The Consumerist has a good example article on “Chase Changes Due Date Without Warning, Charges Late Fees“ that perked my ears up.

I’ve been noticing that many if not all of the credit card companies and banks I deal with are all moving toward the ‘paperless’ system. Now that in and of itself doesn’t faze me, since they still allow you to ‘opt out’ for the most part. I have found that one card though (Home Depot) that actually FORCES you to go paperless if you want to see the statements on-line. Not cool in my book.

I’ve been paperless for years now and haven’t had too many problems, but articles like the above get my attention because there is a large opportunity for abuse by the banks and credit card companies if the consumer isn’t diligent.

Luckily, as Consumerist points out, it’s easy to get things resolved if you know what to do or say. There’s many consumer protection laws and groups that are just gnashing their teeth waiting for a financial company to step over the bounds.

So, what should you do if your bank or credit card company tries something like this?

Get the Facts Straight

If you call and they say you’ve been notified, look around for the notice (either mailed or e-mailed) that specifies the changes. If it’s mailed, and you didn’t read it, there’s a good chance you’re going to have to just lump it as the company can verify the mail was delivered and that’s all that’s required by law. It’s difficult and they might not want to go through the hassle to prove it, but then again they might.

If you were e-mailed the changes, and you’re like most people on the Internet nowadays, your spam filters are like an armed guard not allowing in anything that doesn’t act, look, and smell like a legitimate e-mail. If the company sent out the e-mail in a mass mailing format, say,.. to ALL it’s customers, there’s an excellent chance your little Spam Patrolman shuffled it off to the spam gulag. In this case, it’s much more likely that the “I never received it” statement will be effective because there’s no real way to tell whether you received the e-mail correctly or not. The customer service rep should reverse the charges. Maybe.

Be Polite

Calling the poor CSR and blasting them is not going to endear them to you, and won’t cause them to sympathize with your cause. No sympathy = No Changes. Be polite, respectful, and forceful but not arrogant. If they definitely won’t change it, be sure to get a name and a callback number if possible, and ask for a supervisor. In some cases the supervisor will be the person sitting next to them, but in many cases it isn’t. Wash, rinse, repeat. If the supervisor won’t make the change, request THEIR supervisor, and so on, until you get some resolution.

Know Your Rights

You should have kept AND READ the little legalese pamphlet that they sent you when you opened the account or credit card. As hard as it is to slog through these things, they DO contain information on how they can change things (anytime pretty much) and more importantly, HOW THEY MUST NOTIFY YOU AND YOUR RIGHTS OF REFUSAL. Unfortunately, this usually comes down to just closing the account/CC if you don’t like it, but sometimes there’s other steps listed. Read it and understand what they can do to you.

Keep a Record

As a rule of thumb for myself, if I feel I’ve been screwed over by a company, I record the incident, what happened, and whether it was resolved. If it happens once, in say a year, I’ll let it slide usually. If it happens more often than that, or it’s a particularly egregious event, I’ll shop around for a replacement account and either empty/pay off the account and throw it in the bottom of the sock drawer, or close it outright with a short polite message to the main office on why I closed the account. There is no reason today for a consumer to HAVE to put up with bad service from finance companies and banks. Competition is more fierce for customers than it’s ever been, and other banks will almost bend over backward to get your business.

Finally

Banks and Credit Card companies are there to make money by providing a service, if you don’t feel the service you’re receiving is worth the money you’re spending, you should IMMEDIATELY do something about it. Staying with a company and suffering through the mistreatment isn’t going to make the treatment get any better. Many businesses won’t pay attention to small consumers, until enough of them start leaving that it shows up on the balance sheets. It may be too late for you, but by leaving you might make things better for those left behind.

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