Mark.Kreutzian@uunet.uu.net> (05/18/91)
> [Moderator's Note: When the bank first gave you that rap about how > they could do nothing, you should have gotten a supervisor on the > line and bellowed about how you were not going to pay the charge; > they could charge it back to GTE if they liked; and if that wasn't > enough hassle for them, you'd be glad to file a complaint with the > Federal Trade Commission if necessary detailing the bank's billing > practices. Believe me, the bank *would* have found GTE for you > also! You are assuming that the bank with which you have your credit card is the only bank that issues them. The bank will not just on your request reverse a charge on your credit card statement. First it must go through a dispute process where your bank requests proof of the charge from the merchant's bank (in this case GTE). Most likely the charge will be recognized as valid and for any further action you will have to take it up with the merchant. If after taking the matter up with the merchant and it is not rendered satisfactorily then the bank may help settle the dispute. The bank's billing practices were right in line with regs. The way you proposed handling it was not. Mark K. Kreutzian ivgate!command!mark@uunet.uu.net American Express Info Svcs Co **** Place standard disclaimer here ****** The .COMmand Center (Opus 1:5010/23) [Moderator's Note: But our correspondent said the bank claimed they could do NOTHING. As you point out, the bank could do SOMETHING by at least going back to the merchant bank (and they in turn to GTE) to ask for verification. GTE and the merchant bank might well have then given some 'evidence' that the charge was valid ... but our correspondent said once GTE was contacted they in fact did issue credit. So couldn't the bank have made the same initial inquiry that our correspondent had to make? The bank at least was obliged to tell her *how* to contact the merchant. PAT]