European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 13, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Con Umer Vatch credit card phone Bills can be disputed by Mary Neth consumer editor embers of the american military in Germany. Who have made credit card Telephone Calls to the United Stales via Dallas based firm called International Tel charge Nave been complaining about being overcharged and 1hey claim hat they have been receiving conflicting answers 10 queries about their Bills. As a recourse those callers can Contact lha credit card issuer and ask or a  charge Back is a term coined by the credit Industry to describe a disputed payment bang eliminated by charging it Bach to the merchant or creditor this method of disputing a credit card Bill Falls under the fair credit Billing act which is explained in Fine print on 1he Back of Many credit card Bills. There Are two simple procedures one Lor Billing errors annd the other involving consumer complaints regarding the Quality of credit card purchases. Ii the problem is an error in Billing you must write to inform the credit card issuer Wilheln 60 Days after the Bill containing the error was sent to you. Alter doing so you can withhold payment on the disputed amount. The credit card issuer is the financial institution that issued the charge card by Law. The credit card issuer has to inform you whether 1he charge Back is being allowed within two Billing cycles or 90 Days whichever comes first. H tha complaint concerns poor Quality of goods or services you must make an Effort to resolve the problem with the business. Then h you Are not satisfied you inform the credit card issuer before withholding payment. Ii you Are not certain what Type of dispute yours is play it Safe and go with the 60-Day time limit Del covers Billing errors. First Contact the business and try to get satisfaction. Felling that the next step is to write to the credit card issuer s customer service department. Include your name address credit card number the information about the dispute the amount you Are withholding from your credit card payment assuming you did t already pay and your signature. These rules apply Only if what you purchased Cost More than $50 and if it waa made within 100 Miles of your residence according to consumer s Union a nonprofit organization established to advise american shoppers on goods services health and personal finance the major credit card companies generally will listen even if the amount of Purchase was less than $50 end the distance More than too Miles. Generally they will Honor a charge Back request even if you have already paid the credit card Bill that includes the disputed charge Bolero you discovered the  happens after you have placed your complaint some Bank that Issue credit cards try to negotiate for you with the business. In most cases though tha charge Back is Send to the Bank of the business involved. That Bank then sends in Back to the business. If ii does not protest you win. If it does protest the charge will be issued again. Now it is up to the credit card s Bank to take a second look at the dispute ii it backs you it will reissue the charge Back. Often this leads to arbitration Between the two Banks. If your Bank loses you will be billed again. If you believe this is unfair you still have recourse. You can write to the division of consumer and Community affairs Board of governors Federal Reserve system 20th & c streets n.w., Washington d.c.205s1, credit fixing a rip off by Randolph  associated press companies offering to repair poor credit ratings seem to be increasingly common in the United states but government and business experts urge caution in considering such services. The Otter of a credit in May seem attractive but in Many cases the company May not be Able to deliver on its promises warn both the Federal Trade commission and associated credit bureaus inc. The repair oilers Aie aimed Al people who have problems gelling credit because of some problem in Ihei past. According to the sales Pilch the company can find out what the problem is and get it corrected. However these businesses cannot do anything thai the average consumer can i do atone the Trade commission says several states have passed Laws restricting these so called credit clinics and others Are consider ing regulations. Although the legislation regulating credit repair companies is certainly Well founded and desperately needed Consumers Wilh credit problems of any kind would be a lot belter off simply taking matters into their own hands and either calling the local credit Bureau or going directly to the nearest office of the non profit consumer counselling service said Walter r. Karlh head of the associated credit bureaus. The consumer who is denied credit has a right to be told Why and if tha information tha resulted in credit denial is wrong the credit Bureau has to Correct it. If the information is True however neither the consumer nor a credit repair company can get it changed. If you have been late paying your Bills during the last seven years the Law permits the credit Bureau to Tell creditors about your history of late payments bankruptcy May be reported for 10 years. Thai is the Law says the Federal Trade commission. If anyone tells you thai they can remove negative but accurate items from your file they Are making promises that they cannot keep the Agency adds. The consumer s first step is to ask Why credit was denied ii it was because of a report from a credit Bureau the consumer has the right to be told the name and address of that credit Bureau. And if contacted within 30 Days of credit being denied the Bureau must disclose the information in its file on that consumer Al no charge. If any of the information in the file is wrong complain. Under the Law the credit Bureau must investigate and anything that it cannot double Check must be dropped from the Fie. People who hav not been denied credit  just Unous about their credit tile also can ask to see the information it contains. But some credit bureaus impose a Small fee for this usually �5 to Sis the Etc reports. Folks facing a seemingly overwhelming pile of Bills May want to seek credit counselling. In most areas this service is available at Tittle or no charge. Individual can Contact their creditors and ask to sit Down and discuss the Bills and work out an extended repayment schedule. Or they can seek counselling from such groups As universities county Extension agents military bases credit unions housing authorities and Banks that Olfer assistance free or for a Small fee. There is also the non profit consumer credit counselling service with offices in 44 Stales which can help setup a realistic budget and arrange repayment plans. The service is listed in the White pages of phone books or can be contacted through the National foundation for consumer credit 8701 Georgia ave Silver Spring my. 20910. Erma Bombeck this May be the most frightening revelation you will read All year the passing of guilt from Parent to child is a dying Art that s right. The gift that keeps giving has tapered Oil because working mothers feel sorry for their children and Don t want to Burden them with More pressure. This has been the most depressing  to me since i was 12 and refused to eat my Lima Beans and made my Mother sick we re talking about an american tradition nere that is As old As dirt. Guilt should never be considered a curse that is passed on but rather a Bonus for having children of your own where the Power ships and you have your Day in the Sun. It s the evolution of motherhood As it was meant lobe. One Mother recently confessed to me that she had never spread guilt in her entire life. She did t know How. And she Calls herself a Mother i told her. There s nothing to it. For starters when you arrive Home from Woik tonight drag into the living room where the kids Are watching their favorite game show and say would you bring in the groceries from the car give them three seconds to respond. Not one second longer. Then suck in your breath and with dead vacant eyes turn and say. Never mind i la do it  ii will make them feel positively Rotten if you can manage to turn your ankle lugging in the groceries or gel a concussion when the door slams on you it s All the better. They won t be Able to live with themselves ii sounds cruel she said. Nonsense that s How they stockpile Guill Lor their own children. That line will be perpetuated Lor years to come. Answering machines Are a great catalyst Lor guilt. At the sound of the beep say. 1 know you re lying in bed listening to me and i m glad you re getting your rest. Don t bother to Call me Back. You re Busy. 1 just wanted to Tell you i hardly Hurt at Al today then when a Calls Back right away Don f answer  it s distressing to me that mothers no longer Lake the egg with the broken Yak grata the Fork with a Bent prongs or Are silent Lor a week saying Only you know what you be  i never had such a Good time As t did the year i had Welcome written across my Chest and went to a Hab Oween party As a Doormat. My Friend Shook her head and said Are you saying thai children should be a part of our suffering  i smiled " hey Are the reason Lor our  Page 16 the stars and stripes wednesday May 13,19b7