Stale Dates?
 

There's really no such critter as a "stale date" although your bank might at some point turn down a check obviously old or damged. The check is a contract, your "promise to pay" and the bank's refusal to honor it is simply its attempt to avoid becoming a "holder in due course" and participant in the transaction.

"Post Dated" checks are another misunderstood issue. Merchants and service providers are under no obligation to accept them, banks will not (knowingly) honor them, and depending on what happens later, they can open the writer of the check to all sorts of potential pitfalls, civil and criminal.

An "old" credit card charge slip "held" or not run through in an ordinary time frame is treated just like an old check on quite simple grounds, that you, having received goods, service or benefit, contracted to pay and that the resturant/retailer/airline/whatever delivered those services, and a delay in presentation does not waive the obligation you created.

Transactions become complicated when one party claims that he/she did not receive or will not receive the goods/services/benefit as set forth in the contract, that your promise to pay became or will become invalid by the other party's inability or unwillingness to "perform". That's why airlines have such complicated contracts of carriage, to cover them from the inevitable flood of claims arising should the airlines fail to put folks on notice as to the description, nature and obligations of services not provided as anticipated.

CC processors may extend to "good" customers automatic adjustments (as AMEX seems to do with "temporarily" deleting a disputed transaction, but your failing to contact the other party to the transaction directly may actually end up releiving the CC company of liability and obligation.

Agree 100%. I'd also add....."Bad Business practice yes. Fraud, no." (and I'd still be mad!)

You make a great point. I can't believe that some people even use debit cards for items they order over the internet.

I've had a couple of billing problems with restaurants, but all were resolved fairly easily. The most recent experience: the restaurant ran through the credit card and then went back to add the tip later, but put in the entire charge for as the tip (for example $9 + $1 tip = $10 total but $19 ($9+$10) charged). When I spoke to the manager, he was very happy to resolve this without going my contacting the credit card company, and sent me a $20 gift card as a settlement. Since I planned to and did return to the restaurant, that worked out better than if I had done a charge back.

Has never happened to me but did to a friend at a local establishment he frequents regularly. They just gave him a credit in-house since he goes every weekend and he was fine with that.

HOWEVER- always check your statements! A girlfriend was going thorough a divorce recently and her husband owned a car repair shop (now oob). Upon inspecting the financial records, it was discovered he regularly double billed and only corrected when noticed and more than 90% went unnoticed!! He was caught for a long history of fraud and would have gotten away with it if not for a sharp eyed divorce attorney!!