PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA – Part 2: What are my rights?
What are my rights in the situation that I summarized in my previous article: “PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA: My Treasure Is Taken!”? Well, the answer is very simple. I have a contractual right to get my treasure back. I also have a right to fair, honest, and ethical treatment under my credit card contract with Citibank. I have fulfilled the obligations of my agreement with Citibank to the best of my knowledge and ability. They should fulfill theirs. Already, however, it does not look like it is going to be a walk in the part to get my treasure back.
< — Go to Part #1: My Treasure Is Taken!
Go to Part #3: I want my treasure back!! (Please) –>
Why do I believe I have a right to get my treasure back? This is not a difficult intellectual or legal exercise. If you enter into a contract, and your fulfill your side of the agreement while the other party does not, then you should always have a right to restitution until the statue of limitations expires. My rights to my treasure have not expired, just because I missed a 60-day window. The statute of limitations related to meeting contractual commitments is never just 60 days.
When you deal with a credit card company, however, things just seem not to be that easy after 60 days. Unless, you watch every billing statement like a hawk and contest any problems in writing within 60 days, which we did not do, your road to recovery could be more difficult, if the credit card company wants to make it harder.
What is this 60-day window? I have missed the very short window on one of the very few consumer protections with any teeth that are available to credit card customers under law. I have missed the “60-day-complain-about-your-bill-in-writing” window of the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) of 1974 which was enacted as an amendment to the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. ยง 1601 et seq.).
It looks like my road ahead will be harder because I missed this 60-day window. What can you do to ensure that you do not get into my situation? How can you get your financial institution to fix things promptly and responsively?
To keep things simple, remember these two [...]