In the last few years, I have been screwed over twice by different places, while my boyfriend has been screwed over once:
Example A: Bank of America charged me a maintenance fee for my checking account when they weren’t supposed to. Since I have a college checking account, they aren’t supposed to charge maintenance for my first five years. They started charging me in year two. I know I am not the only one BOA pulls this on–I only thought to check because one of my best friends mentioned it happened to her. They are lucky their Keep the Change program is awesome.
Example B: The used bookstore I patronize for my over-priced college textbooks charged me THREE times for the same $60+ transaction. If I hadn’t noticed this on my credit card statement, they would have gotten away with it because it wasn’t until AFTER I went to the bookstore to complain did they return the duplicate transactions.
Example C: My boyfriend was over-drawing money from his account, and he was charged overdraft fees. The problem? The bank never told him that he was over the limit. So every time he made a transaction, he was charged $60 each time without even knowing what he was doing. Finally he saw the charges online and went into a branch location to sort it out. The bank rep told him that they sent him a letter (which to this day he still has never received), and they refunded all but maybe one or two over-draft fees. Sneaky sneaks.
Working as a kind of all-in-one accountant/sales rep/secretary, I found some procedures to follow that clear up these messy transactions without getting overwhelmed with having to deal with a big company.
1.) Check your statements.
While it’s easy to believe that big companies would never make a mistake, it does happen. Sometimes on purpose. The two examples I mentioned above both came to my realization when I was checking my banking/credit card statements against my receipts, which I keep until I have time to check them against the transactions online.
2.) Make sure you know what you’re talking about.
You don’t want to follow the rest of the steps only to find out you misinterpreted a maintenance fee that is stated clearly in your rules. If your bank charged you for maintenance fees out of the blue, check their policies on maintenance fees. At the same time, though, don’t be afraid to dispute something in which you feel you were wronged just because the policies and terms are so convoluted. It’s better to ask questions than sit idly while some place may or may not be screwing you over.
3.) Bring paperwork.
If you’re following step 5 in which you walk into the place where you have the dispute, don’t bring originals. Make copies for the sales rep to take to their manager or whatever if they need to. For example A, I printed out my bank statements for all the months I was charged a maintenance fee. For example B, I made a copy of my original receipt, my last credit card statement (that showed the transaction was entered twice), and my current credit card statement (which showed the transaction entered a third time.) It made fixing things a lot smoother since the evidence was there in front of us.
4.) Call the service line.
Don’t be afraid to make the phone call. They will do anything for your patronage, not the other way around. It doesn’t matter if you don’t end up at the right line, ask a question like “who do I speak to regarding ___?” and they will more than likely transfer you or help you out. Don’t let them intimidate you. In fact, sometimes they will try to tell you “Oh, that? We already fixed that” (the bookstore said this to me in example B and the bank rep told that to my boyfriend in example C). If they were “already fixed” then you shouldn’t have to go to them in the first place. Ask them for confirmation that the situation has been fixed such as a mailed or e-mailed statement showing your account being refunded–anything that will reassure you that you won’t have to do this again. Don’t just take their word.
5.) Dispute things face-to-face.
If the phone doesn’t solve anything or if your bank/credit card company is one of those places that say you need to write a letter to dispute transactions (who knows how long that will take!!), simply walk-in to the branch location. Chances are you bank with a place that’s nearby. (If they don’t have a nearby location and calling them isn’t an option, then proceed to step 6). Usually you won’t have to deal with anyone surly if they think that they might be losing a customer. They will try to get on your good side and fix the situation as quickly as possible. Don’t act out or raise your voice, but remain firm. Don’t waiver just because the company rep or whoever doesn’t seem to take it as seriously. Don’t forget to bring the paperwork.
6.) Write a letter.
I have never had to do this last step because usually the issue is resolved with either step 4 or 5. But in cases where neither is an option, you will most likely have to write a letter. First, send an e-mail to the company’s online service e-mail address. Usually there’s an online form you can fill out for your complaints. Wait a week for the response. You should get a response within the next two days. But if there is none or you don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere with their response, this is when you should mail them a letter. Be very formal and follow standard formatting for letter-writing. You want to be taken as seriously as possible, so your letter shouldn’t be full of misspellings and grammatical errors. Enclose a copy of the paperwork which you are disputing over.
It’s terrible to think that a company might intentionally charge you for wrong reasons, but it does happen. Make sure you check your statements, and don’t be afraid to question anything that looks out of the ordinary. If you do get screwed over, hopefully these steps will help you know where to turn to in getting it sorted out.
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