My father’s currently disputing a charge on his credit card, and he and I are both having a difficult time understanding exactly what he’s being told by the credit card people. Basically, he was charged twice for a purchase, and both the merchant and the credit card company deny they made an error; yet on the statement, one can clearly see the same item listed twice on the same day.
If my father sucks it up and pays the double charge–which he is understandably loathe to do–the company will bill him for the second transaction. If he does not pay the double charge, the company doesn’t say what they will do, simply that they will “close our file accordingly.” In essence, they will “close their file” whether he pays or not. Basically, I’d like to know what “closing the file” means, and what happens if my father decides not to pay the double charge?
Sorry if this is unclear; if necessary, I can get some additional details this evening.
What has the credit card company provided to support their position that it was two separate and distinct transactions as they assert?
They are taking the position that the merchant in question has provided sufficient proof according to the terms of the credit card/merchant agreement to substantiate that it was two separate and distinct charges. The credit card company does (I believe) have an obligation to provide such evidence to you. Since their position is that it is valid, they will close the file.
If he does NOT pay the charge, and the credit card company considers it valid, he will incur at a minimum finance charges, at the maximum damage to his credit rating if he allows a dollar amount to become delinquent.
I would suggest there may be more to this than your original OP. I would also suggest you examine the cardholder agreement to determine, if the credit card company is in error, your course of action after an initial dispute.
MeanJoe
Was your father present for the transaction – in essence, did he sign for the merchandise? If so, the credit company should have the receipt (which you can request). In this way, if they do not possess two receipts (both signed by him), the credit card company should dispute the charge with the merchant and remove the charge from the bill.
If the charge was made by phone/internet and the merchandise was shipped to your father, the merchant should (but is not required) to have shipping data. If the merchant only has shipment data for one order rather than two then they can only claim that both items were sent in one package – this should be easily disproven if the item had a packing list sent with it.
This evidence should be enough for the credit card company to take over. In my experience, the credit card companies are pretty good about disputing incorrect charges and have required little of my time and effort.
I hope that helps. It’s an unfortunate situation.