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You have permission to publish this article electronically or in
print, free of charge, as long as the by-line is included.
Notification of publication would be appreciated. Please send
notification to shelley@scamfreesuccess.com
There are various degrees to which you may be protected when
using your credit card to purchase something on the Internet. This
applies to purchasing offline as well.
Different credit cards offer different protection. As well, different
countries have different laws protecting consumers with credit cards.
It's important to find out from your credit card company how you
are protected in the following cases:
Non-receipt of product ordered: What if you order something, pay
using your credit card but don't receive the merchandise or service
that you ordered?
*Are you protected in this instance?
*What is the process for making a claim?
*How long does it take to make a claim?
Find this information out for other issues as well. For instance what
if you receive the product or service and the quality or the product
isn't what you were promised?
Overcharged: What if the amount that appears on your credit card
statement exceeds the amount you approved when you ordered?
Find out what the process is for addressing this issue, and what
steps need to be taken if this problem occurs.
Unauthorized Payment: What if your credit card number was used
to make a purchase that you didn't authorize?
*Are you liable for unauthorized payments taken against your credit
card?
*If so, for what portion of the charge?
*What is the procedure for reporting an unauthorized charge?
I*s there a time limit?
*What affects the amount or percentage of your liability? (i.e. how
long it takes you to make the complaint)
The most important thing though, is to know how you are protected,
what you are protected for, what the limitations are for your protection
and what the processes are for rectifying any problems you may have.
This is information that you should know if you have a credit card,
regardless of what you are using it for. If you have a credit card and
don't know all the answers to these questions invest the time today
finding out from your credit card company. Before applying for a new
credit card, find out their policies and procedures for these problems.
Along with giving consideration to their interest rates, annual fees and
other aspects you should give careful consideration to their policies
and procedures for protecting you as a credit card holder.
As a final note; always make sure that the order is being processed
using a secure and encrypted method. You'll usually see a padlock
symbol (appearing as locked) and you should see https in the url.
You will also usually be flagged with a message like "You are about
to view pages over a secure connection" as you are forwarded
over to the order processing page.
Shelley Lockwood is the webmaster of http://www.scamfreesuccess.com.
She encourages everyone to help stop the spread of online scams by
becoming aware, and by spreading that awareness. You can learn more
about online scams by visiting her site.
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