You need to keep
track of the dollar amount of any and all errors on your bill. It is
not as easy you think. You have to know what is disputed even after
you have made a written complaint about the problems to the credit
card company.
Why? Because, when you complain to the card company,
it may not credit your account for the amount you say is wrong. The
company does not have to do this, so that usually means it won't.
The credit card companies got the law changed under the Reagan
administration so that all they have to di print on your statement
something like "Do not pay any disputed amount."
You have to keep records to know how much the
disputed items total. The federal Truth in Lending Act does not
require the card companies to tell you how much the "disputed
amount" is, or how many items the card company's show as disputed,
or how much interest is being added to your bill on disputed charges
- even though the card companies' computers could easily and cheaply
do this.
That makes thins very confusing for you if you do
not have your own records. Some card companies seem to like to
befuddle their customers. Perhaps these companies think a confused
customer is less likely to complain, since he or she is having a
hard time understanding what is going on.
The card company can continue to bill you for
everything, including the disputed amount that the statement on your
bill tells you not to pay. You can deduct the disputed amount, and
the card company cannot tell credit bureaus you are delinquent in
your payments.
Interest on disputed amounts
The interest that the card company charges on disputed amount is
also a disputed amount.
