What Happens When an Overcharge Occurs?

If you see an overcharge on any of your credit cards the best way to handle it, is to treat it like a dispute. Every credit card firm has a dispute settlement procedure.

Detecting an Overcharge

Overcharges happen more often than you might think. While some of them might be theft or fraud, many times they occur because of a mistake. The $60 purchase you made gets entered as $600. A late fee is charged to your card when you made the payment on time and can prove it.

There are two ways to detect overcharges:

  • Monitor your charges- The price for obtaining a credit card is that you must be vigilant about what charges are placed on it. That means you must check your accounts at least weekly. If you have internet access to your accounts, it may be good to check them every other day. Mistakes, fraud, identity theft and technical glitches do occur.
  • Save Receipts- Always get a receipt for your credit card purchases. Make sure the last four digits of your card number match the receipt.  This not only helps you verify the current transaction but can help protect you after leaving the premises.

Disputing an Overcharge

If you spot an overcharge there are a series of steps you need to take:

  • Contact the merchant- Get in touch with a manager of the entity where the overcharge originated. If they made a mistake, they will usually correct it right away.
  • Contact the credit card company- When you contact the company, have all of the pertinent information at hand. That will be the amount of the overcharge plus knowing what happened, when it happened, and where it happened.
  • Put the charge on hold- What the company will do is put a temporary hold on the charge while it is being investigated. This means you will not be out any money until the matter is resolved.
  • Set up a dispute- Once a dispute has been set up, you’ll have to send or upload any documentation (receipts, return policy, etc.) to the company.

Once the credit card company receives the information, they will contact the merchant and attempt to resolve the situation. You’ll be notified when a resolution has been reached.

Be vigilant with every credit card you have regarding charges that are placed on them. You want to avoid paying for illegitimate charges. The good thing is that while the dispute process is occurring you will not be out any funds.