Investing posted at Retire Happy Blog.
Jason presents Common Tax Deductions Reminder for Filing Your Personal Income Taxes posted at One Money Design.
Control your Cash presents Read this and watch your taxes fall posted at Control Your Cash: Making Money Make Sense.
RC presents IRS to Start Accepting Itemized and Delayed Filer’s Tax Returns on February 14th posted at Think Your Way to Wealth.
Craig Ford presents The Best TurboTax Discounts | Save 35% Off posted at Money Help For Christians.
CreditCardGuru presents Can You Pay Taxes With Credit Card? posted at Credit Card Forum Blog.
FMF presents The Return on Your Social Security Taxes posted at Free Money Finance.
Kay presents Tax refund debit card pilot program raises Congressional questions posted at Don’t Mess With Taxes.
I was fined by the IRS for missing a payment for my home based business while I was ill. I appealed with the help of my accountant and tax attorney. After a long winded process, I received a notice, by registered mail, to say my appeal had been rejected. The same day, there was a knock at my door and a man in an expensive looking suit flashed some ID and said he was from the IRS to collect a payment. He was inside before I had chance to object. He showed me a copy of the notice I had received and said he would like a check. Fortunately I had kept the money aside in a money market account so I could pay. Once he had the check he was much more pleasant. I asked if this was normal practice and he said that he almost always collects payments in this manner due to the “transient” nature of business owners in Southern California.
—About.com Reader
Michael presents Social Security Contribution Limits ? 2011 posted at The Dough Roller.
Madison DuPaix presents 6 Free E-File Options posted at My Dollar Plan.
PT presents Ideas for Your Social Security Tax Break posted at PT Money.
Ann Douglas presents Tax Advantages of First Time Home Buyers Explained posted at DoorFly.com.
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Also, if you are interested in hosting an upcoming edition of the Carnival of Taxes, you can read the hosting requirements and submit your request at the following link.
***Photo courtesy of http://media.photobucket.com/image/taxes/mmatters/taxes.jpg
How to Save Money on Your Next Family Vacation
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Today’s guest post comes to us from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes about home insurance quotes and related topics for www.homeinsurance.org.
How about you all? How do you save money by traveling? Have you used any of the tips above? Share your experiences by commenting below!
Jacob’s Thoughts on Various Article Points –
- @Frequent flyer miles – These are great to use for trips! One thing that I find frequently is that when I take a plane trip, the miles from the trip do not get added in to the system officially. This can occur when you have to do a lot of manipulation with your original ticket due to cancelled flights, etc. However, you can go in to the airline’s online system and request that the miles be back added.
- @Saving money by carrying less luggage – This is a great tip as well! What I have been doing recently that works really well is to carry-on a large backpacking backpack that I gate check so that I don’t have to have it inside the fuselage with me. And, the folks at security don’t catch on that it is a big bag because it is “just a backpack.”
- @Going on a car trip – I would just make sure to check that the total charge for gas will not be more than airfare!
- @Going on a cruise to save money – While it is true that it looks like taking a cruise is cheap at first glance, it very important to know that the price of the cruise does not include alcoholic drinks or excursions at ports. Be sure to factor in those things when doing your financial planning!
- @Using debit/credit cards when travelling – While it is true that ATMs do charge fees if you are not in provider bank’s network, watch out for foreign currency fees that credit cards charge you if you use them while out of the country. This is typically around 3%, and can add up to more than an ATM charge if you are not careful.
- @Car rental insurance saving – Along with your car insurance company generally already providing rental car coverage, many CREDIT CARDS offer the perk of providing rental car insurance! Don’t get suckered in to paying more for insurance if you don’t have to!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.rezhub.com/Portals/2/Blog/Files/1/1038/WLW-10TipsForSavingMoneyWhileTravelingGreen_B734-stockvault_16011_20090404_9.jpg
Boiler Repair Delays Start of School Term
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The following is a guest post by Alex on behalf of Home Serve.
When it happens in the home, a boiler repair can really ruin your week – both financially and emotionally. However, this is not the only place where a heating howler can cause serious problems, as one recent story has proven…
The Story
Students at Darrington CE J&I primary school in Yorkshire, England got an extra day off after the festive holidays when a boiler failed on campus the day before the start of term. According to the Pontefract & Castleford Express, the breakdown meant that youngsters in classes A and B were forced to stay away.
