Compare Credit Cards and Resolve Disputes with Creditors

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Credit cards are useful things to have and the vast majority of credit card deals run smoothly for both the consumer and the credit card company. While the consumer might end up getting in a lot of debt and having problems because of it, the deal itself and the communication between the company and the consumer up to, during and after the deal has been made is usually not a cause for concern for any of the parties involved.

But there are circumstances where even good credit card deals don't run smoothly and great credit card deals can turn into nightmares. If a consumer signs up for a credit card and ends up using it to make impulse purchases and run up a huge amount of debt that they can't pay off, then a lot of the blame for that rests with the consumer.

However what if once that does happen, the credit card company either takes the opportunity to raise their rate to an unacceptable level, or even levy on a number of charges that were nowhere to be seen in the original contract, conveniently not answering the phone or e-mail when the consumer tries to get into contact with them about it. While credit card companies do have a large amount of flexibility in the fees and interest rates they fix and even have a large amount of freedom to change them as they wish, they also have a responsibility to explain the changes to their customers if they're actively seeking an explanation. When communications break down, customers get antsy and often wonder what they can do.

If you have a dispute over a credit card issue that you can not resolve directly with the credit card company, there are a few other avenues of action open to you.

• Under the truth in lending and consumer leasing acts, the credit card company is required to disclose any and all information regarding their credit card deals and make sure that the information they give to the customer is 100% accurate. If the customer believes that one or both of the above two provisions has not been complied with, then they are allowed to file a lawsuit against the credit card company. They can sue for money lost, actual damages as well as emotional distress caused by the whole situation. If awarded a decision in their favour, the customer is entitled to a minimum of reimbursement for court and lawyer costs, as well as a minimum of a $100 settlement.

• Under the equal credit opportunity act, there are only a few very specific things that a credit card company is allowed to use to make decisions about who they will award credit card deals to. If you as a customer feel that you have been discriminated against by a credit card company for a reason that is not permissible and have the ability to prove it, then you can sue the credit card company for damages. A winning lawsuit will result in reimbursement for all court and lawyer expenses as well as damages of up to $10,000.

• Under the fair credit billing act, the credit card company has a legal obligation to follow certain specified rules and procedures when they go about correcting for underpayments on the billing accounts of their customers. If you as a customer feel that they have broken this rule, then they are required to automatically forgo the payments regardless of any other factor. In addition, you may sue the credit card company for damages up to $1,000.

• Under the fair credit reporting act, there are certain legal obligations of credit reporting agencies and creditors regarding visibility of your credit report and corrections of non-updated and out-of-date information. If you can prove that these rules have been broken (and especially if you can prove that they were done so intentionally) then you may sue for damages. If you win, in addition to getting rewarded a monetary award, the perpetrator may face up to one year in prison as well as a fine of up to five thousand dollars.
• Under the electronic fund transfer act, financial institutions have certain obligations (just as a credit card company does) to comply with instructions you give them regarding the initiation and cancellation of electronic fund transfers. If they do not comply with these obligations or in any way fail to meet them, you the customer have the right to sue for any damages or losses that you incur because of their failure to comply with the provisions of the EFT act.

It is never a good situation for people to get into conflicts with the people that provide them services, but when a conflict is with a customer's credit card company or other financially related institution, the conflict seems to take on a different tone. In our society today an enormous amount of emphasis is placed on the almighty dollar and people do things because they think it will bring them more money. If a person finds out that their finances have been tampered with, it is arguably a much harder pill to swallow than say being delivered the wrong shirt in the mail.

The key to getting through conflicts is to keeping your head at all times and reacting to things with poise and intelligence. While finding out that your good credit card isn't as amazing as you initially thought it was might be a cruel blow to deal with, freaking out about it and rushing into a rash decision as to how to deal with it will only compound the problem at best and eliminate real courses of action you had available to you at worse.

Always remember that you have the protection of the law, but also realize that the law is a slow-moving vehicle. If you can all resolve the dispute directly with the credit card company first, then that is the method you should take. Many disputes arise from misunderstandings and taking the time to communicate directly with your credit card company could end up saving a lot of potential heartache and headache later on in time.