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Knowing Credit Card Laws
Freddie and his wife Gloria took a trip from Orlando, Florida to see their children living in Bemidji, Minnesota. The trip went smoothly except on the way home, Freddie’s 1991 trusty family sedan had a transmission problem about 200 miles from Minnesota.
What to do? They had their AARP road service and the tow truck operator was kind enough to deliver the car to “Honest John’s Transmission Shop”.
They took a bus to town and checked into a nice motel. They called the transmission shop and were told it would be at least three days before the car could be fixed and back on the road again.
So Fred and Gloria made the best of a situation and looked around the little town for a few days until the car was finished. Now here is the scenario .I will explain it in two parts so that it becomes embedded on your mind.
Scenario 1.) Fred owned his own little Subway Franchise in Orlando and had some company credit cards in the company name. Smart business? Not really. Read on.
When Fred used the company credit card to pay for the transmission work, he relinquished any claim of any kind against the workmanship of that merchant. Yep, because it was a company credit card -- that is the law.
Scenario 2.) Gloria made a fuss of the credit cards and insisted on putting the bill on her personal VISA because she hadn’t used it for the last six months. So the bill is now on Gloria’s personal card.
Guess what? If there is any trouble with the workmanship or the transmission, Fred and Gloria have no time limit as to when they can lodge a dispute and have the entire amount charged back to the vendor. The law says so. Don’t even believe for one minute that you cannot do it unless you read the law.
Some will say you have to lodge a dispute within thirty days. That is not the law. That is a practice of the Credit Card Companies.
Now the law further states that if the vendor in this case (transmission shop) is out of business and can no longer be located, then the Credit Card Company must still credit Fred and Gloria’s account with the amount of the entire bill.
The Credit Card Company is now free to go after the merchant and charge it back if they can find him. This is powerful stuff. Remember in another article, I made reference to a paperback book entitled “What everyone should know about Credit Cards”. By Howard Strong
Go out tomorrow to Barnes & Noble or Borders Book Stores and either buy it or order it. In February 2001, I bought one and it was only $9.95.
I guess Congress thought that when the Credit Card Companies make 24% on their money they should be the one to stand up and take the hit when the little guy is victimized. Credit Card Companies will try and play hardball. Back up your claim with paperwork.
My Own Personal Situation:
My wife and I went to Ft. Myers, Beach, Florida last summer to visit the kids. We stayed at Days Inn Motel. The clerk gave us our AARP discount and I gave them my VISA card to bill me to. I would sign my statement in the morning. Sounds delightful --staying by the Gulf of Mexico and being able to visit the kids.
When we got back from dinner, my wife remarked that the air conditioner didn’t seem to be working because the temperature was still 82 and that’s what it was when we went into the room. I said let’s worry about it in the morning. Hell, it might take a few hours to cool the room down due to the summer heat.
Then, prior to going to bed, she remarked that the sink went down slowly and she couldn’t get any hot water. Being my gracious self, I said “Get to bed, I am tired, we will deal with it in the morning”. Morning came, still 82 degrees. I went to shave. Guess what? No hot water. No hot water for a shower or nothing. I immediately called the front desk and they sent their engineer to the room.
He messed with the faucets and said that the portion of the motel that we were staying in had zone problems. Furthermore, the air conditioner was slated for replacement. I was livid. I went to the front desk and complained. The manager was naïve enough to tell me that they gave us an inconvenience discount when we checked in. I said “Why in the hell would I take a room without hot water and air conditioning?”
If I knew it in advance, I wouldn’t have chosen that motel. How much stupidity can these companies afford? I protested and was told by the manager to take it or leave it. Here is the beauty of understanding the Credit Card Collection Act. I went home, which was almost two hundred miles from where we came from.
I entered a dispute with the Credit Card Company and lo and behold, my account was credited fully. The cost of the room was charged back to Days Inn. So take some time, read the laws. It will save you a lot of money now and in the future when you get engulfed in the massive network of Credit Card Law.
Somewhere in these articles, I referred to one of my sons who is an attorney. He didn’t even know that portion of the law.
Regards, Regis Sauger