Getting Reimbursed: credit cards & the quality of goods & services
(Second of two parts)
Last month I discussed the resolution of billing errors under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA). This month I will discuss the settling of disputes regarding the quality of goods and services, such as a mismanaged tour.
Billing errors vs. quality of goods and services
It is important to realize that disputes about the quality of goods and services are not the same as disputes about “billing errors,” so the dispute procedure discussed in this column last month does not apply to these cases.
If you buy unsatisfactory goods or services using a credit card, the FCBA gives you the right to sue or assert defenses against the credit card company (instead of the actual merchant) to the dollar extent of the amount of the charge(s) involved.
You can take the same legal actions against the card issuer as you can take under state law against the seller. For instance, if your state law permits you to withhold payment to a seller for defective merchandise or to pay and sue for a refund, you might also be able to withhold payment to your credit card issuer. Because state laws on the right to stop payment vary, it is best to get legal advice before you do so.
To take advantage of this protection regarding the quality of goods or services, you must. . .
• have made the purchase (which must be for more than $50) in your home state or within 100 miles of your current billing address and
• have made a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute with the seller first. This usually is your best option. However, if you don’t get results by talking to a phone rep, talk or write to a supervisor or CEO. (To find the names of senior managers, peruse the company’s annual report, which often is posted online.)
If you have no success, you can contact the Better Business Bureau in the city where the business is located.
For complaints about travel agencies, you also can get in touch with the Consumer Affairs Department of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA, Consumer Affairs Department, 1101 King St., Ste. 200, Alexandria, VA 22314; www.astanet.com/about/consumer complaint.asp).
Before this department will become involved in a dispute, it first determines that the complaint meets the following criteria:
1. It must be a travel-related dispute against a member of ASTA and be less than six months old.
2. You must have contacted the involved company directly.
3. Your complaint has to be in writing, include supporting documentation and be submitted in duplicate.
For airline problems (except safety and security), contact the Department of Transportation, Aviation Consumer Protection Division (Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. 20590; phone 202/366-2220 or go to http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/problems. htm).
You also can get in touch with the state attorney general’s office in the state where you live or where the company is located (visit the National Association of Attorneys General website, www.naag.org) or contact city, county or state consumer-protection agencies at www.consumeraction.gov/state. shtml.
Note that the dollar and distance limitations do not apply if the seller also is the card issuer or if a special business relationship exists between the seller and the card issuer.
Exceptions to the rule
Be that as it may, even the rules regarding disputes on the quality of goods and services are not written in stone, as the following real-life experience indicates.
It was in the spring of 1988 that I had a reputable Seattle RV dealer replace the carburetor with a fuel-injection system in our motorhome.
A few weeks later, while my wife, Flory, and I were driving from Seattle to San Francisco, the motorhome’s gas pedal suddenly became unresponsive as we were nearing the I-5 southbound exit at Azalea, Oregon.
“Don’t brake,” Flory yelled.
Touching neither the gas pedal nor the brake, we coasted up the exit ramp, cleared its top and rolled down the other side, stopping just clear of a store.
Taking stock, it was obvious that the fuel-injection system had failed. We called our oldest daughter, Audrey, and asked her to arrange to have our old carburetor airlifted by private plane to the nearest airport, which happened to be in Roseburg, Oregon. Amazingly, the cost was extremely reasonable.
After two days of refitting the carburetor and making additional repairs, we continued toward California, where we took the rig to a shop whose owner was a contributing editor of a trailer magazine in which he wrote scholarly articles about engine repairs. After we told him our story, he promised us that he would overhaul the engine and make it as good as new. Reassured, we left on our planned bike trip in Southern California.
A few weeks later we picked up our motorhome. After driving 50 miles, we stopped at a rest area, where I noticed drops of oil on the ground underneath our rig. After tightening the cap of the oil reservoir, the leak stopped, but the next morning the engine wouldn’t start. After a great deal of fiddling with the distributor cap, the engine came to life. We had no further trouble until we came close to Seattle and heard a terrible bang. Upon closer investigation, we found part of the transmission in contact with the roadbed!
The AAA piggybacked the motorhome back to our original dealer in Seattle, who informed us that they could find no indication that the engine had been overhauled in California!
We called Visa about the bill, and the bank — after investigating our claim — gave us a full chargeback on our dispute, despite the fact that the payment for the motorhome repair had been made in California, more than 100 miles from our home.
Disputes involving a cruise line
If you need help with a problem involving a cruise line, turn to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). Although this commission has very limited jurisdiction over cruise lines, it does require those lines to have a bond or other financial surety from which passenger deposits may be refunded in case a company fails to provide a scheduled cruise for which it has collected passenger deposits. Those financial instruments are issued by specialized firms. The FMC itself does not make refunds.
Although the commission does not have jurisdiction over such matters as cruise satisfaction, billing issues, itinerary changes and other disputes arising between cruise operators and their customers, its Ombuds Service in the Office of Consumer Affairs & Dispute Resolution Services (202/523-5807, www.fmc.gov/bureaus/OfficeofConsumerAffairsandDispute ResolutionServices.asp) often will refer such complaints to the cruise lines for their consideration.
To help with the dispute, e-mail to complaints@fmc.gov the following details, as recommended on the website:
Basic Information
Ticket/Passenger Invoice:
Date of Sailing:
Length and Nature of Cruise (e.g., 14-day transatlantic, 7-day Caribbean):
Port of Origin (may be the same as Origin):
Port of Destination (may be the same as Destination):
Did you purchase transportation from your home to the Port of Origin from the Cruise Line?
Did you purchase transportation from the Port of Destination to your home from the Cruise Line?
People and Companies Involved:
Passenger Name(s) or Contact Person(s):
Passenger Company Name (if applicable):
Passenger phone and address:
Cruise Line Contact Person(s):
Cruise Line Company or Trade Name(s):
Cruise Line phone and address:
Travel Agent Name or Contact Person(s):
Travel Agent phone and address:
Description of Issue (include as much information as possible to enable us to describe the issue to the cruise line on your behalf).
Description of Solution (explain what you hope to obtain: ensuring a safer or better future cruise, negotiating a monetary solution, etc.).
Conclusion
From the foregoing, we have learned that a credit-card payment creates the possibility for redress and that you should always contact the creditor in case of any dispute. It is self-evident that this course of action does not take the place of the acquisition of proper insurance coverage proactively.