Originally Posted by
Jon Maiman
@
Often1 Disputing transactions should be reserved for a last resort when other reasonable avenues have been tried and failed. The Lurker responded promptly to
AbyssalLoris to assist. Before filing a dispute, The Lurker should be given the chance to follow through and help clear up the problem. Furthermore, as most folks know, it takes longer for refunds to process on a credit card than for charges to process. So it is entirely possible the hotel has already processed a refund but it hasn't shown up yet on
AbyssalLoris's card.
Of course it is a personal choice as to what constitutes cause for filing a transaction dispute with a credit card. I think more patience and giving normal processes the chance to work is called for. You are entitled to your own standards as to when to initiate a dispute. Ultimately the credit card issuer has the final authority in determining if a dispute is valid. Just offering another perspective on if/when to file a credit card dispute. Each to their own....
--Jon
I do agree with your take, by and large. It is not my preference to go the dispute route either - especially for two reasons:
a) I don't want to be seen as abusing the dispute ability and would rather resolve with mutual agreement;
b) I haven't found the dispute process to be some sort of panacea - for example, in my limited experience, I've had good resolution by Amex the once or twice that I've ever used it (in the dim past), but have had poor resolution by Citi the one time I tried it (although I was not persistent enough).
It is in light of the latter experience that I will not engage in phone conversations to resolve any complaint - very hard to provide a record, which CC companies ask for. Also, a free piece of advice to anyone who cares to listen: download and start a call recorder on your phone (assuming smartphone) before starting any customer service call - the cards are stacked against you as it is. I don't always follow my own advice, though!