It’s happened to just about all of us. We get our monthly statement and see something amiss. You are certain that you have a wrong credit card charge from “Chubby Charlie’s Disco Balls and Tackle Bait Shop” in No Name, Colorado. Or perhaps there’s the infamous recurring wrong credit card charge from “DatingDummies.com” that you also have nothing to do with.
Now you just have to convince your issuer that those are, in fact, erroneous credit card charges.
The good news is you did something that not enough consumers do: You actually checked your darn statement at month’s end to make sure that incorrect credit card charges aren’t being made to your account.
What to do
The first step is to make sure that this is, in fact, an erroneous credit card charge. Many times a company will operate under one name but charge credit cards under a different name. You should be able to track the phone number for the company down and call to see if they operate under a different name. If you can’t find a phone number, then it’s even more likely this is a fraudulent charge.
Another route is to search for the name of the company on a search engine and the words “fraudulent charge.” Trust me, if this is a common scam, you’ll find entries to confirm your suspicion.
It will likely do no good to call the company, if you even can, to get the wrong credit card charge reversed. If it’s a scam or an intentionally unauthorized charge, they won’t remove anything. They may even try and trick you into giving them personal information.
Contact your issuer
If you’ve hit on a wrong credit card charge, call the customer service number for your card. They will likely push you to the fraud department. Just tell them what’s going on. They are super-helpful with these issues. They want to show you they’re on your side and helping protect you from fraud.
There’s more good news. Most credit card issuers will merely send you a form that you must fill out, noting which are the wrong credit card charges. The issuer will remove them from your account and investigate independently. It’s easier for them to investigate and write off the loss than lose a potentially good customer. You won’t be held liable.
What if they don’t believe you?
What if you run into trouble, or the issuer doesn’t believe you? This is exceedingly rare.
However, you should do everything you can to help prove your case, especially if the charge is from someplace similar to places you make regular charges.
It’s easy to point out that you’ve never been to No Name, Colorado, and have never charged anything in the entire state, especially if that’s the case! They will also appreciate it if you print out anything you find on the Internet about fraudulent or wrong credit card charges coming from the company in question.
Anything that establishes your whereabouts on the date and time of the charge helps, too. Things like cell phone records that show you were on a phone call, and not at home or near a computer, can help. Of course, filing a police report is a particularly convincing item to provide. Few people will lie to the police.
Find the fraudster?
Oh, and if you think you’ve been skimmed, look at the last authorized charge and the first unauthorized charge, and examine the time periods between them. Retrace your steps. Somewhere geographically or temporally around that last authorized charge is probably where your card information got stolen.
If it was a restaurant, or gas station, or somewhere where you slid your card personally or you handed it to someone else, then your card was likely skimmed. Call the merchant and report it, and call your local police as well. There’s no reason someone else should have their data stolen, too.
Credit card statement image via Shutterstock.
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