Thursday,  June 27, 2013 • Vol. 14--No. 341 • 5 of 32

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merchants charged unapproved items to your account.
• • Charges that list the wrong date or amount.
• • Charges for goods or services you either did not accept or that weren't delivered as agreed.
• • Math errors, such as being charged twice for a transaction.
• • Failure to post payments or other credits.

• (Note: Report suspected fraud immediately. By law, you're only liable for the first $50 in unauthorized charges; however, most card issuers waive that liability if you report the charges quickly.)
• Review all billing statements carefully upon receipt because in order to be covered under FCBA rules, most disputed transactions must be reported within 60 days of the statement date on which the error appeared.
• First, contact the merchant and try to resolve the dispute directly with them. If this good-faith resolution attempt doesn't work, you can escalate the process by filing a written report with your credit card issuer within the 60-day window.
• The card issuer is then obligated to investigate the dispute on your behalf. They must acknowledge your complaint, in writing, within 30 days of receipt and resolve the dispute with the merchant within two billing cycles ' but not more than 90 days.
• Send your letter via certified mail to the card issuer's billing inquiry address, not

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