GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – If you have discovered problems with your Christmas purchases, hopefully, you used your credit card when shopping.
The Better Business Bureau says credit card companies can defend you if the item you purchased arrived broken or did not arrive at all.
The first thing to do is to reach out to the company that the item was purchased from and try to return the item that was broken or reach out to customer service to see what happened to your shipment.
Susan Bach, Regional Director of the Better Business Bureau of Northeast Wisconsin says if that does not work and if a credit card was used to purchase, you can file a dispute with your credit card company.
“It is kind of insurance for your purchases.”
But you have to act quickly.
“It has to be within 60 days of the time when that billing statement arrived at your house.”
It also has to be in writing and an explanation of the problem has to be given.
“You can’t call them over the phone to dispute the charge and when you do submit your complaint in writing, make sure you include your account number and the closing date of your bill in which the disputed charge appears.”
Bach says if that happens, your credit card company is on your side.
“They will sort of advocate for your claim. If you have asked for provisional credit, you will not be expected to pay for that.”
It is also important to send your complaint to billing, not the payment address and send it by certified mail.
It is also important to keep copies of everything that you send and ask for the provisional credit on your account to give you credit on your credit card statement for that item so that you are not obligated to pay for that item while the dispute is being resolved.
