After reading Handling of Credit Card Related Complaints, Inquiries and Requests, read also Suspension, Termination of Effectivity and Reactivation of Credit Cards
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Billing statement refers to the regular statement of listing of the purchases, payments and other debits and credits made to the credit card account within the billing cycle
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The credit card holder may report any billing error or discrepancy to the bank
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In case a credit card is lost, any transaction made prior to reporting by the cardholder shall be for his account
How should banks handle credit card related complaints?
The law says:
Under Republic Act No. 10870 or the Philippine Credit Card Industry Regulation Law, banks shall establish a Consumer Assistance Unit within its organization, which shall be responsible for providing prompt action for the expeditious resolution of credit card related complaints, inquiries and requests.
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Billing Statement.
Billing statement or statement of account refers to the regular statement listing of the purchases, payments and other debits and credits made to the credit card account within the billing cycle. Billing cycle or billing period refers to the period of time between billings. It shall comprise at least fifteen (15) days.
When a bank issue a billing statement, it shall give the cardholder up to thirty (30) calendar days from statement date to report any error or discrepancy in their statement of account or billing statement. The manner of reporting or notice of any billing error or discrepancy to the bank may be through written, verbal or any documented means.
The bank shall take action within ten (10) business days from receipt of such notice of any billing error or discrepancy together with relevant documents or records in physical or electronic form from the cardholder.
Within ninety (90) days after receipt of the notice, banks shall conduct a thorough investigation; shall make appropriate corrections in their records; and send a written explanation or clarification to the cardholder, prior to taking any action to collect the contested amount, subject to the result of the investigation.
However, a bank may still collect any amount which has not been indicated by the cardholder to contain a billing error.
b. Lost or Stolen Cards.
In case a credit card is lost or stolen, any transaction made prior to reporting by the cardholder of the loss or theft of his/her card to the bank shall be for the account of the cardholder. However, this is does not affect the right of the cardholder to dispute the transaction, which, if found to be an unauthorized or fraudulent transaction, shall be corrected or reversed by the bank, including any finance charges and other fees related to such transaction.
May a credit card issuer engage the services of a third-party service providers for collection purposes? A related article will be posted in a few days.
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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