Although this no doubt meant an extra day of sledding in the snow and playing with new Christmas presents for the kids, it’s likely to have caused frustration among teachers eager to get their students back in the swing of things. It could also have served as a stark reminder to teachers and parents of having adequate preparation for such events in place, both at home and school.
What Can We Learn From This?
While the school is likely to have had comprehensive insurance in place (meaning that getting a boiler emergency service was as simple as a quick phone-call), it’s not always as easy to solve the issue at home. Should you be unlucky enough to suffer a breakdown over the festive period, getting a repair service in to fix the problem ASAP may not be as easy as it sounds. And, should you manage to locate a repairman/woman over the Christmas period, his or her rates are likely to reflect the fact he or she has been dragged away from their own seasonal family celebrations.
For this reason, some people could find that having boiler insurance in place gives them the peace of mind that their home will always be protected from heating disasters. With this type of protection, you needn’t worry about the consequences of a boiler breakdown, whether it’s the height of summer of the bleak mid-winter.
Taking out this kind of insurance also guarantees that the tradesman who comes out to fix the problem is fully qualified and on the Gas Safe Register. Although it’s illegal to carry out work on gas appliances without this important accreditation, there are plenty of cowboys out there eager to make a quick – and dangerous – buck by taking on jobs they’re not legally allowed to.
They may not teach you about getting boiler insurance at school. But, suffer a breakdown without it in place, and you could learn a lesson about taking care of your home the hard way.
How about you all? Do you have boiler insurance? Have you ever had a boiler break and caused some chaos in your home?
Jacob’s Thoughts – The importance of making sure your home is properly insured is paramount. Personally, I am going to review my homeowner’s insurance policy to see if a rupture in the water boiler is covered under the policy terms. It is my understanding that frequently, these bursts are not covered. It is also important for your home to be secured. If you are interested in options for different security systems on the market, there are some great online resources. For example, I recently read an article of a Reliance Protectron Review from the folks at Home Security System Canada.
Another option is to self-insure with a sufficient emergency fund to cover the repairs that are needed.
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9GTi7Cvkr5s/S1osp3LfUyI/AAAAAAAADCQ/6-6VS_FxmXw/boiler-insurance-cover.png
The Advantages of Debt Consolidation Loans
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Today’s guest post comes to us from Andrew. Andrew has been working in the finance industry for several years. He has helped many people with debt issues by advising debt consolidation solutions and short term loans.
Consolidating your finances is an option many people tend to overlook because they do not understand what it entails. Many credit providers and lenders offer many debt consolidation loans because there is a constantly increasing demand for such products. It is not surprising that now is the best time to get such loans.
Debt management is something you should master if you want to relieve your current financial stress. If you consolidate your debt, you could save a lot on interest costs, but you should also consider each loan’s early repayment fees, if there are any. Take advantage of financial calculators available and compute how much you could save if you would repay all your loans simultaneously and instead repay a single loan in a month.
Effective debt management is assured by taking advantage of consolidation loans available. The single loan could replace the multiple debts and loans you may have. Thus, in a month, you would only need to pay one debt in a lender, instead of many debts in different lenders. It could also help save time and money. Consumers with consolidation loans rave about how they get more effective in avoiding possible loan defaults, which could be more troublesome.
Have you ever computed how much you are paying in interest rates of each of your loans? If you would consolidate all those rates, you would be surprised at how much you are shouldering in a month. By that alone, there is no doubt debt consolidation loans are very advantageous. The money you could save could be added to the repayment for a consolidated loan in a month. This is logically more practical.
Debt consolidation loans could give you the opportunity to pay lower monthly repayments. You have the option to take a longer term or repayment period, which comes with lower monthly dues. This is the best option if you are aiming to more effectively manage your overall finances. Thus, you need not worry about having to spend all your monthly income just to repay your debts. In the long run, you could be able to generate more savings, which you could use in investments for added revenues.
Are you one of those consumers who dread taking telephone calls every now and then from various creditors? It could ruin your day and affect not just your mood but also your productivity. It is time to get rid of that kind of pressure. Debt consolidation loans are there to help you eliminate that kind of problem.
Lastly, you could improve your credit record or maintain a good one if you would repay all your debts now and replace them with a single consolidation loan. This is possible because you could easily avoid incurring late payments or worse getting to a loan default. It is always best to come clean after emerging out of your debt obligations.
How about you all? Have you all ever used a debt consolidation loan? Do you think this could be something useful to your current financial situation?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.prlog.org/10203658-debt-consolidation.jpg