by Alison Storm | 04/27/10

Whether it's an airline ticket or a pack of gum, if a credit card purchase shows up on your statement that you didn't make, you probably don't want to foot the bill. But what if you knowingly bought a product that turned out to be badly made or showed up damaged? Under the Fair Credit Billing Act you may not have to pay for it if you used a credit card. There are a few things you must do in order to take advantage of this feature:

Step One: You must make an effort to resolve the dispute with the seller before getting your credit card company involved. Try to get a refund or an exchange.

Step Two: Put your complaint in writing. Send it to the company you're dealing with through certified mail.

Step Three: Determine whether you qualify for this assistance from your credit card company. In order to qualify you must have spent more than $50 on the purchase in question. The purchase must also have taken place in the state in which you live or within 100 miles of your home address. This means that many purchases made over the Internet will not qualify under this provision.

Step Four: Make sure you bring any disputes to your credit card company before the bill is due. This will improve the likelihood that you will receive help with your purchase.


Experts say you may even be able to receive help from the credit card company if your purchase does not meet the qualifications. "Many credit card companies will let you dispute that," Jeanne M. Hogarth, a program manager in consumer policies at the Federal Reserve Board, told MSN Money. "Technically, they don't have to."

An example of the actions that credit card companies will take when you dispute the purchase of damaged or low-quality merchandise comes from Diana Don, spokeswoman for Capital One. "If a customer sends a dispute letter, we'll issue a temporary credit so they won't have to pay for it," Don told MSN Money. "We're giving the benefit of the doubt to the customer." Don says Capital One will then contact the merchant for more information. The refund will stand if Capital one decides to side with the customer, but if they rule in favor of the merchant, the refund must be repaid, including any finance charges. Make sure to document this process and keep copies of any communications you have.