Credit Card Payment Problems

Credit cards are important financial tools that offer benefits and many conveniences. Unfortunately, if you don't handle credit card payments appropriately, you may find yourself falling into deep debt and experiencing serious financial trouble. Learn how to resolve issues with credit card payments to save time, hassle and stress.

Problems

When financial difficulty occurs, you may struggle to make the minimum payments on credit cards. If your credit card bill contains errors such as incorrect or double charges, you may become confused about whether or not to make a payment, and for what amount. In some events, a credit card company may neglect to credit a payment that you made to your account. An embarrassing situation you could encounter is attempting to make a payment with a credit card, only to have the purchase declined.

Causes

Unemployment or unexpected expenses can cause you to fall behind on credit card payments. Human error or having a payment lost in the mail can result in a payment not being credited to your account. If unexplainable charges start to appear on your card, you may be the victim of fraud. In the case of a declined purchase, perhaps you have gone over your limit of available credit or the credit card company has placed a fraud alert on your card because of suspicious activity.

Results

If you fall behind of credit card payments, the company will report this information to credit bureaus, which will result in blemishes on your credit. The company will also begin to apply late fees, and eventually they may even close your credit account if you continue not to pay. If you continue a pattern of non-payment, your creditor may sue you in civil court to recover the money and they may even secure the right to garnish your wages to cover the outstanding amount.

Solution

If you find yourself in a financial crunch, call your credit company to work out a repayment plan. The company may waive late fees or allow you to make a lower payment. If your credit card is stolen, you have the responsibility to immediately notify the credit card company so they can deactivate the stolen card.

Always examine your credit card statement as soon as you get it. If you notice discrepancies, you only have 60 days to report the problem. If your credit card statement contains purchases you didn't make, contact the merchant and request they remove the charges. If you have to write a complaint, make sure you send a copy to your credit card company so they know you are disputing the charge.The credit card company has 90 days or two billing cycles to investigate the dispute. During this time, you don't have to pay the disputed amount.

Considerations

Once you have negative information on your credit report, you will find it more difficult to receive additional credit or you may find that credit ends up costing you more because companies may continue to grant you credit, but with a higher interest rate. The negative payment history on your credit cards can also make it harder for your to secure certain types of employment, since some employers now run a credit check before they hire employees.